Nap Help

[MrsMB]

DD is sleeping decent at night but naps are essentially nonexistent.

What are your tools sources to help with naps? When she eats well I'll try to rock her and lay her down. She notices I'm not there maybe 5-10 minutes later and cries.

I KNOW she needs more sleep...

[luv2rn4fun]

The only thing that worked at that age was the baby carrier. Will she sleep in that? Not helpful since you don't get a break but at least she's sleeping. Some babies do well in a swing too..

Naps were bad until I ST and even then they weren't great (for C's standard) until 7 months when he dropped to two naps.

[MrsMB]

Feb 12, 2016 16:05:08 GMT -5 luv2rn4fun said:

The only thing that worked at that age was the baby carrier. Will she sleep in that? Not helpful since you don't get a break but at least she's sleeping. Some babies do well in a swing too..

Naps were bad until I ST and even then they weren't great (for C's standard) until 7 months when he dropped to two naps.

She will sleep in the carrier....but not swing it RNP...

You're right...at least she sleeps in that.

[soozy87]

At this point we didn't care where they slept as long as they did. But I say this as my 4.5 month old unhappily "sleeps" in his crib for the second time ever.

[luv2rn4fun]

Feb 12, 2016 16:06:21 GMT -5 MrsMB said:

Feb 12, 2016 16:05:08 GMT -5 luv2rn4fun said:

The only thing that worked at that age was the baby carrier. Will she sleep in that? Not helpful since you don't get a break but at least she's sleeping. Some babies do well in a swing too..

Naps were bad until I ST and even then they weren't great (for C's standard) until 7 months when he dropped to two naps.

She will sleep in the carrier....but not swing it RNP...

You're right...at least she sleeps in that.

What about the car?  Rocking chair/glider?

Right now is all about survival...she needs to sleep.  Whatever gets her to sleep and is least exhausting for you is the way to go.  Ideally she would sleep anywhere but a lot of times time is your friend...she'll get there- it's all a phase (this is a hard phase but just keep reminding yourself it will get better).  ((Hugs))

[Deleted]

Swaddling was the only thing that worked for us. Plus motion.

[MrsMB]

She sleeps ok if I hold her....trying to find a way to lay her down since she sleeps better that way.

luv2rn4fun we swaddle her for night sleep. Would that be an option for naps?

[luv2rn4fun]

Feb 12, 2016 16:56:17 GMT -5 @notquiteblushing said:

Swaddling was the only thing that worked for us. Plus motion.

MrsMB- at 3 months I was determined to limit the baby carrier naps and work towards napping in the RNP in his nursery.  I had to swaddle, white noise, paci, and bounce on an exercise ball.  Sometimes it took forever for a 30 min nap but definitely swaddle and lots of motion were tricks that helped. C was swaddled til 5-6 months.

[luv2rn4fun]

Feb 12, 2016 16:57:39 GMT -5 MrsMB said:

She sleeps ok if I hold her....trying to find a way to lay her down since she sleeps better that way.

luv2rn4fun we swaddle her for night sleep. Would that be an option for naps?

Definitely worth a try...it was the only way to get C asleep and keep him asleep for any length of time.  Good luck!

[boiler717]

I second the swaddle and T needs a sound machine for naps too. Wearing works too but can be exhausting.
I do the same thing for daytime as night time -- swaddle, dark room, sound machine. Sometimes he only lasts a short time, then I put a paci back in a keep my hand on his chest and he will settle back down. Other times I have to lay next to him (he seems to be better than that vs holding him).
I feel you on no swing/RnP napping. It sucks, they seem magical for so many! The only thing he's napped in besides his bassinet is the Boppy lounger. That thing is a lifesaver!

[hopecounts]

Also make sure she isn't getting overtired watch and put her down as soon as she even remotely seems sleepy and look for typical wake times for her age and don't exceed that before starting to do nap time.

[MrsMB]

Feb 12, 2016 17:06:54 GMT -5 hopecounts said:

Also make sure she isn't getting overtired watch and put her down as soon as she even remotely seems sleepy and look for typical wake times for her age and don't exceed that before starting to do nap time.

What do you mean by typical wake times?

[hopecounts]

Feb 12, 2016 17:07:47 GMT -5 MrsMB said:

Feb 12, 2016 17:06:54 GMT -5 hopecounts said:

Also make sure she isn't getting overtired watch and put her down as soon as she even remotely seems sleepy and look for typical wake times for her age and don't exceed that before starting to do nap time.

What do you mean by typical wake times?

how long they are awake at a stretch at each age.
For example for a newborn it's 1-1.5 hrs (1 hr was usually right for DD but this gives you an idea)
here's a link to an Australian PDF on it. 
www.ngala.com.au/files/files/118_Ngala_Sleep_A4_2012b.pdf

[MrsMB]

Feb 12, 2016 17:14:35 GMT -5 hopecounts said:

Feb 12, 2016 17:07:47 GMT -5 MrsMB said:

What do you mean by typical wake times?

how long they are awake at a stretch at each age.
For example for a newborn it's 1-1.5 hrs (1 hr was usually right for DD but this gives you an idea)
here's a link to an Australian PDF on it. 
www.ngala.com.au/files/files/118_Ngala_Sleep_A4_2012b.pdf

Thanks!!

[dcn]

Swaddle, white noise, paci, rnp or swing. Ditto making sure she isn't awake too long. If she is yawning and showing other tired signs you may be too late, you want to get her asleep before that.

When all else fails I go for a drive or put him in a carrier. Or hold him.

[MrsMB]

@pennypie lots of great info! Thank you!!

Thank you ALL for the tidbits!!!

[wanderingenough]

Does she sleep in the car seat? At her age I would sometimes take R for a drive in the morning (Starbucks drive thru or something) and he would fall asleep in his car seat. I know you aren't supposed to let them sleep in there a ton, but I'd just prop the car seat next to me when we got home to I could watch him. I'd usually get a good long morning stretch out of him that way. Also, I didn't think the swing worked for putting him to sleep until we realized it literally had to be on full blast.

Ditto others on attempting before she gets too tired. That's when R would melt down. Even at almost four months he does better with some kind of nap every two hours.