Tips for getting five month old to take daytime naps in crib

[snm88]

Just that, really. It's not so much of a problem to get him to go down at night, but he absolutely refuses to take naps in his crib during the daytime. Contact nap or naps on the go are okay, but I'd like to get him into a routine of having at least one independent nap a day in his crib. I watch his wake windows and sleepy cues, take him upstairs and try to get him to nap (rocking, bouncing, curtains closed, white noise etc etc.) and he just goes rigid and screams at me. Any tips?

My biggest tip would just be to forget about it for now. He'll be stressed, you'll be stressed, the nap (if it happens) will take a lot of effort and last less than twenty mins. By chance, some babies are happy having daytime naps in their cots. If you don't have one of those then I don't think it's worth the hassle for so little reward. By ten months it will be a much more achievable goal. Just wait for him to get older.

I would also say to forget about it for now. 5 months is still very young. I saw an improvement in sleep (longer naps, could transfer to cot when asleep without waking up) around 6 months with both my children. Before that it was also contact naps and naps on the go.

I agree with the above posters.

Leave it a month. Over six months it gets easier to make changes with sleep

My son never had daytime naps. When he went to Nursery, I told the staff and was ( condescendingly) told, oh he'll have lots of stimulation in n Nursery! He didn't sleep during the day and at 19 months was mixing with the 3 year olds who accepted him. He loved Nursery happy to go. I was glad of a rest. He's exceptionally bright. Now in his 30s. Just the way it is sometimes and not always easy

Thanks for the replies everyone. I’ll stop trying to force it for now and hope he naturally starts wanting to nap in his crib (or not!).

Agree with first poster. Why?

As someone who's coslept with both kids I can tell you that around 5 months they START refusing crib naps. I could put my newborn to sleep on me and deposit her off me onto a sofa by me or something and go about my business until she woke a few hours later.

At 5m though as soon as I walk away she screams.

She's put herself to sleep at 9pm since about 3.5m.

They're just realising you're separate and so more attached to you at this stage. By trying to force them to sleep alone or do non-contact naps you're only making a rod for your own back by delaying or eradicating their ability to form secure attachment and self-soothe.

I gave up. Dts don’t sleep in their cots until consolidated to one nap a day just past one year old. I lost o load of weight with all nap walks we did.

You say he will have on the go naps, would he nap in his pram in the house? I used to do that with DD1 as she wasn’t great at napping but sometimes rocking in the pram worked and she would stay asleep in it for a while

Honestly I wouldn’t force it, my 12 month is only starting some cot naps now. Use the buggy in the house if you can; just rock it til they sleep.

Good luck with that. My advice would be swap babies now 😉

Neither of mine would ever sleep in a cot for a daytime nap, and I promise I tried. Instead our daily routine involved endless walks or drives to get them to nap.

They would 'allegedly' lay down on the mats at nursery and go to sleep though and eat vegetable there too....little twats!

If it helps they are now teenagers and I can't get them out of bed and at school they are 'allegedly' really polite and helpful!