8 month doesn't like to nap anymore!

[mena]

Hi,
I've read the FAQ site, and I couldn't find anything that would help me, so here it goes.

My LO was usually very good to go down for his naps (we're now on 2) but for a couple of days now, he just doesn't settle down at all!
As soon as I see the third yawn or rubbing of his eyes in play time, I take him to his room, put him into his crib, sing a song while changing a nappy, give him a stuffed toy and then I sit on a small sofa-bed in his room to read my book (with a 10001 interruptions of course) while he "settles down". Note: I didn't have to do this before, I just put him down,  left the room and he would fall asleep on his own w/o much hassle. Now it takes him 1 hour to settle down! He plays, tries to stand up on his own w/o much success which frustrates him, sings to himself and then cries. Then there is mommy to soothe him and the cycle starts again, until he's so overtired that he cries and screams for about 10-15 minutes, with mommy trying to calm him down all the time. I don't pick him up, just rub his back, tell him that everything's alright, sing, etc, etc but nothing works until he's so exhausted he just falls asleep. IT IS FRUSTRATING!! I was on the verge of tears today, seeing him cry so hard.

I could extend A time, but I know when he's tired. I could just leave the room and see what happens. Truth is, I don't know what to do.
He's good enough to go down for bedtime (when it wasn't like that before, roles have reversed) and sleeps the whole night.

ANY ADVICE IS WELCOME!

TIA

[TJ & Stephy's Mommy]

Hi Tia,

I completely understand how you are feeling.  I went through the exact same thing a few weeks ago.

I think it's a phase that comes and goes.  My LO is now 7 months and like you I use to put him in his crib when he started to get tired and he used to fall asleep on his own.  But lately, he has had a hard time going down for his nap and it does take him almost an hour to settle down.  Or if he can't settle down on his own, he'd start crying for about 10-15 minutes and then fall asleep.  There wasn't much I could do.  I tried to extend A time but that made it worse as DS was getting overtired.  Whenever DS started to cry, I'd pick him and try to soothe/calm him to help him go to sleep.  Normally, I won't pick him up but he was crying so hard it was tough not to pick him up and once he started to fall asleep I put him back in his crib.  This kept happening for almost the entire week and now DS's back to normal.  It was a tough week but I survived.  I hope it doesn't happen again.

Hang in there!!  Hopefully it's just a phase and things will be back to normal.   
Mel

[Mom to M&M]

What is his current routine? Sleep/tired signs can be tricky at this age - yawns are often boredom or habit, for example. Perhaps his A times need tweaking? At 8 months, my DD was doing between 2.75-3 hours A times in general.

[mena]

Thanks for your replies.
Our routine looks more or less like this:

8:30 breastfeed
9:30 breakfast (cereal with fruit)
11:00ish-12:30 nap - some days it just lasts for 20 mins, others he can sleep for 2 hrs
13:30 lunch (protein, veggies, petit filou)
14:30 bottle 6 oz (this can sometimes be given later, depending on how much he ate)
16:30 or 17:00 nap - it's normally shorter than the first one
18:30 dinner (yoghurt with fruit or sometimes a rusk with some milk and fruit)
19:30-20:00 bottle 6 oz
20:00-20:30 bed

I'm trying to put him for his first nap today about half an hour later than usual, although he's starting to moan already... a sign that he's tired. We'll see.

Ok, he just went down w/o much fuss... now let's see how long the nap lasts.

Mel, by the way, my name's jimena, not tia. TIA means thanks in advance... no worries though! 

EDITED TO ADD: he slept 2 hours or maybe a bit less, so I'm going to keep doing what I did today to see if the prob gets fixed.

[TJ & Stephy's Mommy]

Hi Jimena,
Sorry for the mistake.  I read your post too fast and didn't click in my head.

Let us know how it goes and if the problem gets fixed.