[OakShannon]

Actually, saying that "Daniel" hates to nap is like saying, "My cat really isn't terribly fond of her bath." He fights them tooth and nail, even when he's really tired - and he's only 5 months old!! I usually dance with him to get him to fall asleep (something I discovered by accident) or rock him or hope he nods off when he has a bottle. But often, just as his eyes start to drift closed, he'll suddenly pry them open and start kicking and crying to wake himself up. When he is tired, just being held in a cradling position or being walked into his bedroom (where the the rocking chair is) is enough to generate much wailing and gnashing of - well, not teeth obviously - but you get the idea.

I do think he needs less sleep than average. I base this upon the fact that he is a very alert, active, generally happy baby and he is growing and developing well despite the fact that he sleeps only around 11-12 hours a day. But there are days when he is completely whiny and irritable because he is so overtired (today being one) and I just can't get him down.

Anyone else with a pint-sized nap resister? What did you do??? I need some new ideas. My dad suggested his grandmother's remedy of a little brandy with lemon, but we've decided to hold off on that one.

[fisbaby]

I know it can be frustrating when you have a little one who fights sleeping. My little guy would go to bed very easily at night after a little whimpering but during the day ... watch out! I don't know if he was that way at daycare or not. Honestly, he hated being rocked etc, and anytime we walk into the room (day or night) and the lights are off etc, he knows what's coming and gets upset.

My remedy at day (and sometimes night) finally just became that he had to cry it out. I didn't enjoy it at all and still don't (he's about 8 1/2 months) but that was the only way he would stop fighting us and just lay down to sleep.

Good luck!

[Celesyee]

Devin turns 3mo old this Sunday...some days he only takes short 30min cat naps throughout the day and there's some days he naps for a solid 3hours and then those short cat naps.

Sunday he was awake from 7:30am-7:30pm, Monday from 4:45am-7:30pm, and Tuesday 8:30am-7:00pm. All he wants to do is play! Yesterday I tried to just put him in his crib for a nap and cry it out...he cried for 20+ min and to no avail. Today we were playing and his arms went limp and eyes closed for a solid nap. Go figure!

We try our best to parent on a schedule-give or take an hour-but once he's wide awake it's hard to get him to sleep and once he's asleep it's hard to wake him up. He even sleeps through his bath!

I'd love any suggestions, too!

[inhiswill]

This is just my own opinion ( please no flames):

Have you considered putting him on a schedule? I know it is terribly difficult to put a little one that young on one, but it may help. I did a modified version of the baby wise book with my all of my kids. Basically they have a bottle, then play for an hour to hour and a half, then nap. (bottle, play, nap repeated throughout the day). This schedule is because the milk can work through his system a little bit and that it will not be so fresh in his tummy as he lays down. It also helps to establish a routine for baby so that they begin to "know" what is coming throughout the day.

I am not a fan of crying it out, with babies though, especially adopted ones. Other than that maybe try some soothing music, the swing, patting him after you lay him down in the crib, or just laying down with him for the nap.

[Fran27]

I use the sleep/eat/play routine too... I put them down for a nap 1h30 after they start eating usually, and they sleep 1h30, sometimes more, so I end up feeding them every 3 to 4 hours.

Last week was horrible though, because I tried to let them take their nap without being swaddled. They just fussed and fussed, passed out, woke up 30 minutes later, fussed again... Lisa was so cranky all day, it was really bad. So Monday I just swaddled them for naps again and they're out in no time now... and have stopped waking up early.

I hate swaddling and would really love to get rid of it but I don't think it's going to happen quite soon! They're not quite 4 months yet though.

[OnTheJourney]

It is HARD! The sleeping 'questions'! And I will speak from my own experience - as soon as you find the answer to this one sleep issue, everything will change and you will be searching again! Just wait till they can sit up or stand up in their crib, and not know how to get back down!
Anyway, my little advice is to find a routine that works for you (something that you think will work as they reach new phases too if possible!) and Stick To It! You do not have to be 'scheduled' to have a consistant routine. As old sleep issues are solved and new ones arise, baby will transition easier IMHO if there is some consistancy.
Also, again JMO, I think naps are not an option, they are essential, for both Mom and Babe. Everyone is happier when they are rested and if Mom has a little "Mom Time' each day, oh the world is soo much better!

So here is our 'routine'. Daddy was the main developer here, and though I may not 'agree' with the entire thing, ie-the TV, it works and Daddy enjoys his role! We have done this since about 6 weeks I think!
-At the first sign of sleepiness; or a 'time' when he needs to be sleepy, we scoop him up for his 'wind down'. Cuddle on the couch to watch a show on TV (even in the same spot everytime, lol Oh Daddy!) with his blankie, stuffy, and a drink; was a bottle, is now small sippy of warm milk. (sleepy time is the only time he gets warm milk now, another consistency) This lasts from 5 to 15 minutes.
-Then up to his room, turn on 'white noise machine' and monitor, hugs and kisses, give him his soother, then lay him in his crib with his 'loveys'. Crank mobile (now that he is older, the crank is all that is left and is on his dresser!), lay him back down, say "lay down now, its time for nite nite". Then we make a QUICK exit!
He still does protest briefly, he always has, but he calls out or cries for about 15 seconds and then drifts off to sleep. Sometimes he will muck around up there for a while, but we just leave him unless it is obvious he needs us. And for nap, there is the odd day where he doesn't go to sleep, but as long as he is not screaming and crying, he stays in his bed for 1 hour to keep the consistency. My DS has always been a great sleeper since we started out routine and at 21 months still sleeps 12+ hours at night and about a 3 hour nap!

It is simple, but always the same.
Just what we do, sorry so long! HTH

ETA - we did the babywise sleep/eat/play and modified cry it out as well in the early months to 'teach' baby how to sleep. Love Babywise!

[OakShannon]

Thanks for the replies. It's nice to know my little guy isn't the only one! Celesyee - yup, "Daniel" does that too! He can stay up all day without a single nap happily playing. I think he just doesn't want to miss anything. I do try to keep him on a schedule. I try putting him down at roughly the same times every day. I'm just not getting a lot of buy in. Onthejourney - I like your suggestions. It's a great point. We have a definite routine for bedtime. We do at naptime, too - but once we get in a habit and he starts to recognize certain cues that indicate it's naptime, he starts to fight like mad. Maybe we just haven't found the right routine.

My concern with letting him cry it out at this point is that he came to us at 3 months and I worry that it will affect his ability to attach securely. Right now, I wear him around a lot, and I repond to his cries quickly. But I think that may be what we'll have to do eventually. At what age did you start that with your son, fisbaby? And how long does he cry before he finally falls asleep?

[fisbaby]

OakShannon-
You're in a little bit different situation as we brought our little man home from the hospital so I don't know how to say whether the crying it out stuff will hurt the secure attaching right now. We probably tried it around the 3month stage just a little but more so as he got older. He doesn't cry long at all and if he does we definitely go get him. At night it's sometimes like a minute or two and if he does it for a long time (which is probably really not that long!) I go in there to try to console him without picking him up. For us the Fischer Price Waterfall thing we have attached to the crib is a life saver. We also noticed quickly that after he stopped being swaddled he needed something to hold onto. He either sleeps with a stuffed animal or this afghan thing that is like the size of an oversized potholder with huge holes so we didn't have to worry about suffocation. Anyway, we lay him down and usually he'll calm down instantly when we give him the cuddle object and turn on the waterfall toy. He's usually asleep by the time it's over, usually that is!

During the day is a little different story, sometimes he will cry it out for a while there but there's really nothing else we can do. By that point he won't sit down and play, he won't let us hold him, nothing calms him unless we want to walk around in circles with him still not sleeping. I try to watch the clock and set a time that I say ok if he hasn't stopped in XX minutes then I'm going in there. He's persistent, if he's really mad it could be 20 minutes but usually it's not that long at all and I don't ever let it go past that .. usually not even that long, more like 10 minutes unless I just know he absolutely needs to sleep and I've tried everything.

[inhiswill]

What a great routine on the journey. And I totally agree with you that you do not have to be "scheduled" to have some consistency for baby. For example: "Oh now it is 7:30, baby should have had bottle at 6:45!" We start our eat play sleep when baby wakes up, never by the clock.

OakShannon- we just "got" DD 3 weeks ago and she was also 3 months (tpr is not even up yet, we have 7 more days to go). It is a whole 'nother ball game with a situation like ours. We also do lots of baby wearing as well.

Fran- we swaddles DS until 6 mos! I can just picture your little one wiggling around in their swaddles. You sound like a great mom to the twins!

[binkybear]

I watch my niece 4 days a week, she's been a nap hater since day one (not kidding). Swaddling didn't work for her, she flipped out at not having her hands available. This kiddo (now 14 months) sleeps with her hand behind her head...like she's just chillin' out or something. It's pretty cute actually.

What did work for her and still does is white noise. She needs a sounds of the ocean machine, cd, or an air purifier to get her to nap easily. If you're familiar with The Happiest Baby video they talk about the shushing & white noise used along with swaddling...for her only the "noise" worked. Each of us is different, so it's probably just figuring out what works for your little guy

Crying it out usually starts around 4-6 months but with Daniel being with you for 2 months now you may want to adjust that age guideline to fit your time together. Like maybe trying it at 8+ months. I nannied for a little guy who's parents started trying this method at the same age (8m) and he was fine with it. I'm not a personal fan of this method, but it does work for many parents.
Good luck, I can relate!!

