Moms: Napping

aligator423uf

Emily doesn't have a specific time that she'll nap. She STTN for the most part, so I guess I shouldn't complain. But some days she'll only have like 2 45 min naps. I know that's not enough and she's overly tired. Today she was fussy all day, and after ever bottle she'd start to fall asleep but then something would wake her up.

So when did you start a nap routine, if ever? Like, put them down in a specific place and have a nap time? I tried putting her in her crib today for about a 1/2 hour. She didn't have a complete meltdown, but she didn't sleep and fake cried for a good part of it. Maybe I should keep doing it to start a routine with her though?

So tell me your experience with this and what you do/did.

KSMILEY 77

She sounds just like Margot! This child is a terrible napper unless she's on me or in the car. I go by her awake times and cues. Currently she's around 2-3 hours of awake time before needing a nap and they last 35-50 min in her crib and 1.5-2 hrs if she's on me or in the car. For her, it's shorter awake time in the morning and more in the evening. She goes down at similar times throughout the day, but I don't make it a set time and follow her lead. I also read the no cry sleep and nap solution books. They basically said to do whatever it takes to get them to nap in the day within reason because they'll sleep better at night. Margot needs to be nursed to sleep usually and then if we're home, I lay her in her crib. We do a nap routine beforehand - dim the lights, read a book, etc. I started crib napping her around 3.5 months. Before then, she always napped wherever - moby, on me, swing, carseat, etc. I'm not sure if that helped or hindered us.

amethyst1220

Carly still doesn't have a set nap schedule. Some days she takes a bunch of cat naps, some days she'll take 2 2-hr naps.

alyssa44

We only get at most 30 minute  naps.  It is something we have always struggled with.  Sorry I can't help.

justrachet

I kind of think that every time I tell someone about our schedule when Nate was a baby, I remember it differently. Hormones really erased my memory. But, as best as I remember right now:

Nate was on a semi-predictable eat/play/sleep routine from about 4 weeks (ish), though cluster feeding at 6 weeks threw everything off for a while. He slept a long time overnight (11 hours straight by 4 months), then naps would be 45 - 90 min, with longer awake times in the afternoons. 

I did whatever it took to get him to nap - if that meant holding him for an hour, so be it. He napped well in the bouncy chair, though, so usually that's where I would put him when he fell asleep for the first couple of months (at night we put him in the crib). We never did a naptime routine, just bedtime.

OSUWifey09

We didn't really have JJ on a nap schedule, either - but he was predictable. He typically napped after his morning bottle and afternoon bottle, and I also did whatever it took to put him down.

By the time he got to his first birthday, we started putting him down like the daycare does: from 12:30-3:00. We still do [even though naptime is slowly becoming a thing of the past now that he's close to 3]. Most times, it sticks...but on weekends, it gets thrown off and he just sleeps whenever.

doxgirl

I am not much help.  Will just got on a nap schedule.  He still naps twice a day for a total of 2-3 hours.