[mamameg]

I'm following the No Cry Sleep Solutions suggestions for lengthing my 7 month old DD's naps. (She's a chronic 20-30 minute napper and never seems as rested as I think she could be.) I just started it today, and it actually worked! She went back to sleep both times, sleeping an additonal 1.5 hours longer today than she normally does!

But I'm curious... what are other's experiences with this method? Did it really work in a week like the atuhor says it will? Did your results last long term? Did you find that the longer naps helped baby sleep better at night? Was my experience today rookie luck, or is it really this easy to get her to nap longer?

 

[leomom]

Meg,

I'm just curious...could you give me a quick overview of the method? I've read Pantley's No Cry Sleep book, but I'm curious how it compares to this one. My dd is also a chronic "snapper"! TIA!!!

 

[mamameg]

I am referring to Pantley's book, but I suppose I should have provided more detial from the start.

Lemme try this again...

Bascially, she suggests that any nap less than one hour is a waste and doesn't give the baby enough rest to really make a difference. The short nap helps babe make it to the next short nap, but no real recharging is going on. She recommneds that you put baby down to nap, and set a timer or simply remember to go to baby right before the time he'she normally wakes up (for us, it's almost always 30 minutes on the nose). Upon the very first stirrings/waking of baby, repeat whatever it is you do to get baby down for a nap (rocking, nursing, whatever) and put baby back to sleep. She says this will teach baby to continue sleeping after the first brief awakening. Makes perfect sense, but the part I find hard to believe is that she says it will only take a week or so before baby starts to be able to do this on his/her own!

Anyone had such quick results? And did the change stick?

 

[leomom]

Oh,I see. I tried that for 2 days and then the holidays came and I stopped. I'm interested to know that, too!

 

[guestmama9915]

Well, never read the book, but my DD likes her short 20 minute naps, too. I will usually try to nurse her back to sleep when she starts moving (but not opening her eyes yet) and can usually get a longer nap out of her that way, or if I lay next to her and nap with her or read a book. But no.. I have to do this every other time or so. :LOL Probably not what you wanted to hear, huh?

 

[marisa724]

I was doing this long before I realized it was Pantley's idea.

(Well, minus the timer, of course!)

When Joey goes down for his nap, I take 15-20 minutes to go around the house and do what's gotta get done, and then I hang out nearby where I can hear him stir. Usually it's around the half-hour mark too. When I hear the first peep I go in and settle him, nurse more, whatever he seems to want. It helps him stay down usually another 45 minutes to an hour sometimes.

Does it help with nighttime sleep? It's hard to say. Joey's not a fantastic nighttime sleeper to begin with. He does seem to go down and stay in bed for roughly 10-11 hours a night, though, even if he stirs several times during those hours.

 

[cancat]

It's not working for me... I have a 3-month old who is perfectly refreshed after a 30 minute nap. Everythin I try to put her down again just irritates her (she's ready for play!). She does, however, take about 4-5 naps a day.

The only exception is in the front carrier (she hates slings) she'll sleep for about an hour. Maybe its deeper sleep?

I'd love for her to take longer naps, so I could get some sleep, too!

 

[stafl]

To be honest, I feel that seven months is way way way too young to start any sort of sleep training, even the most gentle approach. If my baby wakes up and needs to nurse, I'll nurse her. If she goes back to sleep, cool. If not, that's fine too. 30 minute naps do wonders for me when I need a little sleep, why would it be wasted on a baby? Some babies just don't need as much sleep as others. I personally don't see anything wrong with that.

 

[mamameg]

Stacy, I guess I hadn't really thought of it as "training", since I'm only doing what I normally do, just more of it which then lenthens her nap. And I HAD done this before reading this book (based on mamas intuition of "this baby is still tired"), I simply never thought to do it consistenly with the hopes of her sleeping longer on her own. Thus, the "training", I suppose.

I'd be fine with her 30 min naps, but honestly, the older she gets, the less they seem to really be helping her. She does occassionally sleep for an hour or longer and on those days, I notice a significant difference in her mood (it's better!). Even yesterday, I noticed she was much less fussy in the evening than she normally is and I truly think it's because she got more rest during the day.

Still not sure I think of it as training (if she were to resist going back to sleep, I most certainly would be happy to get her up and not try to force a nap), but I appreciate the prespective. That's exactly why I come here.

 

[stafl]

Megan, I haven't read the book, and probably shouldn't have replied.

Just go with your gut instincts, always! If it feels wrong or doesn't seem to be working, try something else instead.

 

[mamabear&babybear]

I am trying the same thing with my 5 month old. It's actually not working. When she stirs I try to get her back to sleep but if her eyes open she is up and won't go back down. She needs more sleep. When she naps for only 20-30 minutes then she is fussy until her next nap which can be 2-3 hours away. I'm at a loss and some days are just so hard. If anyone has other ideas I would love to hear them.

 

[eugenemama]

I have the book, and took concepts from it...anyway, ds goes through periods of napping 2 hrs per nap for a week, then a week of shorter naps. I think that's totally fine & normal. But, along the NCSS lines, I find that if he stirs after 30 min or so, if i go to him right away before the stirring goes into fussing, i can usually get him to sleep another hour. But if i miss that brief window of opportunity, then there's no way he'll fall back asleep. just my experience with it. good luck!

 

[Periwinkle]

This method worked so well for both my dd and my ds. I found their catnaps were not at all restful to them. They were cranky and clearly tired, but waking after only 30 minutes no matter what. Within a week or two, they were sleeping 1.5 hours per nap, which consolidated their naps to three a day (and eventually two a day by around 8-9 months). Zero CIO or even fussing. With the more restful sleep, the added bonus was that they actually fell asleep easier and didn't fight sleep as much.

This books was a lifesaver for us.

from me!

 

[LizD]

I am on my way to buy this book tomorrow. Preempting ds' wakefulness has worked a bit and that was my own idea; I'm therefore encouraged to check this book out and give it a try.

 

[butterflyma]

I tried the NCSS for 2 weeks with no major improvement. Truthfully, it was a painful process for us since I don't care to schedule so much. I also did not follow it to the letter. It finally got to the point for me that I found I'd rather deal with the existing sleep problems than be doing the NCSS. We're going to try again when/if I get to the point I was at when I purchased the book.

 

[LizD]

I am at the point at which I find myself continually thinking that sleep deprivation is a form of torture and causes psychosis.

I imagine I will finish the book in record time.