My 14 week old fights going to sleep. He can be rubbing his eyes, yawning, and closing his eyes when being held. But he FIGHTS to stay awake. He then gets to the point of being overtired and starts crying and arching his back and failing. I spend my entire day trying to get him into a nap, then calming him when he loses it. If he does manage to get to sleep, he sleeps 20-25 minutes tops. He is fantastic at night though. Puts himself to sleep and sleeps for 9 hours straight, wakes up for food, then sleeps another 2 hours or so. I don't know what to do for my child during the day. He needs sleep but will not/cannot nap. Anyone else going through this? or have suggestions?
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My LO started fighting sleep recently. She's 9 months old. -.- Now that she's more aware of her surroundings, all she wants to do is play!! Literally every time I try putting her down for a nap she fights me and cries. It's tiring, but I always win.
Have you tried putting your lo down earlier? Do you have a swing you can put him in?
I think my LO used to resist naps around that age too. The swing worked wonders. -
I do have a swing. We had put it away because we never really used it (and to make room for the Christmas tree) but I will pull it out and try again. I really want him to get used to napping in his crib and not having to be rocked/bounced to sleep.
I watch him like a hawk and at the first yawn am starting to wind him down and start the nap routine because if I miss the window in the slightest, he dissolves into a screaming mess. This morning his fought his nap for an hour and a half.
If he was one of those kids that just didn't nap much but could handle it, I wouldn't worry about it. But he wakes up tired and fussy so I know he needs more sleep.
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Have you tried letting him cry it out? I know lots of people don't agree with this method but it worked for my LO.
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Yes, I've let him cry it out. He doesn't start crying when I put him down. He'll be struggling to keep his eyes open, then work into being fussy, then to full blown crying. (This takes at least 30 minutes). Then he'll cry, start to quiet down, then work himself back up over and over. Once he does cry himself to sleep, it lasts 40 minutes at the most and he wakes up crying. I try to get him back down but it can take another hour of fighting and then he needs to eat and it's a lost cause. I'm going crazy.
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He just woke himself up after 40 minutes. It went from him being completely silent and sleeping, to full on crying. I know he's still tired. Do I go in there and try to get him back to sleep? If I go in, it turns into smiles and playtime, but after 30 minutes he'll be dissolving again. or do I let him cry and fuss, knowing it could go on for awhile and get to the point where he needs to eat again. And then the cycle starts again.
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@baby98765: If he wakes up crying I would wait a little bit and see if he falls back asleep. Babies have shorter sleep cycles.. they usually last around 40 mins. So if your LO is sleeping 40 mins, he's getting a full cycle of sleep.
I totally feel your pain!
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how long is your lo staying up between naps? charlie's awake period was much shorter than i thought and he was getting tired before he even showed outward signs.
also do you have a nap routine? that will signal to your lo that it's naptime and get him in napping mode?
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He can be up for an hour and a half if he has napped well. But if he's doing these 20 or 40 min naps where he wakes up already tired, he will dissolve after 30 minutes.
I just tried to leave him after he woke up after 40 minutes crying. He cried for 20 minutes so I went in and picked him up, rocked him for 20 minutes until he fell asleep again and put him down. Eyes immediately opened and worked himself into crying again. If I go in and put his plug back in he can hardly keep his eyes open but he is forcing himself to stay awake.
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@baby98765: Dang. If he falls asleep in your arms, I would just hold him while he sleeps. I used to hold my LO and it didn't become a habit. I don't know about you, but I was willing to do whatever to get her to sleep.
Do you nurse him?
My LO used to fall asleep in my arms and when I put her down she would wake up. -.- So I started nursing her in bed lying down. When she would fall asleep I'd unlatch and sneak out of her bed (mattress on floor). It worked for us. She didn't grow dependent on me always nursing her to sleep either.
Sorry you're having such a hard time! Hope you find something that works for you.
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No, I wasn't able to breastfeed so he's a bottle drinker. I am just at such a loss as to what to do. Thanks for all your help though! I appreciate any advice I can get, I'll try anything.
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My LO has been the same way, but he's almost 9 months old now. It sure makes for some loooong days. Shoot, yesterday I was desperate and when he feel asleep in my arms. That was the best 2 hours I've had in a long time!
At the age your LO is he napped like a champ in his swing, maybe that could work for you.
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Just wanted to come back and say after a horrible day yesterday, I dragged the swing back up from the basement and up to my babies room. I tried to get him in it for a nap this morning and he freaked. I tried again after a 2o min snooze on our walk (he woke up as soon as we stopped moving), it took 40 minutes of him being in the swing with me constantly putting the plug back in his mouth but he finally went back to sleep. I stayed in the room and watched him, after 40 minutes he started stirring and failing and sleep crying. I gave him back his plug twice but he didn't wake up. He has now been asleep for an hour and 45 mins! A miracle! Hopefully the swing will continue to work and he wont be too big for it soon (he's really long). Thanks for the suggestions yesterday, I'll come back and update on how we are going!
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@baby98765: My 5 1/2 month old still naps in the swing. I dont care how she naps, just as long as she does. Shes a pretty big girl- 79th percentile in height and 95th in weight... Im dreading the day shes too big for the swing!
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My LO has always been an excellent nighttime sleeper- 12 hours but his naps are always inconsistent. When he was around 5 weeks old he would only sleep when we held him. But I just kept trying to soothe him till drowsy but awake and put him down. It took many many tries but over time he got better. Nap and bedtime routine is really important too. We also have the white noise on all the time. I would also try soothing him earlier. If you usually soothe him at the 1.5 hr mark, soothe him at the 1 hr and 15 min mark, etc. Also, the activity before nap time should be very low key. I used to just have him lay flat on his back in his play gym while i quietly watch him.. for 15 minutes and then I start the nap routine.. hope this helps!
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