CIO for naps?

I am not ready to CIO yet because I think they are too young, and they don't need it at night anyway--they are sleeping like champs usually about 9-10 hours. But naps have really become inconsistent. They nap 1-4 times per day depending on the day, and of course being twins one will nap and the other not. I don't really expect them to have a consistent schedule now, but later on hope they will. When can I "make" them nap, in other words when I put them down they stay down, or atleast try to CIO? BTW we are on a loose 3 hour schedule during the day.

 

I am not ready to CIO yet because I think they are too young, and they don't need it at night anyway--they are sleeping like champs usually about 9-10 hours. But naps have really become inconsistent. They nap 1-4 times per day depending on the day, and of course being twins one will nap and the other not. I don't really expect them to have a consistent schedule now, but later on hope they will. When can I "make" them nap, in other words when I put them down they stay down, or atleast try to CIO? BTW we are on a loose 3 hour schedule during the day.

 

I didn't do much with naps until the girls were close to 6 months old. Up to that point they were napping whenever and wherever they felt like it, which meant usually on me or my dh or in a swing. At 6 months I decided to get them napping more consistently and in their cribs. I used a book called "Good Night, Sleep Tight" and it worked wonders. Within a week or two they were both napping three times per day in their cribs for at least an hour, usually an hour and a half to two hours. I highly recommend this book!

 

We did CIO for naps around 6 months since that is when we stopped swaddling and they just screamed anyway. I think you can do that starting from 4 months if they weren't premies.

For us, we finally did CIO at night at 13 months since mine wouldn't sleep through the night. Whatever works for you is best.

 

Once your nighttime sleep is more consistent and "organized" you'll probably see a difference in their napping.

I did leave mine in their cribs for 1 hr. (after 6 mos) regardless of their state (sleeping, fussing or yelling (ds) ) but I am also a follower of HSHHC which just happened to work beautifully for me!

 

Thanks for the responses! What is HSHHC?

 

(book) Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Weissbluth..... It was a great fit for me and my babies!