daytime naps - 15 month old

BabyOwen427 wrote: Owen sleeps really good at night in his crib and he has always done so. His daytime naps however are a different story. Since I bf him I would always nurse him in my rocking recliner and we'd fall asleep together like that. So since he's been born he's always taken his daytime naps with mommy. Well now mommy is past the new-baby-always-tired stage and although I love holding him while he sleeps I get so restless sitting for hours on end waiting for naptime to be over knowing there is so much I could be doing while he is sleeping. And I don't nurse him during the day anymore so he initates his naps by climbing up into my lap and falling asleep. I love holding him but at some point I think this is enough. I have been trying to get him to sleep anywhere else but on me during the day. I have tried my bed, the couch and his crib. I am reluctant to force the crib because I don't want him to hate the crib and ruin nighttime sleep. How do I get him to sleep during the day without me?
Sorry for rambling on and on here. TIA.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: I have some questions for you if you don't mind: So what happens when you put him down somewhere other than your lap? Are you open to letting him CIO? What's your bedtime ritual, for example: how do you get him to sleep in his crib at night? Does he fall asleep while nursing?

If he sleeps in his crib at night, it sounds like he actually is comfortable there and won't "hate" it. I would say nurse him and then put him down in his crib as soon as he shows signs of sleepiness. You said he crawls up to you when he wants to nap, that's the perfect time to show him where he needs to go. Put him in his crib, say "it's naptime" and walk out. You can go back after a minute or so and rub his back, then leave again. Repeat. They eventually get it. It gets easier each time, promise. It just takes consistency.

luvmykids replied: ITA with Rae....he just needs to relearn where naps happen. If you wanted to make it gradual, you could say "After we read a book, it's naptime in your crib", etc. I know it seems like they might not understand but I think at his age they get it

My3LilMonkeys replied: I found with my girls, it was always easier if we had a "countdown".....I would tell them 10 minutes to naptime, 5 min, 2 min, etc....even if I wasn't accurate to the actual time it took it didn't matter, they had no concept of how long 10 minutes should be. It prepared them for the idea that it was soon.

Aubrey's mama replied: My 18 month old was the same way. She would never sleep in her crib during the day. What worked for me was the "No-Cry Sleep Solution" book. Also, do the same things at naptime as you would for bedtime (read the same book, dim lighting, soft music, maybe soft 'lovey', etc). It will be hard for the first few weeks, but in the long run you both will be much happier. Good Luck!

bawoodsmall replied: I had to do the cio scenario with our son for everything. I also if you dont want to do that try to put him down and keep going back if he continues to cry. I feel for you. I love that 2 hours when aiden is sleeeping and em is playing contently with the boy next door. I can get so much done. Aiden also was a horrible napper. Great at night but the day was a different ballgame. Have you also thought that he is over tired when you are trying to put him down for a nap. That, I finally figured out was a lot of his problem. He would need and still needs at 15 months also a nap in the morning and afternoon. The morning nap is about 2 hours after he has been up. And trust me he gets plenty of sleep at night. Just requires more I guess. Good luck. I hope you find something that works for you.

BabyOwen427 replied:
I don't mind.
I'm not a huge fan of CIO. It worked for us when he was 7 or 8 months to get him to sleep in his crib but it was hard and I wouldn't recommend if someone was strongly aginst it.
Our bedtime ritual has been the same since he was born. Bath at 8pm, start nursing about 8:30-8:45. When he is asleep I lay him down and he sleeps till 7am. He only wakes in the night if he is sick or pooed his diaper (which is very rare).
At naptime I let him sleep on me because when I was nursing during the day he just fell asleep on me and I either sit and watched tv or I fell asleep too.
We've tried several times to lay him in his crib during the day and he'll get to the point when we even go in his room he sees the crib and starts crying.
Daytime naps have always been hard in his room. I think in part because we live on a busy corner street, his room is on the front of the house and we have no bedroom doors so everyone can hear everything that happens in this house anywhere.
I'll try your suggestion. When he crawls up on me to lay him down then. I need to wait though until daddy is going to be working several days in a row. He isn't really good about being quiet.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied:
Yeah, letting my kids CIO was never easy for me either. I really never went past 5 minutes of it. But I had to finally do it with Wesley because he wasn't going down at night and also getting up several times throughout the night. Both Dh and I were getting used to just taking him to our bed to stop the crying, but it finally got to be too much for us and we agreed to leave him in his crib. I still got up and nursed him the first week or so, but as soon as he started to drift off in the rocker, I put him back in his crib, tucked him in, played some soft music and closed the door. Then I finally got to the point where I turned off the monitor. It was torture, but I had to do it so that I wouldn't go in his room and pick him up. It took a few nights of crying for a few minutes and then he was sleeping through the night just fine. Sometimes he still wakes, but it now only takes a couple minutes to get him back down while he is still awake.

I don't really have any other suggestions except have you tried blackout shades in his room? My sister's kids never sleep unless it's really dark. White noise like a fan may drown out the noise from the street. GL. It does get easier.

Aubrey's mama replied: [QUOTE]I don't really have any other suggestions except have you tried blackout shades in his room? My sister's kids never sleep unless it's really dark. White noise like a fan may drown out the noise from the street. GL. It does get easier


I agree...you need to use shades and a small fan. And try to have extra "fun" playtime in the room and/or crib. That worked for us. good luck.

Calimama replied: I put a cd on for Bella for nap time, but not for bed time. It's usually classical and soft, if she's not too sleepy right away then she'll lay there and listen and usually within 5-10 minutes she's asleep.

Boo&BugsMom replied: I was going to suggest CIO as well. Sometimes they just need a little tough love. Crying doesn't necessarily mean bad. I see it more or less like a baby temper tantrum. They form habits so easily, and when it's time to break a habit, they of course are not going to be happy about it.

moped replied:
They learn to self sooth themselves which helps them through life......

We think alot alike Jennie!

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Great minds think alike!