How to get baby to sleep during the day HELP!!

frankie1

Hi all
Any tips or advice on how to get my 4 month old to take a nap during the day in her cot. She sleeps well at night and goes down without any fuss and sleeps 9-10 hours but during the day is hell!!
She is quite happy to sleep in her buggy or car seat (which i don't like) if we have been out but when we're at home she will only sleep if she is rocked and then these are only power naps for 30 min or so.

I have tried bottle, dimmed room etc but she just gets herself so worked up and can't settle. She doesn't have a soother as she never really took to them.

How does everyone else do it please, please help!!

RedXIV

Our youngest used to fall asleep to noise for some reason, in particular the hoover, as soon as it turned on, he'd nod off. same with the hairdryer actually.
What you may think of ideal sleeping environment may not be what he'd prefer.

My own mother used to swear by putting me in front of the washing machine!

Little My

My little boy was the exact same, he was great at going to sleep at night but just couldn't get himself settled during the day.

When my boy was just over six months he seemed to decide himself that naps were a good idea and will now go down with no problems. But from 3 - 6 months it was a nightmare.

The white noise worked a treat for us, eventually. I know friends who have a hairdryer app on their phone which works for them. If you have a pc nearby there are tons of samples on youtube.

Keep persisting with the naps, as best as you can. Try to keep a routine of naps going and baby will hopefully learn the cues.

How Strange

My son used to resist napping in his cot too and would sleep for max 45 mins. He'd go into his cot without any problem at night so I just let him nap wherever he liked. By 7 months he was quite happy to nap in his cot and now he naps for up to 3 hours.

When my son was born someone said I should pick my battles because you can't have everything just as you want it. After a few weeks of him screeching because he didn't want to nap in his cot I decided that was a good philosophy

Moonbeam

Maybe if you gave her somewhere to sleep down stairs.
She may need the reassurance of people around her.

Hannibal Smith

My 4 month old is difficult to get to sleep during the day, (oh actually, he's 5 months today!:D )....*ahem* anyhow....I think some babies nap and some don't. The first guy, as far as I remember, has always been great with day time naps, but this guy has never been good at it. We go for a good hour walk every day and he never sleeps during that whole time. But put him to bed at night and he conks out.

My conclusion is that sometimes some kids just don't nap? Maybe it'll be different when they're up and about tiring themselves out?

wmpdd3

as above, both mine are great during the night but no interest in a nap in the day until 6 months.

with the 7 week old, he will sleep in the carrier so, im putting him in it at the same time everyday for 1 hr to sleep, hoping he will sleep in the moses / pram after a week or so. it worked for baby no 1. she would only sleep when rocked so i put her lying flat in a swing and left it on for the hour while she slept, after a while she was sleeping for 3 i hr naps in her buggy. at 6 months she could self sooth.

lonestargirl

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

My conclusion is that sometimes some kids just don't nap? Maybe it'll be different when they're up and about tiring themselves out?

My son would rarely nap between 3-10 months old but once he started walking he started sleeping much more during the day.

frankie1

Thanks for all the advice. My husband and i have always said that she is such a great sleeper at night and that we should be grateful for that. It just would be lovely if she would sleep for a few hours so i can get jobs done!!!

crazygeryy

frankie1 wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice. My husband and i have always said that she is such a great sleeper at night and that we should be grateful for that. It just would be lovely if she would sleep for a few hours so i can get jobs done!!!

your right, be grateful.not getting a full night sleep is far far worse.it's a bloody nightmare.our guy slept 2 hrs every day but was awake from 2 to 4 every night.i know which I'd prefer.

Rubberlegs

I have never yet had a baby/toddler that napped during the day, apart from when they were newborn obviously. As soon as they got that bit bigger, they were awake all day, yet slept all night. It is a pain at times when you have stuff to do, but I preferred a night's sleep over having a child that napped in the day and woke in the night. It seems like no3 is going to go the same way, after nearly 10 weeks I'm finally getting 7 straight hours at night:D. Always have felt a bit bemused by parents putting a little one to nap during the day....

pwurple

My baby naps in buggy with the snuggle-foot thing on. When she was smaller we also had a bouncy chair with a vibrate thing on it... She would be out like a light in that.

That said, she never slept for more than 35 mins per nap. Any more than that and the nights sleep would be messed up. It was never long enough to get any jobs done anyway, that's for sure! Nip to the loo and shower was about it.