Only four days of work this week - yay! I'm pumped to be going up to Cleburne this weekend for Easter, and to celebrate my mom and aunt's 50th birthday. Should be fun!
We didn't do too much this weekend. Luke spent all of Saturday in the yard - it looks SO much better. Whata man. Sunday, we ate lunch with Hayden and Atosha and their twin 1.5 year olds Hadley and Dean (same birthday as Cooper, just a year later). Whew. Props to those with twins - I don't think I could do it!
Anybody have any baby nap advice? Cooper's a super star at night - bath, eat, goes to bed at around 7:30 and sleeps through the night. But, it's a never-ending battle getting him to take naps. And when he does go to sleep, it's not for very long. This is REALLY hard for me since I take him to work sometimes and would love for him to take at least one, one-hour nap sometimes.
Ideas? What works for you guys?
5 comments:
Brady was the same way... It took me a while to get him on a napping schedule, because he'd cat nap 10 mn at a time, which would drive me nuts, since like you, I have to work. My pediatrician's office was my saving grace for this.
They told me to put him down about 2-3 hours after he gets up in the morning and say to him "it's time for your nap now." If he starts fussing, crying whatever, don't go in there. Even if he ends up not sleeping those first few times, you're establishing the routine of the nap or quiet time. After following this for a week or so, Brady now takes two good naps a day (the afternoon nap was a REALLY huge fight! But we got there too eventually)
Good luck and stick to your guns, they need those naps!
We had the same problem with Ashleigh when she was about 4 mos old, only she also wasn't sleeping through the night. No one told me that I needed to help my baby learn how to sleep when she was tired or eat when she was hungry--I assumed she would come with that stuff already programmed!
My pediatrician recommended the book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Mark Weissbluth (reknowned child sleep expert and pediatrician to celebrities). It gives a good, easy to understand explanation of how to establish sleep patterns for babies and how those sleep patterns will change over time.
Basically, similar to Catwoman's advice, most babies are ready for a nap after about 1 1/2--2 hours of wakefulness. Babies repeat a routine of wake up, eat, play, sleep throughout the day--generally cycling through the routine every 3 to 4 hours. After Cooper's been awake for about 1 1/2 hours, start to watch for cues that he might be getting sleepy. The trick is to get him down during that window when he's ready to sleep but not yet overtired (when he'll fight sleeping until you both give up).
Try this: About 2 hours after he wakes up in the morning, go through a mini-version of your bedtime routine, like rocking, reading and then putting him in his crib (or a quiet, darkened room), maybe with some soft, soothing music. Ashleigh really liked lullabys. Then, leave him alone to fall asleep. You may be surprised how easily he'll take a nap. He should nap for at least 45 minutes; if he wakes before that, leave him alone for a while to fall back asleep.
Then, about 2 hours after he wakes up from his morning nap, repeat the mini-bedtime routine for an afternoon nap. Ideally, he will wake up from his afternoon nap about 3 hours before his bedtime, so his wake, eat, play, sleep cycle just keeps going into bedtime.
When I started doing this with Ashleigh, in just 3 days, she was taking two regular naps and sleeping through the night! I can't tell you what I miracle that was! I recommend the "sleep bible" to all new parents--some are resistant to putting their babies on such a routine at first (it's okay--everyone thinks that they won't have to schedule their lives around a baby until they have one) but they all eventually come around to Healthy Sleep Habits!
Oh! One other idea--does Cooper have a lovie or a blankie? If not, now is the perfect time to introduce one. A lovie or special blanket can be a cue that it's time to settle down and take a nap! Ashleigh's lovie has become the most important member of our family--we don't leave home without it!
Good luck!
Oh my! Sorry for the really long comment--it's just that I feel your pain. ;-)
Thanks for the comments. He's already better!
Yeah don't ask me about this sleep stuff. All too often I rely on the drive them to sleep trick. Maybe I need to follow some of Lauren's advise! Sounds good!
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