He will not nap

[penstamon]

I'm at my wit's end. All we have done today is attempted to get DS, 4.5 mo. to nap. He is a bad night sleeper- wakes 4-7 times a night, mostly in the first three hours in bed. But he had always been a good napper. About three weeks ago he started teething and then came down with the flu. Now that he is feeling better he won't nap. He may fall asleep for 5-10 min, but no amount of comforting, patting, nursing, rocking, swinging, walking, wearing, co-napping,etc. will make him stay asleep.

He has been up for about 5 1/2 hours now even though he's yawning and rubbing his eyes. I try to get him to nap and after half an hour I play with him for awhile and try again. Nothing- no nap. What's wrong with this kid? How do I help him sleep? I have the flu now and this has not been an easy day. I'm sure that he is way overtired now and will sleep horribly tonight.

[tracymom1]

DD is an irregular napper - and it always seems that the days she picks to fight the nap are the days I need it the most. She also wakes very frequently at night and with no apparent pattern... I am hoping that once she hits 12 lbs or 6 months things will even out a bit- at least that's how it was with DS.

I have no real advice... I just wanted to send you a hug and let you know that you are not alone. Feel better mama!

[bajamergrrl]

My DS is not wanting to nap much either. I think it might be some sort of developmental stage.

[Lacrymosa]

My baby was born about a week before yours, and she is doing the same thing. She takes the shortest catnaps and somehow stays awake for 5-6 hours at a time. Seems like a lot of us need advice on this...

Just wanted to send hugs, I had the flu two weeks ago and taking care of a baby while sick is the absolute worst thing ever.

[penstamon]

What's up with the July babies fighting naps? Thanks for at least making me feel better- good to know we're not alone.

vibes to our LO's

[mags]

Hello, another July mom with a baby who isn't really wanting to nurse (distractable) and isn't wanting to nap either. He crashes and burns to bed each night, usually with a bit of a fight, but he is just soooo tired (and so am I). I did not have this much difficulty getting my older two boys to nap. I don't know why DS3 is driving me batty in the nap dept. He was actually sleeping well at night until last wk. He learned how to roll over and now in the middle of the night he will wake up an roll over and then be up and not want to go back to sleep. 4 months is not fun, I've been bracing myself for this part, but forgot just how bad it can be, esp now that I have older kids to take care of too.

[Kelly1101]

I remember 4 months being a REALLY rough time for sleep. I think most babies have a rough time around 4 months-- just between early teething, getting a lot more physical development which is distracting, etc.

Something I heard someone recommend once for a severely over-tired baby, and which worked for us, is just devote a couple hours to rocking in a chair nursing. It's hard to do, but once they are that over-tired, they can't sleep without help. Rock, nurse, rock, nurse, rock, nurse. Once the baby goes to sleep, try to hold and rock as long as you can, rather than put them down to sleep. Have a book, snack, and water nearby If she wakes up, try to nurse/rock/nurse/rock back down again, for as long as possible. Once the baby gets a good solid nap in, better sleep will follow.

[mags]

Ladies, I am really desperate right now, b/c DH is getting his vasectomy today, so he won't be able to help me rock the baby down to sleep and I have 2 older children to care for too, plus DH as well. I actually got the baby to nap 2x today! Swaddle! Instead of using a blanket, I just made sure both of his arms were held close to his body and held him tight (upright, so his head can rest on my shoulder). He always struggles a little bit, then starts to sigh and passes out within minutes. Now I am kicking myself for not having re-tried this technique earlier.