Naps

At what age did you start putting your LO's in cribs for naps? My 2 have started resisting naps and are very hard to get to go in the swwing/bouncy etc to rest. They cry constantly and I know it is because they are overtired. I am at my wits end because I can't listen to the crying all day. Any suggestions to get them to sleep better during the day? I feed them every 3 hours and I try to watch for the cues and put them down about 1-1.5 hours after eat/play. This week I am trying to start the day at 7 and really pay attention to their tired cues but it is hard. Also, do you put them in the crib at the same time and how do you settle them both at the same time? My husband always helps with bedtime so it stresses me out to think of doing this alone during the day. Also, how long do yur LO's sleep during nap time? Lately my daughter only takes 30 minute catnaps and my son when he's down can rest for 1 hour or so. Up until 2 weeks ago they were taking a 2 hours nap at some point in the day (not always at the same time).


Thanks for any input!

 

At 4 months my girls were napping in the crib together. I would feed them both, then they had "play" time, and then I would swaddle them both up and rock them in the rocking chair for about 10 minutes and then I put them in the crib. They might fuss for a few minutes but b/c they were in a good routine they slept most of the time. Of course there were times when I had to put them in the swing or they just wouldn't nap. There were even times when I had to let them cry b/c I had to take a shower or get myself something to eat. But I kept on with the routine and most of the time they were fine napping in the crib.

I would just keep trying to put them in the crib when you want them to nap and if they cry go to them but then the next time I would try again. Mine slept through each others cries, even when they were in the crib together. Do they take a paci? Do you use white noise? Pacifires and white noise were always available in their room and really helped me get them both down to sleep at the same time!

 

At about 3.5 or 4 mos, I really made a big effort to get my boys napping in their cribs at the same time. It corresponded to a week with no plans on my part, and I just worked really hard on following a rigid routine. Wake, eat, play for 1-1.5 hours, and then swaddle pacifier, rock, in crib. One of the hardest things for me was thinking that other babies can stay awake for longer than an hour, and it seemed .... counter intuitive that the babies sometimes needed to nap again after only an hour. But sometimes mine do. Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

I just re-read this, and wanted to add that it doesn't always go this smoothly. There are times when I just have to put one down in the swing or bouncy and he'll fuss, and focus my attention one at a time on each baby to get them to sleep.

And some mornings, I just don't have it in me to wake up a sleeping baby, and I have them napping on completely opposite schedules during that day. Those days can be rough because it seems like I never get a little break, but also nice because I get a little one on one time with each of my boys...

 

Mine are 4 months and I have just started with their morning nap up in their crib. They go in together and DS usually goes right to sleep but DD fights a bit more. They get up usually around 7, unfortunately its been 6 the last couple of days cause they are teething, and we play for about an 1 1/2 and then they go to the crib. They only sleep for about 45 min., then they are up for about 2 hours and we nurse and eat our cereal and play and then they take that nap in the swing still. Next week, after my brothers wedding, we are going to try and start the longer nap upstairs in the crib. They do seem to wake up earlier than if they slept in the swing, but I think once they are used to it they will do better. Good luck!

 

Thanks All, I did get each of them into the crib yesterday for a bit, my daughter took a 1.25 hour nap and my son 30 minutes. today not so good.....
I will keep trying!

 

At 4 months, we went cold turkey into the crib for naps. I agree with the above statement and just being consistent. Mine still fell asleep on the bottle for the most part.

Keep trying. It will come.

 

I just wanted to say to keep trying to work on watching tired cues and to get them in their cribs. I have had a heckuva time since 3.5 months when my LOs decided they wouldn't be giving me a predictable nap for 2-3 hours in their swing daily. At 6 mos we are getting somewhere - although inconsistent I get a 90 min - 2 hour nap once a day, never at the same time as each other, and the other naps only last 45 mins maybe. I can tell you ours were overtired but I also think they were finding their biological rhythms. I did start napping them separately about 1 month ago and it has improved dramatically. One in a pack n play in our room and the other in their crib in the nursery. I hated to do it but they kept waking the other so I finally gave in for now and will go back to napping together in the same room some day. With ours, a very dark room and white noise has been the key. I also always do the first nap 1 hour after they are up for the day (we get up at 7 a.m.) I was keeping them up too long because I couldn't see how they could sleep all night and then only be up for 1 hour before napping, but that was key for us. I do feel like the tired signs are so much more evident now than they were a few weeks ago. Good luck!

 

Not much advice other than to stick with it. 4-5 months was the hardest time for me getting them to sleep at naps. They got overtired so quickly! Hang in there! :grouphug: