Daytime naps

[MummyKP]

My LO is 5 1/2 months old now and has always been a short napper. She used to only go to sleep during the day in her bouncer, on me/her dad, or if out and about in the car/pram, but she's now very good at taking herself off in her cot. Our only issue now is she will only sleep for 20 minutes. She used to have around 2 30 minute naps and a longer nap in the afternoon (when she would sleep on me) but now she goes in her cot I can't seem to get her to have longer than 20 minutes. Any advice on what we can try? I leave her in there once she wakes up and she happily lies in there chatting to herself but after 10 minutes she gets fed up and starts crying. I've tried keeping her awake for longer periods but she still wakes after 20 minutes. Will she start sleeping for longer in the day as she gets older maybe? It's taken til now to get her to nap in there as she's cried every time I've tried until the past week. Thanks in advance!

 

[hlynne]

I had this same problem. It was a phase for my now 9 month old. Although I do only get between 40-90 minutes now with 2 naps. It's annoying but he sleeps 11-12 hours straight at night so I'm ok with it. When he has done a lot before a nap he does sleep longer. That is when he goes to play group or infant swim lessons. I hear from other Mom's that some kids are always going to be poor nappers. At least until they get to one nap a day. Then its usually longer.

 

[noon_child]

If you know it tends to happen on the dot of 20minutes, you could try going in to the room at about 15minutes and watching like a hawk for signs of waking (noises movements). As LO starts to show these signs, try whatever usually soothes her (shhhhhing, music, rocking her- which is more of a slight wobbling rolling if she is in a cot- patting her) and she if she'll settle in to a new sleep cycle. Obviously too much of this comforting can wake baby up, so it is trial and error of when exactly to do it and how much. This technique helped my LO to transition without me after a week or so, however she was 11months old at the time as I had worn her in a sling for naps since she was 4months old till she was 11months as this was the only way to get ANY sleep at all from her!! My opinion was that naps wouldn't last forever so I just had to do whatever I could to make sure she did sleep in the day. She was such a sleep fighter and being overtired from the day made her night time sleep crap too, so I just went to survival mode - if it works, do it!

 

[zorak]

I second trying to catch the transition. It was only from when my baby was about 7 months that he started having long naps in his crib. Before then it was his stroller, bouncer or being held.

I made a point of putting him in his crib and actively helping him back to sleep when he woke too soon. He's ten months now and has a two hour nap most afternoons.

 

[LaraineSmith]

Mine too, at least twice for two hours a day.

 

[ruby83]

Have you tried using white noise? I found that helped with DS1.

DS1 was a catnapper up to about 6 months then naturally grew out of it and would have 2 long sleeps and one catnap in late arvo.