Help, 7 month old and still taking 30min naps!

We are going crazy here. My boys are 7 months and still take 4 30min naps. I just don't know what to do. My daughter used to be such a great sleeper. By now for sure I thought we will be on some kind of regular nap schedule but oh no. Once they are up they are up, I tried leaving them in the cribs but they will cry so hard it breaks my heart. I know some kids are not great nappers and maybe my boys are one of those kids, oh lucky me I know those 30 min naps are not enough, for one by 4pm the are so cranky its scary, and after an hour of being awake they are so tired nothing makes them happy. Anyone went through this or did anything that worked?

 

Hi! Newbie here. Not much advice but my boys are the same age as yours and also only take 30 (sometimes stretch it out to 40) minute naps, only they only take 3 a day. It's so hard because it seems like you just get them down, start to do something and they're up again! Just wanted to let you know someone else feels your frustration

 

I relied on The Baby Whisperer a lot, and she talks about the "45 min. intruder"... meaning that sleep cycles are in approx. 45 min. increments... sounds like you aren't able to get them to transition to the next cycle. The book had some good ideas on assisting them. Patting them while they are laying down, or doing the pick up put down method (pick up to console and put down as soon as they quiet) and repeat... you'll be doing a lot of PU/PD to get them to go back to sleep...

I would say keep working at it, they need the sleep and need to be encouraged so that you'll get some good nappers. you need them to nap so that you can have some quiet time too. good luck!

 

How long are they going between naps? Are you really trying to stretch them and keep them awake for a long period of time? If so, they could be overstimulated and really overtired ( I know they are tired from not napping too long) and maybe that is making it worse. Do you have a time each day that you start the day? At 7 months, mine were taking at least 3 naps per day. They got up around 7 and then went down at 9. If they woke after an hour, I would do anything to get them back to sleep. I even would bring them out of the nursery and get them in the swing and let them finish the nap in the swing. I would read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Weisbluth. He gives some great info about sleep and babies. Hang in there.