https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 16 Jun 2026 17:50:16 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1320479 Sun, 05 Jan 2014 10:27:17 +0000 heartonastring 1320479@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@scotchbonnet: You can do it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1320411 Sun, 05 Jan 2014 09:08:44 +0000 scotchbonnet 1320411@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@heartonastring: thanks for that. Tomorrow is day one of nap training. Gonna add a short story reading to build a better routine. Sooooo glad it's going well for you because I am in the same boat as you and now I feel hopeful that I can do this training. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1320340 Sun, 05 Jan 2014 06:24:40 +0000 mjane 1320340@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yaaaay! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1320000 Sat, 04 Jan 2014 20:51:01 +0000 heartonastring 1320000@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@scotchbonnet: I took her into the nursery, changed her diaper, turned the white noise on, put her in her zipadeezip. I then nursed her, with the light on, until her eyes got heavy. Then I unlatched her and held her upright with her head on my shoulder. I sang one song, stood up, held her for another minute or two while rubbing her back, put her down on her tummy, rubbed her back for another minute or so (made sure she was still fully awake though) said our bedtime phrase ("It's time to go to sleep now. We love you." And then I left the room and closed the door :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1319846 Sat, 04 Jan 2014 19:26:37 +0000 scotchbonnet 1319846@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@heartonastring: I am looking to start nap and night training too so I have been following this post. What exactly did you do? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1319828 Sat, 04 Jan 2014 19:14:47 +0000 Smurfette 1319828@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@heartonastring: That is awesome!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1319825 Sat, 04 Jan 2014 19:13:22 +0000 JoJoGirl 1319825@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I haven't read everyone else's responses but I can say, my 8 month old is now one of those magical babies that I leave the room and she plays for 10 mins with her lovey then rolls over and goes to sleep. We just nap trained a week or two ago at the insistence of my Isis consultant as separation anxiety is about to set in.</p> <p>So what I would say is do CIO with checks IF the checks aren't making her more upset (ie if separation anxiety hasn't already set in). We basically did extinction but she never got THAT upset.. if she was hyperventilating or going nuts, I'd go in and pt her back or pick her up for like 30 seconds and say "You have to take a nap now sweetie" and put her back down, but I think I did that once in the week it took for her to figure it out. She still cries sometimes before naps, today she cried for maybe 15 mins before her afternoon nap and I just left her in there and she eventually gave up and fell asleep.</p> <p>Good luck!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1319544 Sat, 04 Jan 2014 16:18:43 +0000 sandy 1319544@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@heartonastring: good job! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1319523 Sat, 04 Jan 2014 16:07:27 +0000 heartonastring 1319523@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: I went into nap time this morning without a firm plan but with a rough idea of what our new routine would be, and then it occurred to me to keep as close to our bedtime routine as possible...so that's what I did and it seems to be working *knock on wood*)...70 minutes into her afternoon nap.... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1319486 Sat, 04 Jan 2014 15:19:39 +0000 looch 1319486@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Those are great updates! I just wanted to throw in that I had to nap and night train at the same time, it didn't matter to my son that the times were different, he needed the exact same routine three times a day for it to work. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1319482 Sat, 04 Jan 2014 15:16:04 +0000 Foodnerd81 1319482@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@heartonastring: Yay!! Great updates. C still cries sometimes before naps but now that she can fall asleep all our lives are so much better. Except when she's teething but that's another story... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1319465 Sat, 04 Jan 2014 15:03:08 +0000 heartonastring 1319465@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>She slept for 65 minutes this morning! </p> <p>Just put her down for her afternoon nap and there was ZERO crying! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1319264 Sat, 04 Jan 2014 12:19:44 +0000 sandy 1319264@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@heartonastring: good job mama! You got some great advice here and it sounds like you're off to a great start :). My only advice is to try to be consistent as possible and give her a chance to work it out...of course use your best judgment and comfort her if she needs it. I think separating eating and sleeping is a good great idea since it's no longer working. Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1319140 Sat, 04 Jan 2014 10:46:08 +0000 heartonastring 1319140@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Um, guys.....she just fell asleep in four minutes with pretty minimal crying!</p> <p>I am hesitant to even post this because I might be jinxing myself...and who knows how long she'll STAY asleep, but it's a start, right?! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1318619 Fri, 03 Jan 2014 21:46:59 +0000 Cchoi4 1318619@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We were in the same boat. DS loved to nurse and wouldn't let me put him in his crib...he'd cry and cry and cry. Sometimes he would cry for a full hour before I would go get him. It was like who had stronger backbone - him or me. </p> <p>Ultimately, I did a very gradual approach. I wasn't for CIO completely after the first two days of hour-long crying but I wasn't for NTS forever either. </p> <p>I made sure that LO wasn't hungry when we started the naptime or bedtime routine. So it would be either I nursed him when he woke (and if he refused, I just nursed him sometime during his wake time).