Need Nap Advice

#1 (**permalink**) 12-09-2005, 03:48 PM

Hello! I am new to this board and am also desparate for some nap advice!
I am sleep trianing my son and following Weissbluth's advice about naps, but I am very upset about how they are going. My son is 13 months old and he is using the CIO technique to go to sleep at night and that is working although he is still crying for at leat 10 minutes. Anyway, for naps he always cries the full hour and when I pick him up he is so exhausted that I take him into my room and he sleeps on me for an hour and a half. The hour long crying is really difficult for me to take and I don't know if me putting him to sleep on my chest is creating bad habits. I would love to hear some advice on this issue. Also, how long is it taking for babies to stop crying at night? We have been doing this for 6 nights now and it seemed to be decreasing but last night he cried for a good half an hour before falling asleep.

Thank you!

amallicoat · #2 (**permalink**) 12-14-2005, 01:24 PM

Either tonight or romorrow night should be better. At least that's the way it happened with us. I think they are kind of testing us to see if a longer crying session will work. Once they figure out that it won't, he should decrease the crying again.

I am not familiar with Weissbluth's advice, but I do know at naptime with my second child we had to go longer than an hour. I would peek to make sure that you ds is ok and then let it go longer. By picking him up and letting him go to sleep on your chest you are just rewarding the longevity of his crying spree. I know it is awful when you are the one listening to your baby cry, but knowing that once you are through this stage and naps go smoothly is totally worth it.

Noah'sMommy · #3 (**permalink**) 12-20-2005, 06:11 AM

I agree with Mandy. As log as he is getting what he wants at the end he will keep up the crying. The advice I got on this board was to let Noah stay in his crib until he slept and even if he only slept 20 mins. I could get him after that b/c he did his job of sleeping. It took us a while, but now Noah is a MUCH better napper - not great, but much better! By the way - he also loved to sleep on me and I knew we had to break that habit

Good luck!

#4 (**permalink**) 12-20-2005, 01:14 PM

Thanks for the advice! He is sleeping a bit better now at naps, but my new nap problem is that he sleeps about 10 minutes and then he wakes up crying again and this is repeated for over an hour until I just pick him up. Should you let them cry until they take a good nap? He never can sleep for more than half an hour! He is now getting a lot of sleep at night - about 12 hours. Could this be one of the reasons that naps are so difficult for him?

What a cute little elf you have!

Thanks again!
Deanna and Davin

Noah'sMommy · #5 (**permalink**) 12-20-2005, 01:24 PM

Noah used to nap for 30 mins. exactly - no matter what!! It was suggested to me that I leave him in there for the remainder of the time I wanted him to nap - so if I wanted him to nap for one hour then he stayed in the crib for 30 more mins. after he woke up. He did eventually start sleeping longer in the am nap - the afternoon we are still working on... it is still hit or miss. Another option is to go in as soon as he wakes and then soothe him back to sleep... that is up to you. Noah would have been more likely to get fully awaken if I went in the room. Have fun - napping is so hard to get down!

amallicoat · #6 (**permalink**) 12-21-2005, 11:20 AM

I agree with Sara on setting the amount of time for nap. My 2 older kids still nap from 2-4/5 in the afternoon. They can wake up before 4 but can not come out of their room. I also make sure they are awake by 5 so they go to bed at night. Eli is still working on it. He generally sleeps at least an hour in the morning and 2 hrs in the afternoon. If he wakes up earlier he will usually nurse and go back to sleep. I put toys and a book in their beds and they learn that they can play but it is still rest time.

#7 (**permalink**) 12-23-2005, 11:33 AM

Now my son is not only having problems with naps, but he is waking repeatedly during the night. Last night he woke up 5 times and cried for about a half an hour. I am now getting really worried about this CIO method because he seems to be reverting back to his old sleep habits. He hasn't had a good night sleep now for four nights and he is refusing to nap for more than 20 minutes. Any good advice on this one? I wish I knew if this was normal or what other things might work to get him to sleep through the night. He was doing so well last week and the week before and now this is really starting to scare me. I know he isn't sick and he doesn't seem to be teething. The only new thing going on in his life is that he is now starting to walk on his own and it makes me wonder if he is so excited about exploring and walking that he doesn't want to sleep. Could that be a possibility? Thanks for any advice on this topic.
Deanna and Davin

#8 (**permalink**) 12-23-2005, 11:40 AM

I agree about the nap times and I have started to do this but he continues to cry a lot and it seems like all the energy he is spending on crying is making him more tired even when he gets 20 minutes of sleep. I am just hoping that consistency will work. Thanks for the advice

Deanna and Davin