I don't want people jumping on here critisizing me for letting my son cry it out, I don't need to explain myself to you people, so I won't. Basically my question is when I put my son down for a nap and he only sleeps for like 20 minutes and wakes up crying, do I only comfort him and then leave him to go back to sleep, or do I get him up and try for a nap again at a later time? He did this yesterday, I got him up and he was still tired, when I tried to give him a nap later it was HELL trying to get him to go to sleep.
2006-12-20 05:16:07 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
my son is 7 months old
2006-12-20 05:37:50 · update #1
When my son was younger I would let him cry it out too theres absolutely nothing wrong with that so I dont know why other parents would critisize . . . but I guess thats a whole other question! Any ways if he was only asleep for 20 mins I would go in and make sure he is ok and tell him that it is to early to wake up and that he needs to stay in there and nap so that he wont be tired later (even if hes too young to understand its still good to tell him what is going on)
2006-12-20 05:28:54 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Is this nap mid-morning? If so it's fine for him to take a short nap and then do a longer one in the afternoon. I would take a look at your schedule as a whole and try to get him into a routine of getting up before 8am and taking a short morning nap then a long afternoon nap. As far as letting him cry it out I would suggest that you try a transitional object (like a lovie or security blanket) to help him learn to self-soothe. This may take awhile for him to be able to do this but eventually he'll associate it with going to sleep so then if he wakes up crying you can go in and give him his lovie and hopefully will go back to sleep. (At least that's the theory anyway LOL) If not, just go in every 10-15 min and give him his lovie and then leave and eventually this pattern will stop :)
I have two kids and an in-home daycare and in my experience this has usually worked pretty well. My daughter is 4 months old and already has a lovie and it works like a charm for us :) Good luck
2006-12-20 07:44:06 · answer #2 · answered by totspotathome 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all, if you are going to let him cry you have to be consistent. Do not rock him for one nap and then expect to put him down without rocking the next. Put him down at nap time and if he cries, let him for about 15 minutes, if he is still crying go comfort him till he calms and then put him back down. If he wakes up 20 mins later and you know he is still tired, DO NOT GO GET HIM! Leave him cry for 15 minutes and if he is still crying after that go comfort him and then leave him again. I could not do this with my first child who is 6 right now because he was sooooo sick, but my 5 mos old daughter is healthy and I did this with her. The first time took about 13 min the second day was about 11 minutes the 3rd was 8 minutes and then it was no problem. She even sleeps all night since I did it. She goes to bed at 7:30 (awake, I do not rock her before bed or any other time) and I do not hear from her till 5 am. She has learned to comfort herself. GOOD LUCK!!
2006-12-20 05:28:35 · answer #3 · answered by Kelly B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Everytime my son fusses I don't pick him up. When he is really fussy I find out why. When its his naptime I let cry for a bit but he usually falls asleep in about 5-10 minutes and doesn't wake up right away and takes a good nap. I'd try letting him cry for a few mintues because he might just go back to sleep unless you think there might be something that he would cry over like a wet diaper or he's hungry.
2006-12-20 05:22:33 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well I am the same as you!! My daughter is almost a year and we have that problem...I let her sleep and when she wakes up I let her up but If I see that she is soooo sleepy and fussy then I let her cry it out and go back to sleep!! I would just let him up if he is ok and try later if he wants if not then put him to bed at his bed time and hopefully he will sleep better because he is so tired!!
( my daughter is still not sleeping through the night and she only takes a nap or 2 a day for like 30 min)
2006-12-20 05:22:10 · answer #5 · answered by mommy of 2 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unless he is under 6 months,don't take him out- there is no way he will sleep again later as he will be overtired. First I would just peek in, without him seeing you, to make sure he is OK, then wait 5-10 minutes to see if he will fall back asleep on his own. My daughter would call the nap quits once she actually saw me. If that doesn't work, try some reassuring words out of sight, wait a little while again, and if it still doesn't work go in comfort quickly in the crib and walk out. The key is to try to get him to fall asleep on his own if he wakes up.
Under 6 months, you will not spoil him by comforting him in your arms.
Good luck.
2006-12-20 05:24:26 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If he's little enough that he needs more nap than that leave him in the crib. If he's 2 or 3 20 minutes may be all he needs.
2006-12-20 05:38:22 · answer #7 · answered by tabithap 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would say let him cry it out at the 20 minutes.
Try reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth, M.D.
I know my sister in laws have read this book and it changed their lives, there babies sleep so much and they ARE healthier.
I read in the book, put the infant or toddler (whichever) down for a nap for 1 hour, whatever they do during that one hour it doesn't matter, just let them be. Some infants would cry for 59 minutes and right then fall asleep and that changed their whole sleep habits. You shouldn't rob your son of the sleep he needs, he doesn't know any better you do. Just be strong.
2006-12-20 05:22:29 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
My baby is 8 months. Whenever he wakes up too early while napping, I give him his pacifier & he falls right back to sleep.
My son normally wakes up happy-- so anytime he wakes up crying, I know that he is still sleepy.
You didn't say how old the baby is but for me I
1) don't make eye contact
2) offer a pacifier
2006-12-20 05:32:24 · answer #9 · answered by Proud mother! 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm dealing with the same thing right now. Crying won't hurt them. Stay strong... if you know he needs more sleep and he is comfortable (dry, fed, warm, not in pain) then let him cry. After 15 minutes go in to reassure him you're there... cover him up... plug in his soother (if needed)... don't talk to him, don't make eye contact.
This might go on for over an hour... slowly increase the amount of time between going into his room.
If it's just not working... get him up and try him again in an hour.
He needs to learn how to soothe himself.
2006-12-20 05:23:59 · answer #10 · answered by naenae0011 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