Help me!
I need some ideas. I have given birth to the most beautiful baby boy. He is the sweetest baby. Seriously. The boy laughs when he has his diaper changed.
However, he hates to nap.
I have never been able to get Gene to consistently take naps. I watch for his tired signs. I nurse him and rock him to sleep. When I lay him down, though, he wakes up after 5 minutes. He's not wet. He's not hungry. He's not gassy.
I am getting stressed about this no nap situation.
This afternoon I managed to get him to nap for 30 minutes in his swing. Since he didn't nap enough today, he was really fussy this evening.
And by fussy I mean screaming.
It wasn't fun.
I need some suggestions. How do I get my baby to take naps? So far the only thing that works is laying down with him, which I do for his afternoon nap. I don't want to lay down with him for every single nap, though.
What worked for you? It's winter and I can't drive around with him all day just so he'll nap.
Sincerely,
A Frazzled Mama
My first baby was a horrible napper, absolutely horrible. We had a vibrating bouncy seat that I would bounce until she feel asleep and she would nap there for 45 minutes while it was still on vibrate. I had to get over that she wasn't napping in her crib, cuz sometimes that just doesn't work out! She also slept in her swing on occasion. Once she got a little older, napping was easier...then around age 2, she quit taking naps altogether. The vibrating bouncy seat absolutely saved my sanity!!! Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteIf she's fighting the nap, I use a swaddle (we still swaddle for nighttime sleep). Also, we use white noise ALL THE TIME. It's like the new soundtrack for our house. We started out with a white noise album from iTunes, but now mostly use white noise apps on our phones. The album was great, the apps we had to find the good sounds to use. Some are weird/too quiet.
ReplyDeleteI was going to suggest what Chrissy says - white noise machine, or a fan, or whatever. I'm not a mommy but it saved my nanny sanity. That and letting her figure out that I wasn't going to come in and play with her. I sat outside her door for a couple of weeks until she got the napping thing down pat.
ReplyDeletehe is small enough to still be swaddled, I would think. Go ahead and let him nap in a bouncy seat or swing for now, and as soon as he rests, you rest, too. newborns are notoriously picky, but eventually, they get into a rhythm. we use white noise of a 'womb sounds bear' and a cd player of lullabyes or kids songs on repeat all night long. We have a mobile over the crib that we can turn on by remote to catch her attention. And we've noticed lately (she's almost 5 months old), that if she's REALLY tired, if you just leave her alone for a while, she will eventually fall asleep. fussing is one thing. throwing a royal fit is another. it's hard as a new mom to 'get it' but eventually you will.
ReplyDeleteOMG! You just described my now 11 mo. old to a T! The only thing that ever worked for us was to swaddle him super tight. The Swaddle Me's didn't work but we used the swaddle blankets from the hospital. Pull super super tight - he slept for 6 hours the first night we did this!
ReplyDeleteEach time we swaddle G, he manages to bust out. He's a little peanut, but he still manages to get out of a tight swaddle.
DeleteI wish I could be of some help, but the only baby I have has fur.
ReplyDeleteWe are in sleep hell right now. My 9 month old sleeps but my 3 year old decided sleep is for the birds. It is painful! I am your new follower:) I blog at www.the-mommyhood-chronicles.com if you are interested. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteCH, how old is your little one? From that sweet picture on your most recent post I'd guess 2 mos (maybe 3?).
ReplyDeleteOne of the best pieces of advice my wonderful pediatrician has ever given me was that babies have to learn to put themselves to sleep and it was up to me to allow him to teach himself to do that. What an aha moment for me! I totally didn't realize he had to learn it.
My first baby was extremely colicky and he detested a nap. The amount of crying was unbelievable. Around 4 months, I finally let him learn to put himself back to sleep. From that point on, he was an easier baby. And now at 6 1/2, he sleeps like the dead! :)
I hope you find a solution for you. Sleep issues (along with feeding issues) are so hard to figure out how to handle. Hugs, Mama!
-Lauren