Hellobee Boards

Have you read Mrs. Bee's nap-training post? My LO takes one and sometimes two afternoon naps...We started off CIO...But now, she almost always goes down without a peep. I'm very pro-CIO...Not sure if you are?

I think I'm beginning to sound like a broken record but have you tried nap training? Babies are smarter than we give them credit for and your LO has already caught on that if she fights long enough, she can delay the nap. Nap training will teach her that naps are non-negotiable and eventually she'll see that it's not worth her time to fight it.

Good luck!

Could you put her down earlier? I don't know what time her dad gets home, but maybe you could get her to nap before he gets there?

I went insane over the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" but ever since I started following it and nap trained RJ, he has been a fabulous napper.

^ I've also been a fan of that book. I don't follow it to a tee, but the general principles of how long to go between naps and not letting Baby Y get overtired have worked pretty well.

@artbee: I found that when our naptraining was down, I could go out and about and have her nap in her stroller long enough to count as a realy nap (45 minutes) and not have it intefere with our schedule at home. I think the key is to really tire her out for the two hours that she's awake. We recently got LO an exersaucer and it has worked wonders. She plays so well in it that she truly exhausts herself!

charlie naps in the stroller and car seat fine and it doesn't mess up his crib naps at all. also nap training lengthened his notorious 45 min naps to 2-3 hour naps. i'd try putting her down every 90 minutes. that was the magic number for charlie at that age.

but 4 1/2 months is exactly when we sleep trained because his sleep got so bad. they're going thru a lot developmentally at that age, so it's not just a coincidence that your lo's sleep isn't great!

@artbee: My daughter will ONLY nap in a stroller or car so I am definitely not against it! We have tried everything else (including CIO) and if this is what works then we kind of have no choice if we want her to sleep!

@artbee: How does she sleep at night? My LO sleeps 13 hours in her crib at night but won't even sleep for 1 minute in her crib during the day so who knows why?!?

@artbee: drives you crazy doesn't it? i hate naps. haha.

@Red: I hope you didn't think I thought we were pressuring her - Wasn't my intention at all! (We apologize a lot around here!)

If she's sleeping fine in her crib at night, I would not worry at all. RJ is a FANTASTIC sleeper all around, but even though we opted to nap train, he still regularly took a car or stroller nap at least once a day. Once he was down to one nap it was always in the crib and it extended to 2, sometimes 3 hours. Sometimes because we're out and about we have to do a car or stroller nap, and it's always less than an hour, which is why I am so strict about going home for his nap-- he is a nightmare by dinnertime if he hasn't had a good nap. I've actually been chastised by moms and non-moms for having to jet off by 11am to get him lunch and to his nap, but I know what's best for him! He just happens to sleep better in his crib.

In the end you just gotta do what's best for your family!!! You know your baby best Whatever you decide to do, there will always be a bunch of people who believe in the opposite way, so in the end there is no right or wrong way-- you just have to do what you know will work! That was our motto for the first year-- "whatever works".