How do you handle it?
B refuses one of his naps at least twice a week. He has refused his second nap two days in a row. He doesn't get overly fussy and it doesn't seem to affect his night sleep but dude needs to nap!
Any advice on how to handle it? He is only 7.5 months so it's not like he's ready for one nap a day.
pomegranate / 3003 posts
DD will occasionally go on a nap strike. I usually just allow her to resume playing, or we'll head out for a drive or walk. She begins almost all her naps (with exception of when she naps while we're out and about) on my chest. I will usually lay her down about 30 minutes after her last refusal, and try again. I'll often try to wear her out with music, and more rambunctious play, and see if that pushes her over the threshold.
honeydew / 7586 posts
I've tried to let him nap on me but he goes into full on battle mode. He cries, arches his back, hits, scratches, the works. It's exhausting. I'm at the end of my rope with our nap issues.
GOLD / cantaloupe / 6581 posts
Yep, often! We don't have her on a nap schedule, but we like to get 3 naps out of her (2 if one is crazy long, like 2+ hours). Occasionally though she just won't go down for that mid-day or afternoon nap. If wearing her out or co-sleeping in my bed doesn't work (for some reason she loooves to nap in mommy's bed), then we just throw up our hands and move bedtime back a bit 
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
Yeah. I just, well, leave her in her crib. If she refuses to nap, she can either wear herself out or hang out there where she's safe. She doesn't get special treatment at daycare so I give her a few minutes to cry out her drama before seeing if she needs food or her paci. It never lasts too long, but sometimes she just has to be crazy for a few minutes! She has a crib soother AND a mirror attached to her crib. Lots of times, i go to put her down and she plays for 40 minutes. THEN decides it's time to sleep.
grapefruit / 4187 posts
DS always gives us trouble for his second nap as well. He'll either cry for a really long time and only stay down for 30 mins or refuse it all together. WE usually just put him down at night an hour earlier when this happens and it seems to work!
honeydew / 7586 posts
@blackbird: What if she cried for a long time? If I put him in his crib he's been known to cry for an hour straight before passing out. My nerves can't handle that 
pomegranate / 3768 posts
DD fights her naps too. If she fights it too hard then I just let it be and put her to bed earlier.
pomelo / 5820 posts
Yep, C fights his second nap a lot recently. Yesterday he wasn't having it, so we took him out of the crib after 20 minutes of fussing that couldn't be soothed by his binky. We played with him for awhile, then tried again. The second time was a success. This only works for us if his second nap isn't too late... If it's too late to try again, he goes to bed a half hour earlier.
honeydew / 7586 posts
@Pepper: Do you give C a bottle before nap?
B always gets a bottle before nap as part of his bedtime routine. If I took him out and tried again later would I do the whole routine (sleep sack, book, bottle, lullabies) again but without the bottle? Or do you just put him back in his crib?
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
My 9 month old wouldn't nap the other day so DH took her out on his errands. She ended up falling asleep 2 hours after her usual nap!
nectarine / 2466 posts
DD has never been a napper She's just over 6 months old and has never had a nap in her crib 
I feel like she gets enough sleep each day though. Typically she is asleep by 930pm sleeps straight through until 8am. I'll nurse her on one side and then as long as DH doesn't bother her, she will usually sleep from about 830-10/1030.
We go for a walk every day at 3 for about 45min/1hour. On the walk she will usually fall asleep about half way through. Sometimes she will sleep the whole walk.
If we are having a day where we run out and get errands done, she typically won't nap at all. If I stay home for the day, she might cat nap for 20 mins in her swing if I'm lucky.
I just don't know how to nap train her and I'm afraid if I start trying to get naps, she won't sleep as well as night. I really should figure out how to get her to nap though.
pomelo / 5820 posts
@rahlyrah: He usually gets a bottle after nap. Since he didn't want to nap initially, we gave him a bottle before he went back down again.
We don't do a solid routine before nap, though. Our routine in the morning is 6 am bottle then back to bed, Awake at 8, playtime... 9 am bottle, 9:30 breakfast, and down for nap at 10 am. I just put him in his sleepsuit and turn on his sound machine and let him fall asleep in his crib. By this point he is tired though, so he falls asleep. He wakes up at 12 or 12:30, and that's when he gets bottle 3.
Second nap is tricky because sometimes we are out, so he naps in the car and I'll transfer him awake to the crib once we get home. Unless he's overdue for a bottle, he gets it after nap. Since he wouldn't fall asleep initially, and he was due for a bottle, he got one before we played, and he went back to the crib 20 mins later.
Sorry for the book/my life story haha.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
C refused her later nap kind of a lot. It's late enough ( usually between 3-4) that if I give up it's too close to bedtime to try again. I don't know what to do since she seems plenty tired. But a lot if times she will be fine until bedtime, a little cranky but not meltdown. Usually it's me who needs the break more I guess.
pear / 1639 posts
@rahlyrah: R didn't take ONE nap all last week while at daycare...add that to a new wake time of 5:30 am, it has been disastrous. I don't have any ideas or advice, just commiserating...it makes me so sad that she's so tired and unlike B, she does become a crankpants.
When will these babies understand how awesome sleep is?!?! 
Ps. Reese freaks and goes into battle mode when I try to get her to sleep on me...its nice to know I'm not the only one, it made me kind of sad last week
pomelo / 5820 posts
@rahlyrah: @Mrs. Taco: C also hates napping on me. Hatttess it. He arches his back, yells, squirms, rolls.... not a fan!
grapefruit / 4066 posts
Have you tried taking him for a ride in the car or putting him in the stroller and going for a walk? I know when my LO was younger and if she was really fighting a nap I know she needed, I would do either a car ride or stroller ride and she would be out cold in 2 minutes. Way easier than spending hours fighting with her to get her to sleep!
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
At that age, we went through a week+ of DS fighting naps. Turned out he was cutting his four top teeth at the same time!
| Today | Monthly Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Topics | 1 | 0 |
| Posts | 0 | 0 |
Ask for Help
Make a Suggestion
Frequently Asked Questions
Bee Levels
Acronyms
Most Viewed Posts
Hellobee Gold
Hellobee Recipes
Hellobee Features
Hellobee Contests
Baby-led Weaning
Bento Boxes
Breastfeeding
Newborn Essentials
Parties
Postpartum Care Essentials
Sensory Play Activities
Sleep Training
Starting Solids Gear
Transitioning to Toddler Bed
All Series
Who We Are
About the Bloggers
About the Hostesses
Contributing Bloggers
Apply to Blog
Apply to Hostess
Submit a Guest Blog
Hellobee Buttons
How We Make Money
Community Policies
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
19 comments