[Fran27]

The white noise thing is a good idea too. I just keep forgetting about it, but we have an air purifier running 24/7 in the bedroom (where the babies sleep... for now) so maybe it helps, but I couldn't say. It's not that loud.

I definitely agree about the happiest baby on the block... usually for us we just have to swaddle and give a pacifier and it calms them down... I've never really had to do the all nine yards thankfully (although I had to swaddle them in the bouncer a couple times, but not anymore as you can't strap them in that way).

Lisa still has a nap a day in her swing though. I just put her there so she stays upright for her reflux and she falls asleep (usually after the 1pm feeding). It doesn't really bother me as she still sleeps well in her crib.

About cry it out, well, I've done it but with twins you just don't have the choice sometimes, but usually it's when one is hungry and I'm feeding the other, so I know it won't last. Sometimes though, if you know they're crying because they're tired, I've found that there just isn't much you can do except wait until they are too tired to cry. I've only had to do it once so far though thankfully (and I was feeding the other one at the time anyway). Usually when they fuss I just redo their swaddle (they're little houdinis) and put the pacifier back in though.

[Cjmeck]

I highly recommend the books "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Ferber and "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Weissbluth. Both have different approaches to help a child learn to fall asleep without assistance; which it sounds like is what you're looking for. Basically, once your child gets overtired, then it becomes even harder for them to settle down into a deep sleep. We had this problem too where my daughter hated going to sleep. She fought it all day long. Then, at 4 months, I decided she needed more sleep than she was getting. So, I did let her cry in 1-3-7 minute intervals initially. And it only took a few days and then she started going to sleep happily. I'm not saying its that easy, or that its even right for every baby at that early age. But both of my kids are very active, energetic, non-stop kids and they actually need more sleep than average.
I don't dare say I've got things figured out; my daughter is nearly 5.5 months now and things could change in an instant. But, we are in a better place than we were 6 weeks ago sleep-wise. Goodluck!

[Cjmeck]

Originally Posted by Celesyee

Devin turns 3mo old this Sunday...some days he only takes short 30min cat naps throughout the day and there's some days he naps for a solid 3hours and then those short cat naps.

Sunday he was awake from 7:30am-7:30pm, Monday from 4:45am-7:30pm, and Tuesday 8:30am-7:00pm. All he wants to do is play! Yesterday I tried to just put him in his crib for a nap and cry it out...he cried for 20+ min and to no avail. Today we were playing and his arms went limp and eyes closed for a solid nap. Go figure!

We try our best to parent on a schedule-give or take an hour-but once he's wide awake it's hard to get him to sleep and once he's asleep it's hard to wake him up. He even sleeps through his bath!

I'd love any suggestions, too!

You are in a very hard age! Hang in there! Read my book recommendations to the OP. My daughter was doing the same thing as your son at that age! OMG, I was exhausted. But around 4 months I started noticing a bit of a pattern to her eating and sleeping. So, I went with it, did a few nights of CIO (the first 3 nights were bad) and we're in a good place finally--I think!! Best wishes.

[Celesyee]

Thanks for the suggestions and to OP for starting this thread. We do have a schedule +/- an hour, but it was almost as if he had a surge of energy these past few days. Today he's EXHAUSTED!!! I guess all those days of missing naps caught up to him.

cjmeck--We have that book! We don't have a problem at night.

inhiswill--I, too, am not a fan of CIO. But these past few days he'd fall asleep on us, so we'd put him down and he'd wake up. I think a big part of it is that during the day we have all the windows open for fresh air and he HATES the breeze even when it is 90F plus 50% humidity. Thankfully we'll be moving soon to a house with AC.

Fran--I almost wished we can swaddle because he tends to sleep longer, but it's too darn hot...even at night. And he also refuses the pacifier!

[Stormster]

Your DS sounds exactly like mine! I think I posted something very similar way back when. Over time I realized that as a first time mother, doing everything on demand and not scheduled....I was thinking he never got tired! But guess what, he was tired. I just needed to show him a napping schedule.

You might want to schedule naps in a way that won't make him freak out. Like we would just put E in the crib sitting up with a bottle (I know, I know) and some toys he loves and if he didn't sleep he didn't sleep but little by little he actually did respond and start napping!

Now I miss the days we could stay out all day. He really needs his naps now! He's probably exhausted from 8 months of no napping! Good luck!