CIO for naps?

[Deleted]

Is this a thing?

babyharpy is nearly 6 months old, and we are planning to do CIO for bedtime this weekend. She's a pretty good nighttime sleeper but just hasn't figured out how to fall asleep on her own in the crib. Once we have her falling asleep on her own, should we do CIO for naps, too? Currently she will nap in her crib at daycare, but she is totally playing us at home. She'll nap for 2 hours on my chest, but literally the second her head hits the mattress, she wakes up. If I leave her to fall back asleep, she cries. I like the cuddles, but I'm kind of over having to structure our weekends so that one of us can be in the recliner for up to 4 hours during the day. Do we just mimic the bedtime routine with a sleep sack and story time, close the door, and leave her to CIO?

[luv2rn4fun]

I did naps and bedtime sleep training at the same time. Yes, just have a routine (ours has always been diaper, pjs/sleep sack, books, songs, white noise, crib). You give them an hour to fall asleep (with or without checks depending on your method) and get them up if they don’t fall asleep and try again at next nap.

[mccallister84]

Yep! We didn’t have any issues at bedtime but we had to CIO for naps. We started right around 6 months. At first she would cry for 30 minutes and then sleep for 20 but after a week or so she started talking legit naps. Like 1.5 hours in the morning and afternoon with minimal fussing. It was life changing. She followed the 2-3-4 schedule pretty perfectly.

We just mimicked bedtime. Put her in the sleep sack, read two books, sang and then put her in the crib. We also introduced a lovie.

I started out doing checks but that upset her more so I dropped those prettt quickly.

[raangoli]

Yes. And I recommend doing it now. Otherwise you will be like me and have a two year old that does this. Although I don't mind the nap myself on the weekend lately.

[imimahoney]

CIO did not work for naps for my son but it worked like a dream for bedtime. It did work for my dd though.

Naps and bedtime sleep are different so be prepared for it to work for one but not the other.

[arch01]

We went to 2-3-4 at right before 6 months. We found we were putting him down too late and he wouldn't nap on his own. It ended up being more like 1.5-3-2-2 (he needed a quick 20 minute nap to make it to bedtime). At first there was a bit of CIO, but it subsided pretty quickly.

[redheadk]

We did naps and bedtime the same, at the same time. Worked like a charm! My dd was a terrible sleeper before we did CIO.

[midwest07]

Feb 16, 2018 9:48:13 GMT -5 raangoli said:

Yes. And I recommend doing it now. Otherwise you will be like me and have a two year old that does this. Although I don't mind the nap myself on the weekend lately.

Agree with this. Our DD did nighttime on her own for the most part. But for naps, we have still been rocking her to sleep and she is over 2. She would sleep once we put her down, so we have never been holding her for naps. But they just become more and more aware and it's harder to change as they get older. So I would do it now! But as a few others have mentioned, I do think naps and night are different and they are more ready for sleep at night. So be prepared to have to work more on the naps. If you aren't already following a 2-3-4 schedule, that worked really great for us (though it might be slightly too early at 6 months for only 2 naps a day depending on when bedtime is).

[clseale]

Feb 16, 2018 10:09:15 GMT -5 arch01 said:

We went to 2-3-4 at right before 6 months. We found we were putting him down too late and he wouldn't nap on his own. It ended up being more like 1.5-3-2-2 (he needed a quick 20 minute nap to make it to bedtime). At first there was a bit of CIO, but it subsided pretty quickly.

I went home and tried this after you mentioned it to me in Chicago. Her naps instantly improved. 

[arch01]

Feb 16, 2018 10:41:29 GMT -5 clseale said:

Feb 16, 2018 10:09:15 GMT -5 arch01 said:

We went to 2-3-4 at right before 6 months. We found we were putting him down too late and he wouldn't nap on his own. It ended up being more like 1.5-3-2-2 (he needed a quick 20 minute nap to make it to bedtime). At first there was a bit of CIO, but it subsided pretty quickly.

I went home and tried this after you mentioned it to me in Chicago. Her naps instantly improved. 

Yay!! So glad to hear it Consistent napping is a game changer.

[tiki]

DD is actually the opposite (she'll nap at home but not at daycare) and we think it has to do with the amount of stimulation in the room. Daycare is always loud and bright, while at home we do quiet play time away from anything too exciting (bright lighting, shiny noisy toys, the tv, music, our cat, etc) just before we want her to go to sleep. We do the quiet time in our bedroom (not hers) so it's not directly associated with being put in her bed. Probably not going to replace the need for sleep training, but maybe something to try in addition if you aren't already?

[Deleted]

Feb 16, 2018 9:48:13 GMT -5 raangoli said:

Yes. And I recommend doing it now. Otherwise you will be like me and have a two year old that does this. Although I don't mind the nap myself on the weekend lately.

OK, good to know! I will mention it to H about this weekend. We may have to do it next weekend when I can send H away. I am going out with friends tomorrow afternoon, and H is a total wimp. (He was the one who had guilt about dropping her off at daycare while I was like, "Eh, she'll make friends!" I was right, OF COURSE.)

