NHGR Moms: Nap strikes?

[emoflamingo]

Baby W is apparently on a nap strike. It's bad enough that his sitter says if he doesn't start napping during the day, she'll have to have us find a new sitter. We have only been there since the beginning of June and this is a new (like in the last two weeks or so) issue. He sleeps 12 hours at night (usually wakes once for a bottle and then goes back down easily) but he is super clingy and whiny during the day.

I just don't know what to do. I don't really want to let him CIO because he never has an issue going down at night and I'm sure he is legitimately hungry in the middle of the night (not "conditioned to eat" like my H thinks) but we really cannot try to find a new sitter and I'm not sure what else to do. I'm sure he has more teeth trying to come through (the first two were hell) but other than having her give him Advil or Tylenol during the day, I'm out of ideas there too.

[Deleted]

My kid has done this periodically off and on since birth. She has never been the best napper but she sleeps at least 10 hours a night no issue since a little after birth..lol.

We're just coming off a nap strike. However, she's too little to not take a nap so it's been hell on earth for the past week.

I just finally decided, there will be quiet time at the very least. For an hour. I throw some toys, some books and her blankets in there and let her be. Sometimes, she settles right down to sleep, sometimes she plays that whole hour. She very rarely screams. If she does it's like 5 minutes. My kid is a bit older now, but I did it at 10ish months too.

She eventually snaps back out of it and then will nap good for another 3 months.

I also have to say, I think it's weird your sitter WON'T take a non napping kid. It's pretty normal in the older infant/toddler world of phases. My DCP just rocks them, lets them have a bit of PBS with the older kids who are "resting" reads stories or lets them hang out in their cribs.

[ktzmoh]

Your sitter sounds unreasonable. Kids will go through phases that are more or less difficult from time to time. Nap strikes, growth spurts , sleep regressions, teething, irritability and clinginess all happen from time to time. I can't believe she would draw the line like that!

[emoflamingo]

I talked to H (he does pick up) and she has younger ones starting in August and that is her concern. We rock and have a bottle at home on weekends and he goes down fine. But he will not rock with her or take a bottle. SIL did watch them before she switched shifts at work and I know she got him down fine in a swing, but he is too heavy for swings now.

He did fine for the first few weeks (she would occasionally put him in a stroller and take a walk to get him to sleep and then he would go down for awhile) but now he is not napping. there is another baby his age and they are in pnps in their master bedroom (we can't find anything but licensed home providers near our home and we work across town from each other).

[Deleted]

Jul 26, 2013 17:30:38 GMT -5 emoflamingo said:

I talked to H (he does pick up) and she has younger ones starting in August and that is her concern. We rock and have a bottle at home on weekends and he goes down fine. But he will not rock with her or take a bottle. SIL did watch them before she switched shifts at work and I know she got him down fine in a swing, but he is too heavy for swings now.

He did fine for the first few weeks (she would occasionally put him in a stroller and take a walk to get him to sleep and then he would go down for awhile) but now he is not napping. there is another baby his age and they are in pnps in their master bedroom (we can't find anything but licensed home providers near our home and we work across town from each other).

I'm going to guess there's more teeth coming in and it'll be a short lived phase. I'd try the Tylenol. I remember my kid wouldn't take a bottle or sleep well with teeth either.

And I'm sure the parenting flames are about to ignite here but will he lay down in his PnP and drink a bottle on his own? Time was Rubes just wanted to be left alone sprawled out in her crib. She'd suck her bottle empty, throw it out and promptly fall asleep. I never worried about it because it wasn't left in her mouth, it was gone and out of her crib.

And that's the best excuse your DCP has? That's not your problem to control kids on her time. That's what you pay for her. It's like me sending the kids who struggle to learn home because I have "smart" kids to teach. Or me milking only the nice cows and not the ones that kick. It makes no sense.

[katie4253]

Whaaaaa?  I don't comprehend this.  Why is she dumping you over a nap strike?  He's a kid.  This happens. 

[Deleted]

Also, I know you mentioned CIO, it is an option for you at all? You can modify it a bit so it's just for naps and not so much at night if you don't want it to be.

I'm not the biggest supporter of CIO but sometimes it's all that works. Your kid is also old enough for it if you feel necessary. In our house for awhile we did a pared down CIO that was the 15 Minute Rule. If she wasn't asleep in 15 minutes and was still screaming then we go in and try something else. The longest it took for her to be out was minute 9. Take that FWIW though...my kid always kind of liked a bit of fussy/crying to fall asleep. Even at 2 she gets her self situated, whines a bit and passes out.

[thewop]

I'm with ktzmoh and katie4253 I don't understand why they would dump you over this. Kids are unpredictable. Shit happens. It doesn't usually last forever. Shes being unfair and unprofessional.

[emoflamingo]

I'm definitely giving her the benefit of the doubt this week because the poor thing has just so.much.going.on. Her husband has been out of town for a week, I know her grandfather is not doing well, her son is having surgery on Tuesday and is going to be without pay for a week since she has to close down and then she has to pay extra help in a few more weeks because he's having his tonsils out so he has to be on strict bedrest when his scabs start coming off. So she looked exhausted and stressed this morning when I dropped the kiddos off.

@justdairy, I think she does do some version of CIO during the day. The problem is he is waking up the other baby his age and/or the rest of the kids who are actually resting. He can and will just scream for a long time. Like I said, we have no issues getting him to bed at home at night and on the weekends.

I'll make sure he's IN the crib for naps this weekend, since sometimes we just nap with him (I know, we're bad but I get 2 hours a day during the week with him!). I know she mentioned some kind of noise machine in there to try so I'll make sure that I give her a thing of Tylenol and sign the appropriate papers so she can try giving him some if she feels he needs it.