9 month old nap refusal - HELP US!

[mollywheeler827]

Hi - my little guy is 9 months old, has always been tough to get down for naps, but recently began totally refusing his naps. I try EVERYTHING, and he pushes away, screams and cries..yadda, yadda! I KNOW that he is tired (at least I think so) because he shuts his eyes, and they roll back and forth as if he is about to fall asleep. I have tried just putting him in his crib, and he rolls around and plays (I even tried this for an entire hour). I am thinking we might need a schedule change, but I am so confused on when to move feedings/naps so that it all jives together, and we don't deal with the overtired/undertired mess...

Here is our schedule:

S: 6:00/6:45 - Wake for the day
E: 7:00 - Bottle (breastmilk)
A: 7:15 - 8:30
E: 8:30 - Breakfast
S: 9:00 - Nap (1hr-1 1/2hrs)

E: 11- Bottle
A: 11:15- 12:45
E: 12:45- Lunch
S: 1:30 (1 1/2 hrs)

E: 3- Bottle
A: 3:15-5:30
E: 5:45 Dinner
6:30 Bath
S: 7pm bottle and bed

What am I doing wrong for a 9 month old? I feel like this is the right schedule, but it just isn't working. A lot of the time he even wakes up at the 45 minute mark, and if I am lucky I can get him back to sleep. I am just frustrated with myself because napping has always been an issue for us, and I'm not quite sure why I can't figure it out..it makes me feel like a failure because I know that he NEEDS naps, yet I haven't taught him how to nap properly and he is the one losing out Any advice would be great!

[~Sara~]

I think you're right: time for a routine tweak.   Have you tried putting him down a bit later for his naps, say, giving him 15min more?  To see if he's fighting his naps due to being UT?  The waking after 45min and then not going back to sleep also makes me think he's UT.

Also, has he learned any new tricks lately?  Crawling?  Cruising, etc.?  Teething?

You're not a failure, hon.  These babies just like to keep us on our toes

[mollywheeler827]

Thank you so much for replying! No joke about being on our toes - they are ALWAYS changing and just when we think we have it figured out, they do something new and it is time to start all over.

Tomorrow I will try about 15 minutes later, and see if it helps. He JUST started crawling on Friday..and getting more mobile over this past weekend. Do you think that has anything to do with it??

I finally got him down at 2 today ( we started at 1:30), and he has yet to wake up..it is 3:15...so no 45 minute wake up today, which is good. He is a tough cookie..hard to read when he is tired..always awake and VERY curious.. he doesn't really show signs when he is tired, which makes it super difficult to know when the sleepy window is..

Should I be just putting him in his crib ..and allowing him to fall asleep? It has never worked, so I ALWAYS have to rock/sway/bounce him... I will surely use different strategies with Baby #2!

[~Sara~]

He JUST started crawling on Friday..and getting more mobile over this past weekend. Do you think that has anything to do with it??

Yes, for some LOs it really can interfere with sleep.  Almost like their bodies are in "Go, Go, Go!" mode and they can't get settled enough to then go to sleep.

Should I be just putting him in his crib ..and allowing him to fall asleep? It has never worked, so I ALWAYS have to rock/sway/bounce him...

If he's never gone to sleep on his own, then there definitely could be a prop issue going on, too.  I mean, if you're rocking him for a little bit before his nap, but then you put him down in his crib awake, that would be fine.  But if you're having to do all of that to get him to sleep and THEN put him in his crib, then it might be time to start getting him to go to sleep by himself.