Our bedtime routine is bath, boob, book, bed. I will skip the bath part and try the last three.

Thanks!

[Deleted]

Feb 16, 2018 10:09:15 GMT -5 arch01 said:

We went to 2-3-4 at right before 6 months. We found we were putting him down too late and he wouldn't nap on his own. It ended up being more like 1.5-3-2-2 (he needed a quick 20 minute nap to make it to bedtime). At first there was a bit of CIO, but it subsided pretty quickly.

What does 2-3-4 mean? I've read most of the Weissbluth book, and we definitely noticed that he's right about her tending to be ready for a nap after about 2 hours awake.

[arch01]

Feb 16, 2018 10:48:06 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

Feb 16, 2018 10:09:15 GMT -5 arch01 said:

We went to 2-3-4 at right before 6 months. We found we were putting him down too late and he wouldn't nap on his own. It ended up being more like 1.5-3-2-2 (he needed a quick 20 minute nap to make it to bedtime). At first there was a bit of CIO, but it subsided pretty quickly.

What does 2-3-4 mean? I've read most of the Weissbluth book, and we definitely noticed that he's right about her tending to be ready for a nap after about 2 hours awake.

2 hours after waking in the am=nap
3 hours after waking from first nap=nap
4 hours after waking from second nap=bed

It was really helpful for us because it helped us plan our days (I am a planner though STBXH isn’t as much). It also helped get DS to nap for almost 2 hours, sometimes 2.5 on a consistent basis.

Our mistake was watching for yawns. We were way too late at that point.

[clseale]

tiki , dd is the same way. We get 1 hr+ (each) for a morning and afternoon nap at home, but during the week it is not uncommon to see 1-2 naps < 20 min on her report. 

[luckystar2]

Feb 16, 2018 10:08:20 GMT -5 imimahoney said:

CIO did not work for naps for my son but it worked like a dream for bedtime. It did work for my dd though.

Naps and bedtime sleep are different so be prepared for it to work for one but not the other.

Ditto. We used Ferber and it worked great for bedtime. In less than a week she was STTN! But we tried for naps and it never worked. As I recall Ferber basically says if they cry for x amount at nap time to just give up because it’s been too long and won’t work for nap. And my dd would cry that long. She just would not give up at nap time.

So life kinda sucked since dd never napped at home. She would nap some at daycare but rarely with us...ever. So I wish you luck because it sucks not having a napper!

[Deleted]

Feb 16, 2018 10:55:30 GMT -5 arch01 said:

Feb 16, 2018 10:48:06 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

What does 2-3-4 mean? I've read most of the Weissbluth book, and we definitely noticed that he's right about her tending to be ready for a nap after about 2 hours awake.

2 hours after waking in the am=nap
3 hours after waking from first nap=nap
4 hours after waking from second nap=bed

It was really helpful for us because it helped us plan our days (I am a planner though STBXH isn’t as much). It also helped get DS to nap for almost 2 hours, sometimes 2.5 on a consistent basis.

Our mistake was watching for yawns. We were way too late at that point.

Thanks! I will give that a try.

I think we are going to try this next weekend. I told H he can leave the apartment if he needs to because he's weak. He did not appreciate that. IT'S TRUE, THOUGH.

[starburst]

We did CIO for night time sleep around 5-6 months and it worked great, so I thought I'd try it for naps around 7 months. DS would only nap if I wore him in a carrier, standing up. It was a total disaster. Just lots of crying and no napping, so I gave up after a few days. I tried again around 10 months and was much more successful. It took about 30 minutes before he fell asleep the first few naps, and it quickly got shorter and shorter.

[lessel]

If you can get the mini-bedtime routine to work early, it'll help. Definitely give it a try. We also use blackout curtains, white noise, etc.

DS napped on/with us until he was about a year and a half. Sometimes I still nap when he naps (esp since I'm pregnant), but it's much better to have him in his room so I can be in my own bed. Alone.

[starryfish]

Feb 16, 2018 12:01:36 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

Feb 16, 2018 10:55:30 GMT -5 arch01 said:

2 hours after waking in the am=nap
3 hours after waking from first nap=nap
4 hours after waking from second nap=bed

It was really helpful for us because it helped us plan our days (I am a planner though STBXH isn’t as much). It also helped get DS to nap for almost 2 hours, sometimes 2.5 on a consistent basis.

Our mistake was watching for yawns. We were way too late at that point.

Thanks! I will give that a try.

I think we are going to try this next weekend. I told H he can leave the apartment if he needs to because he's weak. He did not appreciate that. IT'S TRUE, THOUGH.

