Baby Won't Nap

Cynthia dropped me a line over at my Amazon.com Author Connect blog to tell me about her son's daytime sleep problems. Here are some of the suggestions I offered, based on what she had to tell me about her son's sleep routines.

If a baby isn't getting enough sleep in a 24 hour period, it can be hard for him to settle down for restful naps. Often naptime sleep is the "canary in the mine" -- an early indicator that baby isn't getting enough sleep or sufficiently restful sleep. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that 6-8 month old babies sleep for 14 to 15 hours per day. (The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the same amount of sleep.) But in its 2004 Sleep in America study, The National Sleep Foundation found that most babies this age were getting a total of 12.8 hours of sleep (9.7 hours at night and 3.1 during the day). Obviously these figures are averages, but you can see that babies your sons age need a lot of sleep in order to function at their best. If your son is sleep deprived, he may be too wired to settle down for truly restful daytime naps. He may only be napping long enough to take the edge of his exhaustion. Is it possible that he needs to sleep in a little longer in the morning or, if he's waking because he's hungry, to go back to bed shortly after his early-morning feeding? Perhaps you could alter his sleeping environment so that morning doesn't arrive quite so early for him (room-darkening shades, creating a "blanket" of sound by using a white noise machine, making sure he's staying dry all night by using sufficiently absorbent diapers, making sure he's not too warm or not too cold at night -- common reasons for a baby waking up too early).

Could something be interfering with your son's naps? Is the daytime environment much busier or noisier? This can make it difficult for a baby to settle down to sleep. (A white noise machine can help a lot. You might also try playing his lullaby CD to provide a soothing blanket of sound.) Something as simple as the timing of naps can cause a problem. Trying to put a baby down for a nap when he is hungry as opposed to when he has just eaten can interfere with naps. (Your baby be naturally tired after he's had his lunch. It only makes sense to work with rather than his natural biorhythms.)

I wonder if your little guy is either making a transition from three naps to two naps (which might explain why his daytime sleep patterns are a bit wacky right now) or if he's having a bit of difficulty adjusting to the fact that there isn't a lot of consistency to his daytime routine. Some babies don't have any trouble "going with the flow"'; others need a lot more consistency. You would be the best one to judge what kind of temperament your little guy has and what works best for him.

The constipation thing could be an important clue. I've heard from some parents who found that sleep problems became a major problem when their child was struggling with some sort of food-related problem. (It's actually amazing how much eating and sleeping link together -- even for us grownups. Have you ever eaten too much food right before bedtime -- maybe at a New Year's Eve party -- and then had a hard time sleeping. Or maybe it wasn't the food....ahem. Okay moving on.)

The lost pacifier issue could be starting to become an issue. I'm sure you've done all kinds of reading about sleep associations and how babies/toddlers naturally want to recreate the environment that was in place when they fell asleep. (That's why you're finding that you're on "pacifier patrol" if the pacifier gets lost while your baby is asleep.) You may want to consider (and I stress CONSIDER) switching your baby over to a different type of "lovey" that isn't as easily lost at naptime. His age is a consideration here because there are sleep safety issues to consider. You can't send him to bed with some of the "loveys" that are safe for older kids because of SIDS safety concerns. But maybe this is something you could work towards in the months ahead -- switching him over to a tiny stuffed animal. Someone recently sent me a sample of a product called Wubba Nub that features a pacifier attached to a tiny stuffed animal. That might be one idea as your baby gets older.

Sleep hygiene (the quality of sleep) is another thought that pops into my head. While sleeping on the run works well in some situations, babies don't get ideal sleep in strollers. In a perfect world, they'd always sleep in their beds. Of course, we aren't raising them in a perfect world, so we have to balance off their needs vs. our needs. But I just thought I'd flag that for you as another possible clue.

Finally, there are all kinds of alternatives to the "sleep training" you're dreading. Read up on the alternatives and go with your gut instinct about what's right for you and your baby.

Comments

[Sarah B]

I have a 10 month old son who is a very good night sleeper but not a good napper. He sleeps at night from 7:30pm until aprox 7am. Occassionally he wakes up at night but that is fairly infrequent. Naps are a different story. He used to nap at 9:15am (after dropping his big sister at preschool). We did out normal nap routine and he would sleep approx 45 min-1 hour. He would also nap in the afternoon from around 1:30 or 2pm for 2 hours. A month or so ago, he changed. We start the nap routine at the same time but it takes an hour for him to get to sleep. He talks, plays with his music, throws his pacifier and toy out and stands up. I go in, put evertyhing back, put him and leave. I do this over an over again. I do not pick him up or sing. Sometimes I will pat his back for a minute or 2. If he falls asleep at 10:30, he will sleep until 12, when I have to wake him to pick up from preschool. Since he has napped so late in the morning, he won't take an afternoon nap until 3 or 4pm and we have the same struggle. It doesn't really affect his nighttime sleep if he has the late nap, maybe he will go to bed at 8pn instead of 7:30.

I feel like I am wasting my time to get him back on his earlier nap schedule. Maybe he is ready for 1 longer afternoon nap? I don't know how much more effort to put into changing the nap time, if it is even possible.

Please help!

Sarah

[Inger]

Hi-

My little guy naps once a day and is a great sleeper at night. However, I still nurse him to sleep at night and for his nap. The only way I could ever get him to take naps was to either drive him around in the car, or nurse him to sleep and sleep on me. Now, I'm trying to wean him and am concerned I won't be able to get him to nap. Any suggestions?