</p> <p>Then for bedtime or naptime, it was a routine we followed, but loosely:</p> <p>-nursing (sometimes, depending on when he last ate)<br /> -Sleepsack<br /> -a short book or two<br /> -hold him on my shoulder and humming Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.</p> <p>Then while gently putting him in his crib, telling him "mommy loves you, god loves you"</p> <p>And pray for the best.</p> <p>The first week was brutal. I cried. I called my brother who has two kids. I emailed friends for advice. I panicked. I dreaded. I was on the internet researching researching and researching.</p> <p>In the end, the first week was just brutal but after that week, it gradually got better. Less crying and LO was able to fall asleep on his own.</p> <p>Now, i can't say it was like magic...put him in his crib and he won't cry at all and go right to sleep. That doesn't happen still. But from 1 hour long cries to either 5 min of fussing (on a good day) or 20 min of crying (on a bad day)...</p> <p>I have my sanity back.</p> <p>Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions! and hang in there, mommy. I hated hearing the words "consistent" and "routine" and would secretly hate on mommy's whose babies went right to sleep. BUT you will get there...it will happen. Just keep doing it and she will learn.</p> <p>And on the times or days when it simply is not working for you, take a deep breath, get your baby, and try again in 30-45 min. Believe in yourself and stick it out. Its so hard but stick it out. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1318456 Fri, 03 Jan 2014 20:15:27 +0000 heartonastring 1318456@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thank you all for the great suggestions and insight. I am getting more confident that this just might work. Planning to start tomorrow....we'll see if I can get up the courage and/or if I'm feeling well enough to give it a go (I have strep throat...ugh). I'll update here.</p> <p>@mjane: Yes, it does suck! Like your LO, DD does not NEED to eat before a nap...it's a holdover from her NB days. At this age she gets up, nurses, we play for awhile, she has a meal of solids, we play a bit more and then it's nap time....so I'm pretty sure she's not at all hungry, it's just for comfort. I think nursing in the living room might be the way to go, because in the nursery with the lights off she closes her eyes in about two minutes, if that.</p> <p>@twoofeverything: No, that doesn't sound weird re: reading the same book :) We do the same thing at bedtime...the last book we read is always The Going to Bed Book and she knows that when we read that book it's time for sleep. Maybe I'll use it for naps too.</p> <p>@lawbee11: Only a few days...this gives me hope! Lately DD seems to have more stamina when it comes to CIO though :( I don't know about your DD but for mine the zipadeezip has become a total sleep cue! She starts rubbing her eyes as soon as we start putting it on.</p> <p>@Foodnerd81: Thank you! This makes me hopeful :)</p> <p>@hilsy85: Yeah, keeping it close to the bedtime routine is a good call for sure..I'll try to incorporate that.</p> <p>@delight: I hope it isn't as bad as I'm anticipating! It would be amazing if DH were able to put her down for a nap! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1318393 Fri, 03 Jan 2014 19:36:38 +0000 delight 1318393@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I nursed to sleep until about 3 weeks ago for naps and then decided I wanted to try to put her down awake (LO was almost 4 months then). I started with just the first Nap of the day cause that had been the best one. I kept everything the same: white noise, swaddle, nurse in her room but I stopped nursing when her eyes got heavy. Then I stood up, burped, put her in crib, patted tummy, kissed her and walked away. The first couple of days I let her cry for 5 minutes, then I went in and picked her up, burped her again then put her down. She always fell asleep before the 5 minute mark after that. We do all naps like this now and sometimes DH puts her down after I nurse in living room. Most times she goes right to sleep and other times she will only fuss for a minute or two. I still nurse to sleep at night but would like to stop that soon. Good luck to you. It might not be as bad as you think it will be. It was a lot easier for us! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1318377 Fri, 03 Jan 2014 19:25:15 +0000 hilsy85 1318377@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We recently re nap trained at 14 months and we did CIO with checks. It took about a day and a half--the first nap he cried 35 min with checks, the 2nd nap 6 min, 3rd nap 1 min, and that's it. I think whatever method you use needs to be consistent! That's the most important thing. In terms of the routine, I started including a book after nursing, before putting him in the sleep sack and putting him in the crib. It's now very similar to his bedtime routine which I figure can't hurt. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1318373 Fri, 03 Jan 2014 19:22:18 +0000 Foodnerd81 1318373@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We nap trained a few weeks after night time sleep training- we tried doing it all at once and it just wasn't working. And like you, nursing to sleep stopped working. </p> <p>We do pretty much the same routine fr night and naps- change diaper, sleep sack on, read The Going to Bed Book, turn on the sound machine, hold her on my shoulder and sing twinkle twinkle, then abcs, then down into the crib and twinkle twinkle again with my hand on er tummy or head. Then I say "good night sweetheart. Have a good nap (or night), I'll see you when you wake up. Mommy loves you." I follow this exactly, though Dh has a different dog. </p> <p>To transition to this I started doing the whole routine up to the song, but singing while I was nursing to sleep. Then I started nursing in the living room lights on, then the routine. I have to keep her awake while nursing or it makes it harder to fall asleep- I think it gives her a second wind. Since she already knew how to fall asleep at night, it really only took a day or two to get it. I didn't worry about nap length at first and they gradually lengthened on their own. We agreed we would go in after ten minutes of straight crying and it never got to that (it would be more like, cry 4 min, calm, whimper, cry 3 min, and so on). </p> <p>It's still not