serious nap problems!!

[sosurreal09]

my daughter is just about 4months old now and since birth shes been a horrible napper!
i can get her to nap very easily without using anything but she cant seem to sleep past 45mins and shes miserable!
i have tried sleeping with her, having her sleep in the wrap, the sling, the crib, the swing, nothing helps!
i wouldnt mind if she were a short napper who woke up happy but shes sooooooooo overtired and idk what to do!
anyone have any tips? is this just developmental?

[gbutterflykissesm]

Boy, have I been there. You didn't mention how often you put her down for a nap. At that age, I was putting my DS down for a nap every hour to hour and a half. Sometimes he would only sleep for 20 minutes. His average nap duration was about 30 minutes. He took a LOT of catnaps in those days.

I also bought the arm's reach cocoon. Even though at night he sleeps fine unswaddled and on his tummy in his crib, during the day we swaddle him and he sleeps in the cocoon on his back. That worked for us when we were at our wit's end and I was willing to try anything.

Now he's 8 m.o. and still not a great napper, but takes 2-3 45 to 60 minute naps a day, and then we get maybe one day a week where he surprises us and sleeps for a few hours. I think he just likes to be up and playing and hanging out with us more than he likes to be asleep no matter how tired he is. One other thing I noticed is if he just chills in the wrap for a while, even if he doesn't sleep, he is refreshed after about an hour, almost like he napped. It soothes him and gets him off of his hands and knees for a while so he can rest.