6 month old short nap problems. Please help!!

[singingpinkmonkey]

Hello,

I apologise in advance for this rambling post. I have a lot of problems getting my 6 month old to nap and don't really know what to do.

Firstly, he sleeps relatively well on a night time but can sometimes be difficult to settle at first. He is normally in bed for 6:45pm asleep for 7ish and will sleep until anywhere between 5am - 6:30am. There is no consistency and I suspect it's because of his naps.

I have always struggled with naps even as a newborn but it's just got worse. He rarely sleeps any longer than 30 minutes and it gets increasingly difficult to get him to nap at all as the day wears on.

I think the problem is I never know how much awake time he needs. I've tried putting him down 2 hours after waking but he just fights it and will only sleep for 30 mins anyway. I have tried putting him down 3-4 hours after awake time and sometimes he will sleep for an hour but mostly it's 30 minutes again. Does anyone have any idea where I'm going wrong??

Also I have been trying to put him down for naps in his cot but he fights this like crazy even though he sleeps well there on a nighttime. I just want to keep battling him to sleep. I definitely don't want to resort to controlled crying or anything like that but need to get him to have some daytime sleep!

[creations]

Hello, welcome to BW forums

Sorry to see you didn't get any replies yet.

Could you give a little more information please?
Have you started sleep training with your LO?  What method have you used or tried?
Does he settle on his own for night sleep even though not for naps?  Where does he sleep for naps (pram, arms, car?)?

Do you follow the EASY routine (or do you know about it, have you read any BW books)?

Sorry for so many questions - we can probably offer more advice when we know a bit more.
Could you also start to record the times your LO eats, sleeps and how long he is awake (EAS times) as accurately as you can please?  This can help us to support you and advise you on a suitable routine for your LO and help you with sleep training too if that's what you'd like.