Inger

[lisarose]

Hi! I , too, have a 10 month old who has just started resisting his afternoon nap. At first I chalked it up to teething (b/c he is) but now I am wondering if he is trying to go down to 1 nap per day...a bit earlier than the typical one year?? He sleeps around 11 1/2 to 12 hrs. at night...but as of the last two weeks he has only taken his hour and a half morning nap. When I put him down for his typical afternoon nap he will roll around for up to 2 hours if I let him!!! The problem is that without the afternoon nap...he is absolutely exhausted early evening. I actually called my pediatrician's office and the nurse recommended moving the "morning" nap to later in the day so that his day was more broken up. The premise is also that they will sleep longer for that one nap...hasn't happened for me yet...but we are just starting. Does anyone have any insight? Solutions? Has this happened to anyone with a baby as young as 10 mos.??

[abby]

hi, I have a 8 mth old son,and he only sleeps from about 9:00-4:00 then eats and might go back to sleep till 6:00.But he will not take a afternoon nap.If I do manage to get him to sleep its only for about 30 minutes @ the most!And I have no clue why!

[Andrea]

I have a 3 1/2 month old daughter who sleeps great at night, usually between 10 and 12 hours, but she will not take more than a 30-45 minute nap during the day at numerous periods throughout the day. My husband and I know how lucky we are that she sleeps through the night already, but I worry about her not getting enough sleep during the day. Her routine kind of goes eat, play, sleep (30-45 min), play again, sleep again (15-30 mins) then its just about time to eat again (every 3 hours). Anyone have any insight? Shes our first and we can use all the help we can get. Thanks!

[Cassie]

Hi there, I have the same exact problem. My daughter sleeps from 6:30pm-8am with 2 feedings in between but I can't get her to sleep longer than 30-45 min during the day. I too am grateful that she sleeps so well at night but she's only happy for maybe 20 minutes after her powernap and then I have to put her down again. Has anyone told you what the problem is??

[Cassie]

Just to add to that. My Ped. told me that some babies do sleep only 30-45min and this is okay as long as they aren't sleepy within an hour of getting up which is my proble. I assume that she knows what she's talking about.

[Andrea]

My daughter doesnt get up to eat at all during the night usually! Shes a big baby though, so I dont worry about that. No one has told me what the problem is, but she hasnt had a ped appointment since end of Sept. She has one the end of this month, her 4 mo well visit, so I will ask her ped then and I will keep you updated. Good Luck!

[Andrea]

Ped said that it is normal for babies this age to sleep several 30 min naps during the day, and even if she gets tired before an hour goes by thats okay too, but im sure we will still worry, being first time parents and all!

[hbliss]

i have a 5 month old .
she sleeps midnight to about 10am
and has about 3 30-45 min naps during the day.
i really need her in bed early evening so i can have a life with my husband.
ive tried to put her down early to no avail.
if i get her up early she just cant stay awake
,she flops all over, then snoozes off in a second?my ped said cold wet rag!!!like i dont feel mean already waking her up.
please help me ladies

[Lisa]

I have a 10 month old who does not seem to need a nap at all. I know he is tired as he shows all signs but will force wakefulness and fuss for a couple of hours when I try to get him to sleep. He never showed "normal" napping behavior throughout his babyhood so far. He sleeps okay at night but wakes up at least twice and tries to stand up, fusses a lot before going back to sleep. I am trying some methods to train him to sleep on his own but is not going too well. People call him the "energizer bunny"...he want to go and go and go..

[Cassie]

To hbliss
I'm a first time mom but I'm going to suggest something anyway. I found that putting my daughter to sleep around 6:30 really works. I'm sure that she falls asleep so late because one its a habbit now and two, the longer past her bedtime that she goes to sleep, the later she'll be up.
My daughter's room is very dark, we have a nightly ritual of book, massage, swaddling and paci. She also has her sound machine. I soothe her and she's normally out for the night until about 7am with a feeding in between. She does scream occassionally for her paci but she is still asleep. Read Healthy Sleep Habbits Happy child but please avoid the CIO parts.
As far as naps go, I have found that if I keep leaving her alone after putting her paci back in (no crying but sometimes she fusses), sometimes she passes right back out and sleeps for an hour or so.
Good Luck!!

[rebecca]

hey my baby wont go to sleep on his own he needs me to put him to sleep will he ever grow out of that or not??? i need help on this one please HELP ME

[Rachyl]

My fifteen month old daughter used to sleep through the night 7:30 - 7:00. However, she just recently started getting up around Five o'clock every morning and won't nap. She will occasionally nap if I am holding her, but wakes up and cries uncontrollably if I lay her down in her crib. I have tried everything I can think of to make her sleep in longer in the mornings and take naps, but nothing works. Please help if anyone has any suggestions. Thanks.

[courtney]

Hi!.. Man, am I glad to see that I'm not the only one. My 6 month old son will sleep from about 9pm until about 630 pm, but naps are a different story...
I wish I could get him to take a long two hour in the morning and another three hour one in the afternoon. Instead he'll take 2-3 half hour naps, maybe an hour. I'm pregnant once again and man I'm exhausted. I try to nap when my son does, but as you can see , that's not always possible. Any suggestions?.... Just glad to see that I'm not alone.