nap time... does it exist?

Question

my baby is 5 months old...has never been a good napper at night sleeps from 9-5 ish occassionally waking 1 time to eat.. he will have his morning feed as soon as he wakes up after he gets changed (breastfeeding) he will usually go back to sleep for 1-2 hours.. then thats pretty much it.. he gets sooo tired tried laying him down while drowsy... nursing to sleep works for like 10 min... soft music..cuddling quiet room..soft music...crib waterfall thing.. he doesnt want to nap even though he's yawning rubbing eyes etc.. my mom gives him expressed milk while she watches him during day she cann usually get at least 1 good nap 1-2 hours but most of the time she will have to give him tiny bit more milk to fall asleep...please help i know he is very tired being up all day..

Answer 1

He's not getting enough sleep. His total number of hours of sleep per day should still be 13-15 between night time sleep and naps. The key is to get him into a crib before he starts to show signs of drowsiness. By the time he's getting cranky or rubbing his eyes he's going to be overstimulated and have a much harder time drifting off. I have a feeling that just by simply establishing an earlier night time bed time he'll fall into better sleep habits throughout the day. My baby (11 months) goes to bed at 7:15pm (lights out at 8:00, then plays a bit and is asleep by 8:30) and sleeps until 7:00am, then she has a nap from 8:30-10:00am and an afternoon nap from 2:00-4:00pm, this has been fairly consistent for months. By anticipating his need for a nap before he shows signs you'll be able to get him into the crib and let him wind down there and naturally fall asleep.

Answer 2

You're right he probably is very tired! It is ironic but an overtired baby actually sleeps less and has a harder time falling asleep. My daughter is also five months, so I understand how busy babies are learning and growing at this age and she sleeps several more hours than your son. It sounds like you have really given an effort and that is fabulous, I'm sure you're exhausted too! The number one trick I know, and I have done this since the day my daughter was born, is swaddling swaddling swaddling! If you're not sure how, look it up online or check out the book Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp. Another trick of the trade is cluster feedings. Rather than having your son nurse for 15 minutes, try a few 5-10 minute feedings the hour before you lie him down. I hope this helps, and I hope both of you get some much needed rest very soon! Hang in there, sleep problems don't last forever if you work on them, and it sounds like you are.

Answer 3

Overtired children don't sleep as well and as readily. Try laying him down the same time everyday, even if he is not showing signs of being tired. Even if he doesn't sleep at first, he needs some down time. If you establish this routine, again... before he is really tired... he should eventually take a nap.

Answer 4

I have never had any problems with my daughter taking naps, she is 2 and half years now and still takes naps.

When she was younger she would take her nap around 1pm and sleep till about 3pm, then she would go to bed around 9pm and wake up at about 7am.

Now that she is a little older she takes a nap around 2pm and wakes up around 3:30pm, then she normally goes to bed around 9:30ish and wakes up in between 7:30am to 8:30am.

Answer 5

my cousin is 11 months old. but when she was 5 months she was a great sleeper. but now she doesnt seem to want to sleep. what we do to get her to go to sleep is fix her a bottle and lay her in her crib and let her cry for a little bit. you will probably feel sorry for him but it always works. but you breastfeed so if she still takes a pacifier you could do that and lay him down or you could feed him first then lay him down in his crib. hope this helps..

Answer 6

If he is really very tired, he will fall asleep.

If he is simply not sleeping as many hours of the day as you would find convenient, there is not much to be done.