tips for getting infant to nap longer?? (update #4)

[♥ms.pacman♥]

lately my DD has been napping only for 1 hour (max) at a time. it's a little frustrating bc i've been trying to get her 2nd nap sync'ed with DS's, and for a while it was...she'd nap in the morning for 45mins-1 hour, then around 1:30 or 2pm go down for 2 hours (same time DS would take his one nap). that was BLISS bc i had 2 hours to eat, tidy up, shower, or rest!

but now, i don't know what happened...it seems like no matter what, she will only nap for 1 hour max. even if she skips the morning nap and goes down around 1230, she will still only nap AN HOUR! i

anyway, it's getting to the point that it is ridiculous.....my DS on the contrary, is SUCH a good napper these days (usually naps 2-3 hours) but i can't take ANY advantage of it, bc DD is not asleep most of the time!!

like the other day, DS went down for his nap, at 1:30pm. then i put DD down, she slept for 45 mins or so, then she was awake for 2 hours, then i put her down (she was very upset) and she finally slept for a little while, and she woke up, and THEN i went to get DS out, at 5:30pm!! Yes, DS was in his crib napping for FOUR HOURS, yet no rest for me...most of the the time i was dealing with DD.

any tips? when she wakes up and cries i've tried leaving her in the crib to let her go back asleep on her own, but literally 45 minutes will go by and she is still awake, squealing, fussing, or babbling and so i just get her out.

i already have blackout curtains in her room.

i am soo tempted to try to transition her to 1nap a day schedule, bc my DS went from being a HORRIBLE napper (45 min naps, waking up cranky) to a champion napper that way...however, we did that when he was 15 months old. 7mos seems a little young (or maybe not?)

argh, it would be SO MUCH EASIER if they would just nap at the same time! or is that too much to ask??

[twowhat?]

I'd transition her to 1 nap for sure, especially based on how well your DS did with it! And especially if you feel she's ready for it!

When I was a SAHM, DDs slept long at night and napped little (1.5 hours total) during the day. It was a pain when they were on a 2-nap schedule because both naps were short - 45 min max and usually only 30 min. When I transitioned them to 1 nap, it got much better!

Right now I bet your DD only naps 1 hour even if it's her only nap because she's not consistently on that schedule yet. With our girls, it took a few weeks for the single nap to gradually lengthen to 1.5 hours. It was a pain because during the transition I dealt with cranky babies who only took a single 30-45 min nap. But it definitely righted itself.

Set the schedule and stick to it, making sure she doesn't fall asleep at any other time and making sure you don't change bedtime/wake-up time (in other words making sure you don't change the total amount of time she sleeps) and hopefully you'll see results!

[KLD313]

I don't have any advice but I can sympathize. My DD's sleep schedule is all screwed up, ever since she turned one. It's so frustrating and I get nothing done. Shes up all the time, naps once a day for 40 to 60 mins and then wont go to bed at night until after midnight. Hope things get better.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

thanks everyone. small update...i think we're going to go with doing 1nap a day for DD!

yesterday, i put her down for her first nap at noon, and she babbled and squealed for a while on and off..but never went to sleep (i have a video monitor so i can watch her). after an hour i took her out. i then put her down at 3pm and she slept for 2.5 HOURS!!!

today, i tried putting her down at 11:30, but she just wouldnt' have it, so i took her out and she seemed happy. I put her down at 1:15 (she nursed to sleep)...it's almost 3:15 and she is STILL ASLEEP!! OMG!!

anyway, looks like this 1-nap a day thing may work out. crazy bc she's still so young (only 7mos). but if it works, it will make everything SOO much easier. i did regret not doing moving to 1 nap earlier with DS.

tahnks everyone for the suggestions...so helpful!!!

[BabyBearsMom]

What about a white noise machine. We used white noise with DD for most of her first year and it definitely helped her to sleep longer. I don't know if a 7 month old would transition well to 1 nap a day. Sometimes my DD would do that at daycare and she was a mess that evening and went to bed at 5:30pm those nights.

[twowhat?]

Glad it worked out!!