im sick of the nap battle :(

[leahtaba]

It ruins every day. I try everything to get her to nap. EVERYTHING. but she screams the entire time. So i give up. I leave her too it. Then she get over tired and screams anyway. I cant win. I dread visitors because she screams the whole time. Every time. The only way i can get her to nap is to go out in her push chair but its cold and i have no were to go. Im sick of aimlessly walking around outside three times a day. Im sick of having an over tired screaming baby. Im sick of having to nod along to advice iv already tried. Im sick of doing this all by myself. DhdjdiHDHDIDHDBDJXJXUDOSJSHSUD

Sorry ladies, my little rant for the day while she lies in my lap fussing and rubbing her eyes...

 

[Indi84]

*hugs* what have you tried so far?
Maybe someone here will have some help for you.
I struggle with naps, well lo does, and when I find something that works, a week later it changes and I need something new to do!
Last two days, a bottle, quietly holding him on my shoulder while rocking, then putting him down drowsy, then after a mini moan he goes off. Next week I'll be back to screaming I'm sure!

 

[Noelle610]

How long is she awake before you put her down?

 

[BUGaBOO]

Just want to empathise and say I'm going through the same thing. It takes us on average 1-3 hours to get Isla to sleep. Her eyes can be red raw and she will just scream and scream and fight it. Then went she eventually wears herself out, she will doze off then wake up again 10 mins later! Then its time to feed her again and the cycle begins again. It's so so exhausting.

 

[leahtaba]

Shes currently asleep after bei g awake forna record six hours! That was tough! Yes it changes every week how to get her to settle but currently nothing is working she has a bit of a cold and i think thats making it worse.

Ive tried putting her down after an hour, hour and a half, two hours. She is just so nosey and constantly wants interaction. Usually a muslin over her eyes whilstni rock her and pat her bum works but not today!

If only these babies had an off switch! X

 

[Indi84]

Ha I think I'd press the off switch to much and have a lot more sleep!

 

[Noelle610]

Shes currently asleep after bei g awake forna record six hours! That was tough! Yes it changes every week how to get her to settle but currently nothing is working she has a bit of a cold and i think thats making it worse.

Ive tried putting her down after an hour, hour and a half, two hours. She is just so nosey and constantly wants interaction. Usually a muslin over her eyes whilstni rock her and pat her bum works but not today!

If only these babies had an off switch! X

Okay, so you know she's not overtired since you have tried different wake times.

Where are you putting her down? Do you have a nap routine? How old is she?

I'm determined to figure this out for you My LO used to be really hard to put down for naps too. Sometimes it's really just a phase, but sometimes little changes can make a big difference.

 

[MrsButterfly]

Hugs hun. It's so tough during phases like this. I've just come out the other side from one. Couple of weeks ago I was in tears most days as I was shattered and felt like I couldn't cope. Now appears my lo was struggling with teeth as its been like someone clicked a switch after two teeth popped up!

Make sure you get some time for you would be my main advice. Have you got anyone who could take lo for a while to give you a break? I always have far more patience again after a break!

 

[superfrizbee]

DD was exactly the same. Something would work for a day or two and 'd.tbink I'd cracked it but then that would stop working. She naps better now (mostly - not this week as there's a tooth RIGHT THERE). I got to the point where I would take her into her dark bedroom, put on her lullabies and just hold her laying down in my arms until she eventually fell asleep. yes she would.cry, but I was right there holding her. I didnt pace around or rock her because my back and arms couldnt take it anymore, but the lullabies helped keep me sane and give me some perspective of time (they last 20 mins). I just kept this up consistently and eventually it would take less time and less.tears. As I've said it's gone a bit tits up this week and she's fighting again but hopefully that's judt teething! Good luck! I know how soul.destroying it can be!

 

[x Helen x]

I'm having a nightmare with sleep and nap times too

I have no problem getting her to sleep if I feed her, rock her or let her suck on my finger, but then not long after I put her down she will wake up and start crying her eyes out. I read something somewhere that said that babies need to fall asleep in the exact same environment that they wake up in, in order for them not to wake up crying as they transition through sleep cycles. So for example, if they need a dummy or to be rocked to fall asleep and then they wake up and it's no longer there, they will cry to have it back.

I am currently having to sit next to her cot with my hand on her chest and "ssshhhhh" ing her while she bawls her eyes out until she finally falls asleep. I'm finding it so traumatic and all I want to do is pick her up and comfort her, but I've tried everything else and this really is the only way that I can get her to stay asleep longer than 5 minutes.

 

[Pielette]

Maybe you could try keeping a diary, record her awake times and try putting her down at different points with different techniques, and you could see if there are any patterns and anything she responds to better than others?

Also I found my LO needed me to put him down, no rocking or cuddling. If I did that he'd end up chronically overtired and quite frankly peed off! What worked best for him was to sit beside him with a hand on his chest. And the pretty soon after to just be put in his cot with a kiss.

 

[LilyValley]

Nap times can be a nightmare for us too, like the pp I think that I've cracked it one day but the something changes and it's back to square one! One thing that does work for me once he's screaming from overtiredness is to eliminate all sources of stimulation - go into a darkened room, stop all rocking and take away all noise. All I do is wrap him in a blanket, give him a dummy and shhh him whilst patting his bum very slowly. Eventually he'll calm down and go to sleep, but once he's calm he prefers that I put him down and then he'll sleep for longer. It's like he wants me to leave him alone!