perfect and she occasionally has naps she won't take or short naps, but it's much better than when we were nursing to sleep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1318287 Fri, 03 Jan 2014 18:09:53 +0000 lawbee11 1318287@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our routine is almost exactly like yours (even down to the zipadeezip!). I nurse her before naps, but I unlatch her once I can tell she's done eating and is just comfort nursing. That almost always wakes her up, then I burp her and sing twinkle twinkle and you are my sunshine to her (always those two songs and always in that order). If she doesn't wake up from the unlatch she always does while I am singing to her. Then I put her in the crib and say, "Night night M" and give her a kiss on the forehead then walk out. It works beautifully and only took a few days before she caught on. </p> <p>I think the type of method you use depends on your baby. We used extinction because my LO gets more pissed with checks. But she also never cried for more than five minutes. Now she just chews her hands and babbles to herself and is out in a few minutes. The length of her naps have also greatly increased. Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1318201 Fri, 03 Jan 2014 17:23:50 +0000 twoofeverything 1318201@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would second the nursing at the beginning of the routine!</p> <p>Another thing that helped us was to do a snack about an hour before nap...that filled their little bellies so that they weren't too interested in nursing/taking a bottle before naptime. Eventually, we just cut out the nursing because they were still full from their snack.</p> <p>It may sound strange, but when I nap trained, also I started reading them the same book for every nap. I even have a little script: "It's time for nap. Let's put your sleep sack on!" I then give them their kisses and leave. We still read that book twice a day for naps. It's annoying, but it's definitely one of their cues.</p> <p>We also did CIO for naps with checks at 3 mins, 5 mins, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes. I would let it go for an hour, and if they still weren't sleeping, we'd get up, play quietly, and maybe have a small bottle. Then we'd try again about 45 minutes later and they almost always fell right asleep.</p> <p>GL! I agree with Trailmix that it shouldn't take too long if she's already putting herself to sleep at night. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1318186 Fri, 03 Jan 2014 17:15:58 +0000 Trailmix 1318186@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would move nursing to the beginning of that routine. I still do it in a quiet, dark room, I just make sure to do something to wake my LOs up before going in their crib. As for crying, if it were me, I'd try to do it with checks and see how it goes. If she can put herself to sleep at nighttime, I don't think it will take too many days before she puts herself to sleep for naps too! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1318164 Fri, 03 Jan 2014 17:02:30 +0000 mjane 1318164@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>BTW I wanted to add that it SUCKS! And I feel your pain. Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1318162 Fri, 03 Jan 2014 17:02:11 +0000 mjane 1318162@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>When nursing to sleep stopped working for naps I started nursing in the living room, doing one more thing (maybe playing, reading a book), then heading into nursery for a diaper change and a sleep sack. Then I put her in bed. She caught on very quickly so I can't speak much to the different types of CIO, but I let her cry for 10 minutes at first. A few times I had to let her fuss for 15. I wouldn't let her cry hard for more than 5, but that's just me. </p> <p>Now we don't even nurse anywhere near the start of the naps... she nurses when she gets up for the day/from a nap and has solids and plays until naptime. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/please-please-please-help-me-with-nap-training-long#post-1318140 Fri, 03 Jan 2014 16:49:27 +0000 heartonastring 1318140@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am overwhelmed and don't know where to start. I would 100% pay for a sleep consult at this point but can't justify the cost right after Christmas. I've read so much information on this topic that I'm now overwhelmed and basically just wish someone would say, "Here's a plan. Follow it."</p> <p>So here's the situation:<br /> DD is eight months old. She napped in the unmoving swing until, well, last week basically (we'd had her napping in the crib previously, but then she got sick and we went back to the swing). She was a fantastic napper in the swing, typically napping 90 minutes in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. She started out well in the crib but it's just gone downhill. This morning she napped for 10 minutes before waking up, I let her CIO with checks for 40 minutes and then she slept for 45 minutes. Afternoon naps are easier, but still not the best.</p> <p>I think that nursing to sleep for naps has become an issue and she's now waking up after a short period of sleep and discovering that I've left and flipping out. I've always said that I would NTS until it became an issue...and I think we've reached that point. DH does bedtime, so I know she can sleep without nursing, but it's obviously become a major sleep association for naps.</p> <p>I don't know where to start in terms of what plan to follow. I just need to come up with a plan and then I think I can stick with it. Do I just start cold turkey? Our current nap time routine is: take her into the nursery, change her diaper, turn out the light, turn on the white noise, put her in her Zippadeezip and then nurse to sleep. What should I do instead of that?</p> <p>And after I've put her down, I'm totally confused about what method to use to manage her crying...extinction? CIO with checks? Should I stay in the room? I have no idea!</p> <p>Please help me cut through all the information and stop NTS for naps! What worked for you? How long did it take? </p> <p>I hear these magical stories about people being able to put their baby down awake and leave and then the baby puts him/herself to sleep.....I dream of that! I dream of being able to have someone other than me put her down for a nap. I can't even imagine the freedom of being able to leave her for more than a few hours! </p>