what to do when LO refuses to nap ?

[magdalenapl]

Hi
Last days my LO refused several naps. I am watching her cues, but she makes really huge jumps in her A times (she is now 6,5 months old) almost on a daily basis. Today she took 1,45 minutes nap in the morning after 3,20 A time and then refused to sleep in the afternoon completely (no second nap and no catnap). I put her to bed 5 times, but she was just playing with blanket, paci, bubbling, practising sitting on her own.
I just wonder what should I do if I put her to bed first time and I can see she have suddenly forgotten about sleep - should I leave her in the cot and let her play as long as she wants until she falls asleep? Or should I take her out again, let her play some time and repeat the winddown and routine ?
I am just worried that I miss the moment she really wants to sleep but she might be confused as well if I take her from bed .... But from the other side how long I can keep her in the cot ? Today I tried 3 hours until I decided to give up and just did earlier bed time.
What should I do ?
Thanks a lot for any advice.

[lilyo]

Hi there. My DS is around the same age (6 months plus two weeks) and we are experiencing a similar problem. He recently started sttn but his naps have really suffered. We still have our morning nap (thank goodness) but afternoons are a mess. If it is any consolation, DS does almost the same thing. I've been watching his cues more than the clock to try to ensure he is tired and extend his A time if necessary but when I've been trying to put him down for the catnap he laughs! He doesn't seem tired at all. I too put him in the crib and he plays, doesn't seem to want to sleep. When I leave him to play, he eventually starts to cry as he gets overtired sometimes after 45 minutes. I then try to go in and do the winddown routine again. I agree that it is hard and seems like we are confusing the LOs. I am trying out a suggestion I got from a friend - if your LO has been playing in the crib and you want to try again for a nap, take her out of the room, maybe for 5 minutes, start the winddown routine again and be sure that there are no toys in the crib beyond her lovie, remove the mobile if necessary. I also want to avoid doing the wind down routine and then him not sleeping because i think it may confuse him as well...

Let me know if there is any progress. Is your daughter sleeping through the night? Are her nap problems recent? Was she always a good napper or were they always a struggle? I think this age may be one where the little guys are so aware of the world around them they want to hang out and not sleep!

[*Jo*]

at this age you cant go on sleepy cues alone, they are quite unreliable.  if she is showing sleepy cues i would try and change her scenery a couple of times, take her to the garden, show some photos etc and see if that helps, i certainly wouldnt be putting her down after 1 hour 45mins unless she was ill and needed the sleep. at 6.5 months old you need to be having her up 2 horus 45 mins to 3 hours. anything more than 3 hours and you end up in OT territory though so dont go over that.

[mmom]

What happened today when you put her in her crib?  Did she stay there a long time without sleeping?  What kind of A did you try after the 1st nap?  It is great that you got a good 1st nap again though!

[magdalenapl]

Thanks for replies
I think there is a missunderstanding - I did 3,20 A time and she took 1,45 minutes nap yesterday, but then she refused to nap completely, so I did earlier bed time
My LO is STTN. She usually took short naps, but was never fighting. She was always easily falling asleep and almost always woke up happy, even if she took a short nap.
Now she is not fighting - she is just bubbling, smiling, playing with paci and blanket. It takes sometimes the whole time she should nap.
So what should I do ?
Should I leave her in her crib? How long ? Should I take her out for few minutes and repeat winddown and sleeping routine ? How many times ? What is it does not work as yesterday (I did it 5 times without success until I decided for earlier bed time) ?
I will appreciate any advice.