17 week old has been awake for 8 and a half hours without nap today

[sheeplikessleep]

Agh, how can I encourage DS2 to nap? I was feeding him until he was sleepy and then putting him down, which was working fine. But, his daytime naps have been getting worse and worse. I don't think he is automatically falling asleep now just because he has a full tummy.

Today, he woke at 8am (after feeding 4 times last night) and only went to sleep at 4.40pm.

I've tried feeding, rocking, singing (OK, that might not be best approach ), out in the pram (although he hates pram and car seat!) and I just don't know how to help him get to nap. He fell asleep twice, but woke within 5-10 minutes of going down. Yesterday was the same - went until 4pm, when he slept until 6.30pm.

Any advice / suggestions? Thanks for reading.

You could try swaddling him? This may help him to drift off. Sounds like you have tried everything else! At least he might sleep right through tonight....

My baby (5 months) has not been a big napper. But in the past few days I have avoided feeding/rocking her to sleep. Instead I have put her down to play after a feed and watched her closely for signs of tiredness- losing interest in toys, yawning, rubbing eyes and that glassy-eyed faraway stare. At that moment I pick her up, put her in her pram and put a blanket on her. I don't let her get past the point of no return!

She's been napping like a dream, I guess because she's at the optimum moment to go to sleep, rather than me using feeding or whatever to send her off when I think she ought to be napping.

Often she has still needed a bit of a jiggle of the pram just for a couple of mins to send her off, but I'm planning to try to get her to nap in her cot next week.

thanks for posting

babywalks - we did swaddle him, but he is too big now really and gets out of it! unfortunately, he woke at 9, 12.30, 3, 4.40 and 6 through the night too! talk about burning candle at both ends.

explodingbosoms - i will try that, i do try to watch closely for signs of tiredness, but as soon as i put him in his cot, he is wide awake and a few minutes later, he is crying. he hates his pram and car seat too. i wonder whether he is just one of those babies who don't nap. he has slept for 40 minutes so far this morning, so hopefully i'll keep him on track today. wish me luck!

thanks for posting.