How to get baby to nap for more than 30 minutes?

[lovehasadiameter]

Just that really! Every single nap, DD wakes after exactly 30 minutes! She naps in her cot in a dark room with white noise on and goes down for her naps quite easily most of the time.

I have tried leaving her to self settle but she just gets frustrated. If I go and pick her up, she will go straight back to sleep in my arms so I assume she is still tired but she will not go back to sleep in her cot. If I hold her she will sometimes sleep for another 1-2 hours but it obviously isn't practical for me to hold her all this time.

Any tips on how to help her to nap longer? She ends up so exhausted by the end of the day!

How old is she? Sounds like she is unable to transition between sleep cycles - very common for some, including my DS
I used a technique called "wake to sleep" (google it). It took some patience but it was a game changer

Another one who used wake to sleep successfully. The trick is to just stir them ever so lightly - it doesn’t need to be much at all. Just enough to help them transition to the next sleep cycle.

Mine is the same except he doesn’t go back to sleep in my arms if I pick him up, he’s just wide awake. He’s nearly 5 months old.
I’m just going with it for now. Too stressful to try and change it!

Oh and wake to sleep never worked for us (this is DC3).

Thanks everyone! She's just turned 5 months. Will try wake to sleep at her next few naps and see how we get on

Well I tried it at her nap there and we managed to extend it by.... 4 whole minutes

Hey... it's a start haha

Mine was the same - always 30 mins. I had to force longer naps by taking him out in the car (walking with the pram wasn't always a guarantee).

It was only once he started crawling and standing and tiring himself out more that he started being able to nap longer (1-2 hour) in his cot.

No advice. Just solidarity

Even in the car mine sleeps 30 mins then wide awake! Even on a 2 hour journey he’ll just sleep for the first 30 mins.

Mine can easily sleep for 1-2 hours but only if I hold her or she is in the car/pram.

If she's in her cot it's 20-30 mins max. It's so strange because she has no problem going to sleep in her cot at night and will sleep for 6-8 hours straight

Mine sleeps a solid 10 hours at night in the crib, but only ever 30 mins in the day

Once you sleep train at night (start at 6 months), the baby will automatically apply this at nap time, too.

The thing is, I don’t need to sleep train at night. He goes down awake at 7pm, settles himself to sleep, wakes at 5 for a feed, goes back in his crib awake and sleeps again until 6.30ish. Just can’t link sleep cycles in the day.

This was my daughter. Only napped 30 minutes from day 1. Maybe twice a day if I was lucky. You have my sympathies. It was hard work! My little one only ever entertained napping in her cot as well. Never the pram (still doesn’t) & rarely the car.

You’ll be pleased to hear she is now a champion napper at 2, in fact I have to wake her up or she’d be awake all night! From 12 months, she went to one nap in the morning only and just suddenly napped for 1.5-2 hours. I’ve no idea why. She just did it herself. I did nothing differently! After a month or so, she was doing 2-3 hours! Still does. I wake her up after 2 hours now though as it affects overnight sleep. Some of my mum pals are now struggling with naps yet had beautifully napping babies. I feel like it’s my time in the sun