napping on me

[lhosk]

my lo is napping on me for his 4 naps each day.  it started because i could barely get him to nap at all.  he has finally settled into a pretty consistent routine so i would love to get him in his crib.  he is up at 7am hopefully sometimes 5am.
7a - wake
845a - nap for 45 min
1100- nap 30-45 m
100- nap 30-45 m
315- nap 45 min (sometimes 30-60m)
6p bed routine
i try to go with 1.5 hrs of wake time.  i know he should be going longer but have experimented with longer times and they havent worked.  what is the best way to get him to nap in his crib.  i tried the other day and he missed all am naps.  he woke up as soon as he was put in there - didnt cry for aboit 30 min then was ready to get out.  i tried for 30 min doing pupd (he doesnt respond to sssh/pat) and finally declared naptime over.  i was afraid of him being ot because we have had a hard time eith frequent nw too.  thanks for any help...

[Alexa's mummy]

hi,

i'm sure someone will be able to give u better advice than me but i found holding tru the jolts handy for extending naps. as for putting ur lo down the trick is to put them down awake but not too awake! i read a good link on here a while back about that, maybe in the FAQ's section. do u do a good wind down routine? in ur lo's room? how old are they? it sounds like could still be OT as the naps are so short, which cld lead to more NW's and more crankiness. awake 3.30pm then starting BT routine at 6pm is a long stretch of A time.

i'd recommend u buy the secrets of the baby whisperer and really get ur teeth into what its all about, as it makes so much sense when you read the book.

good luck x

[anna*]

Totally agree with pp, definitely a good idea to get a hold of the books.

At 7 months, most babies are having 2 x long naps. A long nap is really preferable, because it is more restorative. 45 mins naps are a pretty good sign of undertiredness, and 1.75hrs awake time is very, very low for his age so I would start trying to push his awake times just 10 mins at a time until you can get some longer naps. Most at 7 months can manage 2.75-3hrs awake between naps.

As a guide, an ideal routine for 7 months old would be something like:
7am A/E
9.30am S
11am A/E
2pm S
4pm A/E
7pm S

As for breaking the prop of sleeping on you, I would try PUPD. Some overtiredness is pretty much inevitable when you are weaning props, but once he can sleep independently he will catch up.

[deb]

I'd consider putting him in the crib/cot on his tummy. He's already used to feeling that warmth on his tummy from sleeping on you, and at 7 months he's past the point where SIDS is a significant risk - that goes way down around 6 months, because by then most babies have no trouble lifting their heads if they need to.

It's also nice and easy to hold them still thru the jolts that way b/c you can lay a hand on their backs without making eye contact.

[lhosk]

thanks for your replies.  he just turned 5 months.  i have the book and tried pu/pd and he cried so much we didnt have any luck.  he gets so upset when i put him down he didnt nap at all.  how long can i do it before i let him sleep on me.  he is so stubborn.  it was difficult getting him into his crib at night but we are getting better after 1.5 mths of trying...  now he is averaging 1.5 hrs of awake time so i will start increasing that by 10 minutes to get to around 2 hours or so..  should i do that at the same time we do naps or try to alternate?? thanks again.

[anna*]

Oh OK, I don't know why I thought 7 months. Nevertheless, at 5 months he will need about 2-2.25hrs A time. If you are weaning a prop, you never let him sleep on you. At nap times you do PUPD for 45 mins and if he's not settling then you abandon the nap, bring the next nap forwards, then start again with PUPD. At bedtime you keep going without a break until he sleeps. If you sometimes let him sleep on you, that's just confusing for him and means that progress will take so much longer to make.

[lhosk]

that may be why it is taking so long.  i was afraid he would be so ot during the day that night would be worse...  this am we did 1.75 of awake time and it worked well but seems to be worse in late afternoon and he is super cranky but i cant get him to sleep longer.... 
when doing pu/pd and 45 m passes how long do i wait to try to nap again?  i tried it a couple of times and he wanted to play for about 30 min with no crying.  do i just leave him alone if that happens and get him if 45min elapses and he still isnt asleep?  is there a time frame that sleep deprivation is a problem and i should let him sleep?  thanks so much for your help 

[anna*]

Overtiredness is pretty much inevitable when you're weaning props, you just have to get through it as bes you can, offer more frequent naps, early bedtimes, and if desperate resort to some OTHER kind of accidental parenting (ie take him for a car ride instead of having him sleep on you).

That 2-2.5hrs A time is only appropriate after a good night or a long nap. After a 45 mins nap he'll need more like 1.75hrs.

If you do PUPD for 45 mins and he is still awake, I would do probably 30-45 mins awake before trying again.