I need some advice with nap training. My 6 month olds naps are a disaster, and they've been like this since he was two weeks old. He is a chronic crap napper. In the last 6 months I can count on ONE HAND the amount of naps he's taken that have lasted longer than 36 minutes. 36 minutes is the longest. They are usually less. These days closer to 25 minutes.

He also needs to be rocked down for naps and the majority of the time he'll wake up the second we lay him down. He is obviously still tired when he wakes up. He's whiney, rubs his eyes, yawns, fusses. He's not getting enough sleep. I've played around with his awake times. Putting him to bed early, late.. Doesn't matter. 36 minutes or less.

So we are nap training. He's with a sitter during the week because I WOH and she is helping. What we are doing is doing a nap routine and laying him in the crib awake. Leaving him there for a full hour, and doing checks. During the checks we shush, pat his belly, tell him to go to sleep, give him a paci, and leave..no picking up. At the end of the hour we make a big production to signal the end of his naptime.

My question is for this weekend when I'm with him all day. If he cries the entire nap what do I do? Keep him awake until his next nap time? Or just take him out for a bit and try again? Also, do you let him nap like normal the next time (like rocking to sleep) or do you keep up with the nap training for each nap? I don't want to undo anything but I'm scared he won't sleep at all? Is that just the price you pay until he figures it out?

At the sitters he has been taking a short nap in the car after. She has to drop off and pick up her son from preschool so she cant help it if he falls asleep in the car. I'll be staying home all day when I'm home.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated! Today was our first day and he cried both times. Took two twenty minute car naps while she was picking up her son. That's it!

ETA: he naps horribly everywhere. Doesn't matter if I hold him, if he's in the swing, the car, the crib. I never get 'good' naps.