Does she need to sleep?!

[wilelm]

My 10-month-old daughter is going through a stage where she won't take naps. She'll sit sucking her thumb and staring at me with red eyes, almost too tired to sit up, but when I put her down she stands up (new trick) and starts to cry. No matter how many times I go back in and lay her down, she gets right back up (and of course, she hasn't learned how to get back down yet). Should I be worried that she won't sleep? It doesn't matter where I put her or what I do (rocking, etc.), she won't sleep! It's driving me crazy!!!

[Melanie]

Can you get her to sleep and then lay her down? How does she act for the rest of the day, like an overtired baby or totally fine?

Every child is different, but there's usually some sleep charts floating around which give recommended amounts for each stage.

[wilelm]

She's usually an infuriatingly light sleeper, so if I get her to sleep first and then try to lay her down, she wakes up. This time it worked, though. Right after I posted my message, I got her to take a bottle (she had refused it the first time I tried), and fell asleep while drinking it. When I put her down, she stayed asleep.

She goes through stages during the day where she's obviously tired, but if she doesn't take a nap, seems to get a second wind. She's ALWAYS happy, so it doesn't seem to affect her mood.

Thanks for writing!

Sheila
Mother of Miriam, 03/10/03

[jesseandgrace]

sheila,

I just read today that very smart babies often have trouble going to sleep because they are just so busy learning about the world :).

Jennifer

[alkagift]

Sheila,
I read that about 9-10 months babies drop the morning nap in favor of a longer early afternoon nap. Is it possible that she doesn't need both or is she refusing both? I couldn't tell from your post.


Allison
Mom to Matthew Clayton, 5/19/03

[Momof3Labs]

Is she catnapping at all during the day, such as in the car? If Colin sleeps even 15 minutes in the car, he'll refuse his afternoon nap. How long is she awake before you try to put her down? You might be waiting too long, and once she is overtired, she has a hard time going to sleep. Weissbluth has some great info on sleep patterns in babies and periods of wakefulness - I wish that I had read it before Colin was 6 months old!

[wilelm]

Of course, that must be it!;-)

Sheila
Mother of Miriam, 03/10/03

[s7714]

My DD is the same age as your's, and she's refusing to nap as well. She'll start crying and rubbing her eyes as soon as I take her into the nursery to try to put her down for a nap. She'll just almost drift off...and then bing...eyes are wide open and she's ready to go again. Still tired, crying and rubbing her eyes, but refusing to go to sleep.

I finally gave up today and put her in her swing with hopes that she'd go to sleep. I just sat by her in my rocker reading my book, and after a few screams and cries, she zonked out. I hate doing that, but she has to sleep at some point whether she wants to or not.

I'd been partially blaming it on her teething, but I was beginning to question if that was the cause. Now I'm wondering if it's just a age-related phase. (And I'd glad to know that I'm not the only one going crazy because of it! :) )

Edited to note: My DD is definitely not catnapping in the car, but she's still doing it. I've actually been considering going for a couple drives during the day so she WILL fall asleep!

Jennifer

Annalia 03/03/03

[wilelm]

Well, that is what she's in the process of doing, I think (dropping the morning one in favor of an early afternoon one). Yesterday morning she woke up at 6:30, had a bottle, and went back to bed until about 8:00, then she took a nap around noon. Today, though, she woke up at 7:00 and wouldn't go back to bed, so by 11:30 she was exhausted, but wouldn't go to sleep.

Her sleeping habits have always stressed me out--I guess I'm naive in the belief that babies HAVE to take naps and get lots of sleep. Until she was about 8-months-old, she would only take 10-20 minute catnaps, 4-5 times a day. And ANYTHING wakes her up. We have music constantly playing in her room to try to get her used to noise, but it hasn't helped much. She seems to be refreshed, though, even if she only takes a 15-minute nap (which she sometimes still does). In general, she's been taking a 30-minute early afternoon nap, and a 1- to 1.5-hour late afternoon nap. I just start to stress when it looks like she's going to fight and not get her nap.

Sheila
Mother of Miriam, 03/10/03

[wilelm]

Like Colin, she won't take her regular nap if she has a short catnap. I think you may be right, that I'm waiting too long to put her down. Sometimes I try for as much as an hour, which seems pretty silly as I'm typing it.

Who is Weissbluth?

Sheila
Mother of Miriam, 03/10/03

[wilelm]

That's pretty much exactly what Miriam does--those eyes pop open and she's ready to party!

I should try the swing. I haven't put her in there for a long time, and the last time I did, she kept grabbing the side and stopping it, so I was unsure if I should keep putting her in it. I guess if she's too tired to grab it it won't matter.

Miriam is teething too--cutting numbers 4, 5, and 6! But I don't think they're bothering her--she's not cranky, drooling a lot, or chewing on things any more than usual.

I guess I do need to find stuff on sleeping patterns. I'll let you know what I find.

Sheila
Mother of Miriam, 03/10/03

[Momof3Labs]

Here's the Weissbluth book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0449004023/qid=1073707777/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-9849571-6047321?v=glance&s=books

[s7714]

I have the Weissbluth book and a couple others. It does have a lot of "this study showed" text-book type information. I don't want to get into the old arguments of which sleep books/methods are better (or worse) than others, because it's all up to the individual parent. However, I would just like to suggest that you look into checking out his book (or any other sleep method books for that matter) from the library before spending any money on them. That way you can save yourself the money if you find you don't agree with them or whatever.

HTH,
Jennifer

Annalia 03/03/03

[wilelm]

Good idea, thanks! I'm going to check out the link for the Weissbluth book that Lori gave me (thanks, Lori!).

Sheila
Mother of Miriam, 03/10/03