Napping baby

[mintymint78]

My 4 months old baby just won't nap unless stroller him oustside. Reach home he'll wake up again. Any advise on how to make baby sleep without stroller or carry? Cos carry would end up sleep on my arms, later put him down also wake up again. At night he'll slp ard 9pm, wake up ard 2 times until 7am really wake up. Night time he'll drink milk and straight away sleep again. But, day time he very difficult to sleep.

 

[frog]

Most babies are creatures of routine. Perhaps he has somehow gotten used to the routine of sleeping in the stroller. This could work well for parents that need to send an older child to school or do marketing... The most important thing now is try working out a schedule that would work for your baby. A 4-month old baby can sleep from 7pm to 7am (possibly waking up in between, but at some point they will sleep through).

If you feel that you prefer that he sleeps in the cot during nap-time, then try to draw the curtains and reduce the noise level when it is naptime. It helps that he has a feed right before naptime - full tummy = sleepy baby = longer naptime.

E.g. if you want him to sleep at 10am, give him a feed at 9:30am and then draw the curtains to signal it is naptime. It might not work on the first couple of days, but if you stick to a routine, most babies will be most happy to follow it after the 3rd day. Someone once mentioned that a baby's memory is only up to 3 days max. When they are young, all good/bad habits can be changed in 3 days. So however tough, just hang on and be patient. Stick to the routine.

 

[haileysummer2012]

Yes, I think it would be best if you'll change the sleeping routine of your baby. And try to sing a lullaby to your baby till he sleeps.

 

[trax]

Hi mintymint, try using the bouncer? it works well for my boy, he will fall asleep in our arms, then we put him on the bouncer and rock him for a while after we lay him down. We will rock him lightly now and then too where there are disturbances so he can sleep better.

My bb is the opposite of yours. He doesn't sleep much when we are out even when he was just 2 mths old, so we nv get the oppty to sit down or to go shopping for long.

 

[celineyap88]

My baby used to take no nap at all during daytime, and all the 4 different pediatricians i went to see did not give me practical tips nor solution. At the end I went to see a sleep specialist and finally cracked the problem.
What frogprincess said is true. To start with, establish a nap routine and decide where you want the baby to sleep ( e.g. cot). A nap routine should be something easy and not too long ( probably 10-15 mins). Mine is close curtain, then sleep sack, cuddle, then put her to bed when she is awake and sing song for a while. Since she is still young, you could give her a bit more help like pat pat but eventually you need to reduce it to none. Also a darker room make nap easier, but no need pitch dark. Have sth white noise like fan to mask out other noise if your baby is sensitive to sound.
Apart from that, you need to know your baby awake time ( start counting after she wake up). At her age, it probably 90min to 2 hour, each baby is different, also watch the sleeping cues. If it is too late, she will be overtired and it will be hard to settle her, and he/she will likely end up crying. If it is too earlier and not overtired, they are likely to play with themselves. So play around +/-15 mins if the baby does not fall asleep within 15 mins.
Also you need to very consistent on the routine and try not to go out too often initially during daytime. Initially it was very stressful for me and my maid to get my baby to nap, my maid nearly cried doing it everyday. Now we could get my baby nap easily, and she usually sleeps more than 1 hour until i need to cut down her nap. Generally she is happy and alert nowadays
Pls do not use prop like bouncer and rocking if you do not intend to do this in the future, these will create sleep association and create more problem down the road and at one point you have to do sleep training to break that habit ( which mean let baby cry). 4 months is the best time to start before the habit get entrenched. You can pm me for more detail. I went through a lot of trial and error about baby napping issue and wish to share with other new mothers who face similar problem like me. Unfortunately Our mother generation only know sarung so usually cant help much.

 

[lawrain]

Hi Celine,

How do you manage your baby while you were trying to get her to nap? Like your baby, mine is also sleep resistant. I tried to establish a routine but he will stay awake and eventually start whining for attention or crying in frustration when he can't sleep. I had to resort to letting him suck for comfort at my breast or walk arnd carrying him. Even then, he may not sleep long. Thanks!

 

[elohz]

Try changing his routine. Try putting him down on the crib and play with him for a while. While he's playing, play some soft background music.Soft music makes the baby go to sleep. and do play with him at around 5 to 7 in the afternoon. Stay him awake at that periods of time. So that when he finally get to sleep, he'll sleeps all throughout the night. He might be awake for sometime, just tap him a little bit, he'll sleep again.