Anyone else's baby always been a crappy napper ?

[mummytobe_93]

My son is 3.5 months and honestly since he was born he's been such a bad napper. He won't nap for more than 10 mins at a time unless he's in the car. He's an over tired mess a lot of the time. He will fall asleep but staying asleep seems to be hard for him. He sleeps pretty well at night so can't complain. But he I so different to my daughter, she slept great in the day but awful at night! X

 

[CaptainMummy]

All three of mine were terrible catnappers until 8-9 months. It is totally normal for lots of babies (although very frustrating!)

 

[jodilee6]

I have a catnapper tho he only sleeps 40-45 minutes all day and night unless being held

I'm utterly exhausted and hoping that he grows out of it soon, heck I'd be happy with a 2-3 hour stint at night!

 

[Bebedeux]

Two terrible nappers here 😩

 

[MindUtopia]

Our approach to this was to get her to nap however we needed to because daytime sleep is so important and it made a big difference in how we coped with sleep during the night. So whatever worked, we did it. She would happily sleep in a wrap or in the car or in the pushchair on a walk, so that's what we did. Also, I hated the idea of being stuck at home for every nap (I don't know how people ever leave the house when they do this?). So we planned car journeys around naptime (we live 30 minutes from anywhere) or I'd take a walk with her, which was great for my mental health, or I wore her in a wrap. And it worked great. She slept well during the day. She would go to sleep relatively easily at night and she slept mostly well between feeds at night, which meant I got sleep too. She eventually would nap on a mat at nursery when she started and ironically, she'll pass out asleep anywhere now if she's tired during the day (but only since she dropped all her naps entirely, which means then it does screw up nighttime sleep). So it ended up being easier in the end. I think find whatever works and don't get hung up your LO needing to sleep alone in a cot during the day. Most babies don't do that and if it's not working, try something that will make it easier for you.

 

[mummytobe_93]

Our approach to this was to get her to nap however we needed to because daytime sleep is so important and it made a big difference in how we coped with sleep during the night. So whatever worked, we did it. She would happily sleep in a wrap or in the car or in the pushchair on a walk, so that's what we did. Also, I hated the idea of being stuck at home for every nap (I don't know how people ever leave the house when they do this?). So we planned car journeys around naptime (we live 30 minutes from anywhere) or I'd take a walk with her, which was great for my mental health, or I wore her in a wrap. And it worked great. She slept well during the day. She would go to sleep relatively easily at night and she slept mostly well between feeds at night, which meant I got sleep too. She eventually would nap on a mat at nursery when she started and ironically, she'll pass out asleep anywhere now if she's tired during the day (but only since she dropped all her naps entirely, which means then it does screw up nighttime sleep). So it ended up being easier in the end. I think find whatever works and don't get hung up your LO needing to sleep alone in a cot during the day. Most babies don't do that and if it's not working, try something that will make it easier for you.

Thank you for the advice! I've never put him in a cots for naps I normally just try and rock him or feed him to sleep which does work but he always wakes up soon afterwards which is a pain. The only thing that works is the car but I can't be out in the car every few hours! Ah well just hoping he grows out of it and becomes a better napper for his sake and for mine! Xx

 

[pachamama92]

I'm having this problem at the moment. My lo is 9 weeks and very "nervy"... Read wants to be awake all the time. Bless him he tries to sleep but just very light sleeper. Earlier on he woke up because the air freshener sprayed and he got a fright. Seriously, it is so tiring. He is ok at night but I keep trying to feed him to sleep like I did with his brother but he actually prefers to go to sleep on his own but propped up. He will then drift off with me next to him, although takes a while!

 

[misspriss]

Catnap queen here. Such a great night sleeper, wakes 0-1 times per night since birth... But around 2 months went from 2 hr naps to 20 min naps. Trying to get her to stay asleep or get longer naps with a 2.5 yr old is such a struggle. Good luck!

 

[Taurus8484]

All three of mine were terrible catnappers until 8-9 months. It is totally normal for lots of babies (although very frustrating!)

Yep same with both my boys....suddenly changed at around 8 months to 2 x 1.5 hour sleeps

 

[k4th]

We have a routine going so I know roughly when ds needs to sleep during the day. It makes it so much easier for him to drop off if he's not overtired.

Just like mindutopia though - I know he needs the sleep so I don't care much where he does it. He is happy napping on someone, in a buggy & now he's just beginning to nap longer in the cot if I've had to put him there (like after school. I can't really justify long walks when dd is exhausted from just starting school). We have a snooze shade for the buggy so once he's dropped off in there, the dark helps him nap longer if we've stopped for lunch or something

I did the same with dd & she will sleep anywhere & through anything now she's 4. Although maybe there's something genetic because I can too - I once slept a whole 12 hour flight home from Mexico!!

All babies are so different!

 

[Calitwins]

Our twins have gone through phases where they're terrible nappers. The things that help us are the Mamaroo (swing), SwaddleMe's and music. We have a musical mobile that also helps them to stay asleep. In case it's helpful, you can see some of our favorite sleepy-time products that have worked for us. Good luck, mama! https://www.theydontfeedthemselves.com/newborn-twin-baby-product-must-haves/

 

[timeforababy]

Terrible napper too. Used to nap 20 minutes at a time but can now nap 30-40 minutes. Once he napped 1.5 hours and I felt lost!

He has improved with age so I'm hoping when I go back to work at 6 months he can nap for about 1hour 3 times a day at nursery.
He will be put in his cot if we are home. Otherwise in my arms, wrap, buggy. Anywhere really.

 

[misspriss]

Terrible napper too. Used to nap 20 minutes at a time but can now nap 30-40 minutes. Once he napped 1.5 hours and I felt lost!

He has improved with age so I'm hoping when I go back to work at 6 months he can nap for about 1hour 3 times a day at nursery.
He will be put in his cot if we are home. Otherwise in my arms, wrap, buggy. Anywhere really.

Mine DD has taken the occasional 1.5-2 hour nap, usually when DS is not at home! I am sooo productive during that time.

 

[jodilee6]

There is hope for us all, my crappy napper slept 1:30-4pm today, that's 2.5 hours!!!

In that time I've hung some photos, dismantled a dining table and assembled a new one!