Thank you! After that post, my husband and I decided that our baby might just be the one Tracy refers to with one line in her book about putting babies down drowsy but awake "...this might not be possible for every baby." However, as soon as we stopped trying so hard and just followed lo's cues, he naps great! Hannahbanana is totally right about the yawn not being the signal to get him in bed - he was totally undertired too, which I realized - no wonder he was fighting so hard - he wanted to play! Now, we still set the stage, swaddle, and sit, but we are not being quite so rigid about shush/pat being the method - our lo responds really well to a gentle jiggle, contrary to BW theory. I do pat as well, but my husband definitely prefers the jiggle. Anyway, I let lo play until he is starting to fuss a little and obviously not interested in his "toys" (black and white pictures, window view) and then take him into his darkened nursery, swaddle, and hold him - he looks around a lot during this time, being that he is Spirited, but we just wait until his eyes are starting to droop and then usually put him down then. We also use a heated wheat bag to warm the mattress in his cradle so that there is no cold shock when we put him down, and then tuck the wheat bag beside him so he doesn't feel like he's floating in the cradle. He usually pops his eyes back open at this point, but MOST TIMES we can leave, and in 10 minutes or so when he gives a little cry, it is very short and he puts himself (back) to sleep. He is now napping for 1-2 hours, depending on the time of day.
I do find that his awake times shorten as the day goes on. My midwife says the little guy expends a lot of energy with his curiousity about the world, always looking around to see everything:)
I hope this helps. The undertired thing is really important, maybe especially with Spirited babies. Thanks everyone for your support and advice! Much appreciated:)