When we did CIO for night (around 7m) my DH was the weak one too. He got her on the first night after like 10 mins of crying. He Failed. I can tell you it took around 37 minutes for her to stop crying the first night. It was much less the second and third. We also had the added battle of it was the first time sleeping flat (she was sleeping inclined due to a medical condition prior to this point)

[loira]

We struggled with naps for a long time, and DD mostly napped on one of us until she was 9 months or so. We had to night sleep train first (we did CIO), and when she learned to self soothe it helped with naps. It also helped once she was on a more predictable nap schedule - maybe when she was down to 1 long nap and 1 short one - and I knew for sure she was tired enough to fall asleep even if she protested the nap.

[smock]

Another fan of the 2-3-4 nap schedule checking in. It worked like a dream for us from around 6 mo until ~14 mo when both girls dropped to one nap.

[arch01]

@angryharpy good luck! I was also the stronger parent, I wasn't giving in, damn it.

[mx27]

Feb 16, 2018 10:46:33 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

Feb 16, 2018 9:48:13 GMT -5 raangoli said:

Yes. And I recommend doing it now. Otherwise you will be like me and have a two year old that does this. Although I don't mind the nap myself on the weekend lately.

OK, good to know! I will mention it to H about this weekend. We may have to do it next weekend when I can send H away. I am going out with friends tomorrow afternoon, and H is a total wimp. (He was the one who had guilt about dropping her off at daycare while I was like, "Eh, she'll make friends!" I was right, OF COURSE.)

Our bedtime routine is bath, boob, book, bed. I will skip the bath part and try the last three.

Thanks!

love the alliteration! 

nap training is totally a thing.  do it sooner rather than later.  we waited until our son was 1.5 years old (we were wimps), so the CIO period was more painful, but definitely worth it! 

[isabel]

Feb 16, 2018 10:46:33 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

Feb 16, 2018 9:48:13 GMT -5 raangoli said:

Yes. And I recommend doing it now. Otherwise you will be like me and have a two year old that does this. Although I don't mind the nap myself on the weekend lately.

OK, good to know! I will mention it to H about this weekend. We may have to do it next weekend when I can send H away. I am going out with friends tomorrow afternoon, and H is a total wimp. (He was the one who had guilt about dropping her off at daycare while I was like, "Eh, she'll make friends!" I was right, OF COURSE.)

Our bedtime routine is bath, boob, book, bed. I will skip the bath part and try the last three.

Thanks!

My H sabotages this too. I finally convinced him to stop checking on DS2 when we were letting him CIO. It only made things worse.

I'd go cold turkey for both. If she has a consistent nap schedule (either by time or hours between sleeps), it should feel pretty comfortable to know that she's *ready* for a nap/sleep even if she's upset about it.

Stay strong!

[oswin]

I would definitely make sure that when you do CIO at night, you also stop letting her fall asleep on you for naps. You want to be consistent about how she falls asleep, and holding her for naptime might make bedtime more difficult. Doesn't mean you have to do exactly the same CIO techniques for naptime, but mimicking the routine can't hurt.

[gt7301b]

Feb 16, 2018 12:01:36 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

Feb 16, 2018 10:55:30 GMT -5 arch01 said:

2 hours after waking in the am=nap
3 hours after waking from first nap=nap
4 hours after waking from second nap=bed

It was really helpful for us because it helped us plan our days (I am a planner though STBXH isn’t as much). It also helped get DS to nap for almost 2 hours, sometimes 2.5 on a consistent basis.

Our mistake was watching for yawns. We were way too late at that point.

Thanks! I will give that a try.

I think we are going to try this next weekend. I told H he can leave the apartment if he needs to because he's weak. He did not appreciate that. IT'S TRUE, THOUGH.

My husband is fine with CIO but the grandparents are the worst. I swear the moment a grandparent walks in the house my kid knows that if he cried for 30 seconds one of them will come running. THEY SENSE WEAKNESS!!!!

[Deleted]

Feb 16, 2018 15:22:52 GMT -5 gt7301b said:

Feb 16, 2018 12:01:36 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

Thanks! I will give that a try.

I think we are going to try this next weekend. I told H he can leave the apartment if he needs to because he's weak. He did not appreciate that. IT'S TRUE, THOUGH.

My husband is fine with CIO but the grandparents are the worst. I swear the moment a grandparent walks in the house my kid knows that if he cried for 30 seconds one of them will come running. THEY SENSE WEAKNESS!!!!

Grandparents live far far away, so no we should have no issues in that department. We have purposely been looking for a weekend when nobody will be over because we have a relatively small apartment.

[macmars45]

Yes. Do your normal bedtime routine and then leave her in her crib and close the door. You can do CIO with checks if that won't piss your DD off more.

I did CIO for naps when DS was 5 months old. Life changing for me! He still only slept 45 minutes at a time sure (until 8/9 months stinker), but I didn't spend 10-15 minutes rocking him to sleep for all of said naps. It was a rough 3-5 days, but after that it was great. FWIW, we rocked DS to sleep for bedtime until 7.5 months when he started wanting to play instead of go to sleep. Then we did CIO.

Both times we did CIO with checks.

[Deleted]

Tonight was supposed to be night 1 of CIO. It was more like PIO. Kiddo played for about 20 minutes in her crib and has been zonked ever since.