Struggles with Naps

[Raising Ethan]

Daily naps continue to be a struggle. Ethan was always a cat napper. He would nap for 30 minutes and wake up screaming until someone would pick him up. He never did go back to sleep. I tried everything imaginable to prolong his sleep. Thanks to everyone for your comments and suggestions!

[nhockaday]

how long does he sleep at night?

[cybermommy]

My son was pretty similar. As a newborn, when the books said that he was supposed to be sleeping 16 hours a day, he was only sleeping about 5! He got better, but he's never gotten as much sleep as the studies recommend. He was always hit or miss with his naps, and he hated being put down for any of them. I would say he has always gotten about 2 hours fewer hours than the recommended sleep for his age. Curiously, he slept at day care MUCH better during the 3 days a week he was there. I kept him on a strict schedule at home to mimic the daycare schedule, but he just wouldn't sleep--just cried and hollered during the whole hour he was left alone.

He gets crabby when he gets overtired, and his attention span is not the greatest, but overall, he's still a bright, happy child.

The most helpful book I read (like you, I think I tried them all) was "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," by Marc Weissbluth, because it didn't just assume every child had the same temperment, and if you just followed this one plan, everything would be okay. It cited numerous studies by different authors, and acknowledged that some children would sleep more or less than others, and the percentage of children that fell into either category.

I've always tried to get my child to sleep more than he does, but we've had to compromise.

[Joha]

I had the same issue, well she still doesn't nap great, but she has her days. My concern also was her brain development, since they need that sleep for it. I read in one of the books about sleep that you need to count when your child wakes up in the middle of the nigh. For example with my daughter she goes to bed at 7:30 wakes up at 5:30 a.m., eats and goes back to sleep. When she goes back to sleep and wakes up two or three hours later counts as a nap.

Raising Ethan, I'm not sure if you son sleeps those hours straight. So this may be something to conseider.

[trulypearl]

Raising Ethan,
Just hang in there.  My son was a cap napper also.  He would resist sleep and would awake to the slightest sounds.  We would always have to tiptoe around the house and even wait until he is awake to use the restrooms to avoid having to flush the toilet.  It was horrible. As he got old and more active such as crawling and walking he slept for longer periods.  You should see a sleep specialist just to make sure that there are no other medical issues that causes him to not nap in the day.  If your son is around one and sleeps an average of 12 hours a day, I think he is fine.  An hour or two short is not that bad. 

[nhockaday]

If your son is sleeping 12 hours straight, then I wouldn't worry about him only sleeping for 1/2 hour nap. That's why; he's getting enough sleep at night. I don't think they would let you see a specialist for that. My son has been that way ever since he quit taking a second nap. He sleeps 12 or so hours straight at night and only takes a 30 minute nap on average.

[Twinergy]

This sounds very familiar.  My son still wakes up screaming on occasion.  When he was a baby he had very bad colic and he was also a high needs http://www.askdrsears.com/html/5/T050400.asp baby.   It really helped me to read that article because I realized it is just who he is and I wasn’t doing anything wrong.  He stopped waking up screaming all the time around 14 months, but there are still some more difficult stretches if he is sick or teething.  Does Ethan show any signs that he might have gas cramps?   I found that if I eliminated milk and soy from his diet it helped these problems with my son, and he did sleep a little better.  I found this http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-much-sleep-does-your-child-need_7645.bc chart on babies sleep needs helpful. 

[khatty]

I resonate with this post.  However, I only wish, pray, cry that my dd would sleep for 11 or 12 hours at night.  My dd has never been much of a sleeper.  Her nickname is the amazing awake baby.  I would estimate she sleeps between 6 and 7 hours in total at night, but she usually wakes up at least once and sometimes 2 or 3 times during that time.  Her bedtime is midnight and she wakes up around 2am to be breastfed and then she wakes up for good between 6 and 7 am.  If I am really lucky she will nap for maybe an hour in the afternoon, but most days she is happy to be awake from 7am until midnight.

I too have tried many books and solutions and have finally come to the conclusion that I will just spend my days in a haze.  I give up the only - thing left for me is to complain. 

[joyMegha]

Take him for a drive while he is feeling sleepy.Hopefully this may help him to sleep better.

[LGbabe]

I face the same problem too with my boy Gavin. He's nearly one but rarely naps during the daytime. He goes to bed by 9 am and only wakes up at 7am for breakfast. I used to worry about his overall development if he was getting enough sleep. However, i quit worrying after figuring if he is happy, alert, healthy and gaining weight, he must be one of those babies who doesn't need a lot of sleep 

Now I notice he naps a little more after swimming for 30 minutes. Hmmm.... I need to incorporate some physical activities to tire him out.

[Raising Ethan]

wow thanks so much for all the suggestions and sharing your stories with me. I've never personally met anyone who went through the same troubles of having a catnapper. Maybe I should just accept it afterall and not stress out about this anymore!

[trulypearl]

That what's so great about this forum.  You can find mothers and fathers just like yourself out there who have or going through the same experiences you are.  No parent is perfect and we try our best to do what we can for our children.   That is all we can ask of ourselves and not feel bad that other parents seem to have the perfect angel child.

[Nikita]

just be happy he sleeps well at night. So many babies dont. He probably doesnt need much sleep during the day because he sleeps so much at night. My bub sleeps until 7.30 or 8 am but is staying up later and later at night where many months ago she would go to sleep at 7.30-8.30 pm. And still have a daytime sleep. Now it can be 10.30pm or later. But she'll sleep at least 2 hours in the day. Unfortunately I used to be able to get her to sleep with a big bottle of milk, but that doesnt work anymore. She either has to wear herself out and fall asleep through exhaustion on the floor, or I have to take her to bed with me. She doesnt want to go to sleep anymore, she fights it.
I have learned this last week, that if they sleep badly at night, tossing and turning, waking up crying and just impossible to settle...repeatedly for many days or weeks... threadworms. It takes 6 weeks from ingesting eggs to an adult coming out the other end to lay. And it upsets bub all the way through the digestive system journey and then remain being annoying until treated. They are difficult to know about as they dont come out until all people are usually asleep, when it's dark. So bub can have them but you wont know. For restless night sleepers, check bubs bum in the middle of the night with a torch.

[tina]

Raising Ethan,
Every baby is different and my elder daughter never reaches the "recommended average sleep duration", and she is always 1 hour or 1.5 hours off!  If your son does not wake up in the middle of the night and just sleeps straight 12 hours, I think 1 hour nap should be ok, although I would suggest to have 2 naps!  Try to have some quiet time with him even if he doesn't nap, and maybe later on, he can develop a nap as he knows that time is not playful time, instead, it's quiet time.   Or you can close the curtain in his room and play some quiet music at the time you think he looks tired.

[hypatia]

It really depends on the baby's age of course, but I can certainly relate to you. Even as a newborn my daughter was never sleeping for long stretches.
She is now 9 months old and has two naps a day which last between 20mn and 40 mn. I'd love for her to have just one nap now which would last 1h30!
But she is a happy baby so I'm fine with the cat-napping.
She is in bed at 7pm, which is when the day starts for me! (TV, a good dinner, a book and catching up on BrillBaby!)

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