https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 28 Apr 2026 14:33:41 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1813345 Wed, 13 Aug 2014 08:56:17 +0000 immabeetoo 1813345@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@BabyTsMom: I hear you! Honestly even if he was overtired he was still happier out of the house instead of fighting me at home. Naturally I was happier too :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1813341 Wed, 13 Aug 2014 08:55:12 +0000 BabyTsMom 1813341@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@scg00387: great advice. I wish I could follow it! I've got to get over my anxiety about his sleep. I'm always concerned he'll get overtired and be fussy! But yeah it's not really in my control, no matter what I've tried! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1812714 Tue, 12 Aug 2014 19:50:53 +0000 immabeetoo 1812714@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@BabyTsMom: Like others have stated, once I stopped staying in the house trying to figure out his naps, life was better. I aimed for his first nap in the house and then we got out and about. If he took his cat nap in the carseat, great. If not, we sailed on. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1812666 Tue, 12 Aug 2014 19:27:06 +0000 BabyTsMom 1812666@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@autumn865: your post made me laugh because I can relate! My LO is only 12 weeks but I feel like I've tried almost everything short of CIO. So how did you survive this stage??? Any advice for us mamas in the thick of it? I find it impossible to get anything done since all I do all day is try to get him to sleep! It's exhausting! It's hard not to get stressed when you're so exhausted from trying to nap your kid all day... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1810550 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 20:29:52 +0000 autumn865 1810550@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had a classic short napper literally waking up in tired hysterics at the 40/45 minute mark. We/I tried everything to lengthen them and my life literally revolved around our nap struggles to put her down at the "perfect ideal tired but not too tired" time with and without every sleep crutch in the book (nurse to sleep, EASY schedule, CIO, rock to sleep, rock when she wakes up, lay down together when she woke up, let her cry when she woke up and so on). In hind site now that I have a well rested one nap a day for 2 hours pretty happy toddler I see the only thing I'm sure of with the whole poor napper is experience is TIME is the only thing that made things better. I'm sorry it's not more help but if I realized that nothing I did really did much to help or hurt her sleep I think I would have been able to approach things with a lot less stress. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1810484 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 19:45:10 +0000 immabeetoo 1810484@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@SleepyMonkey: @skibobrown: agreed! Once I just went with it, I felt a lot better. Something I'll definitely be doing differently with #2. It's a hard pill to swallow, but I have accepted that I cannot make a kid sleep, eat, or poop when I think they ought to :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1810412 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 19:10:16 +0000 fussygal 1810412@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@merbaby14: I wish I knew! :) we're victims of the 40 minute naps, too. I've come to accept it, but still wish she'd give me an hour to clean! It does seem like at 4 months she will go a TINY bit longer than she used to. Here's hoping they keep getting longer </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1810258 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 17:25:56 +0000 shopaholic 1810258@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ditto on just time. LO was queen of 20 min. naps until 6 months I sort of nap-trained. Even then, 2 x 1 hr naps would be a successful day. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1810190 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 16:31:54 +0000 Mrs. Lion 1810190@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Probably around 6 months? We went through a period of cat naps and I knew it wasn't enough sleep for lo at all. Once he got back on track he started taking 2 solid naps per day. He is 17 months now and still sleeps 3-4 hours per day split between two naps. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1810034 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 15:16:41 +0000 merbaby14 1810034@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Lion: thanks! How old was you LO when you did this? Dont think we are ready for 2 naps a day yet but that said....our current situation isn't exactly giving him his ideal amount of sleep time either.. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1809843 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 13:56:24 +0000 skibobrown 1809843@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree with all of the previous answers. Time and a change of perspective. The second I stopped trying to fix short naps as a problem, things got a lot better. The issue fixed itself eventually, but in our case it took until closer to 1 year when she transitioned to one nap. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1809827 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 13:46:44 +0000 SleepyMonkey 1809827@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm sure this isn't what you want to hear, but the solution is for you to change your perspective on naps! As in, accept the short naps. Honestly...I spent hours and tears trying to get my lo to nap longer and she just didnt until she dropped to one nap a day at 13 months on her own. Sorry! Just remember, its all a phase! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1809591 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 12:29:09 +0000 Grace 1809591@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Time. I know that's the suckiest answer ever, but I do think that eventually they are ready for it. Having said that, I found out around 6 months old when LO woke while I was cleaning the bathroom. I decided to get her when I finished the toilet and she fell back asleep. So, I still think time is the most important, but it's probably good to test the waters every so often to see if they are ready yet. My LO didn't magically just start sleeping longer. She had to learn that it was ok to go back to sleep when she woke. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1809571 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 12:22:07 +0000 immabeetoo 1809571@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just time. I tried everything short of CIO and wasted hours reading advice and nothing helped. It's normal and developmental, he lengthened on his own around 5.5 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1809535 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 12:07:36 +0000 sslm 1809535@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Not to be a total downer, but M was a chronic short napper from about 2 months on. She mostly napped for 30 mins at a time and went down to two naps at 6 months. Still just 30 mins. She's almost 16 months now and takes 2 great naps at daycare but usually still just takes short naps at home. We tried everything. I cried a lot over it! </p> <p>All this to say, if it doesn't get any better, don't beat yourself up over it like I did! Some kids just seem to need less sleep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1809524 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 12:01:21 +0000 Mamasig 1809524@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Only time!!!! They stretched out around 8 months or so. </p> <p>I worried and stressed about it so much. Looking back, that was a total waste. Once I just went with it, life got so much easier. It's funny because now with my second son, I never even notice how long his nap is. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1809518 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 11:58:41 +0000 merbaby14 1809518@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Madison43: Thanks and I totally hear you - I try not to stress too much about it bc like you and Hilsy85 said, naps seem to lengthen with age and these short ones are pretty normal for now. This I also why I haven't pushed the CIO to try and extend them. The only thing that's annoying is that he wakes up so cranky and will fall asleep nursing after if I let him and sleep on my lap for another hour at least (which I just let him do as I wrote this ;) &lt;-- (probably part of my problem) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1809511 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 11:57:22 +0000 Weagle 1809511@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Age/time is what did it for us. I truly believe that sleep is like any other milestone. You can't really force a child to walk, they have to figure out by themselves how to make those muscles work. I think sleep is the same way. At some point they are capable of learning how. Though, for some that may take longer than others ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1809506 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 11:54:35 +0000 mrs.shinerbock 1809506@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>LO started stretching naps out more around 6-7 months. I don't know if it was because she was just ready for longer naps or if it was because we started stretching out the time in-between naps longer and she was falling asleep by herself instead of nursing to sleep for naps. She is still a little inconsistent with naps and it's not unusal for her to only take a 45 min nap, especially in the morning. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1809505 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 11:54:34 +0000 Mrs. Lion 1809505@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This worked for us!! <a href="http://modgblog.com/2011/08/23/5-steps-to-get-your-baby-to-nap-for-a-long-freaking-time-every-day-of-your-life/" rel="nofollow">http://modgblog.com/2011/08/23/5-steps-to-get-your-baby-to-nap-for-a-long-freaking-time-every-day-of-your-life/</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1809490 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 11:47:22 +0000 Madison43 1809490@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just time. Nothing we did helped until my daughter was ready to nap longer. Around 6 months, her naps naturally stretched from 30 mins to a little over an hour. Looking back, I wish I hadn't stressed about it so much, but I get how frustrating it is! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1809486 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 11:46:51 +0000 hilsy85 1809486@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO gradually lengthened his naps as he got older. by 6/7 months, he had lengthened them to around 1hr15 min-1.5 hours and was doing 2 naps a day. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-has-the-answer-to-short-naps#post-1809476 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 11:44:24 +0000 merbaby14 1809476@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I know so many of us have the same problem and are constantly looking for the solution...so who's got it?! </p> <p>I would be so interested to hear from those who have made it past the short naps and how you did it. I know a common suggestion is routine and put them down awake so they put themselves to sleep...well, I do both with my 4.5 month old and he still can't make it past one sleep cycle. We sleep trained for night and he's great then. </p> <p>I've tried letting him CIO when he wakes up to see if he can out himself back to sleep but that doesn't seem as effective. Admittedly, I have t been that strict about it bc I'm n sure CIO is as effective for this. </p> <p>It's so hard to keep a consistent schedule/routine which I know would help a lot when his naps are all over the board in length..</p> <p>Anyone have success here? What was your experience like? </p>