I'm fully at my wits end. I have a spirited baby, and he's always been resistant to daytime naps. At 1 month old, he'd fight sleep for hours during the day if you let him, no matter how early or late you tried to put him down. He's been at daycare since 2 months, and sometimes he only gets one 45 minute nap while he's there.
At nighttime, he generally goes down relatively easily (from awake), as long as he's been awake for about 2.5 hours and is tanked up on milk. Otherwise we have the same exact fight as at nap times, which is crying which escalates out of control (and has no end) unless you pick him up.
Oh but those nap times. He cries as soon as he realizes he's been left to nap, no matter what wind down you use. And he cries when you hold him. And he cries when you shh-pat. And cries worse when you leave the room. The only (and I mean is only) things that work are a) bouncing up and down rather forcefully b) riding in the car or c) nursing to sleep. We're at 20 lbs and I've been trying to lay him down "awake but drowsy" since he was born. Unfortunately, there is no such thing with this baby and my back is starting to give out.
He's either awake or asleep, no transition period at all. He's either happily awake and alert, crying, or passed out. We've got a room blackening shade on his window which does a pretty good job.
The worst? He's an otherwise super-happy, ridiculously easy baby. He could go all day without a nap and not fuss too much. He would (and has) simply passed out in the car seat around 5:30pm and sleeps till morning with a feed in there around 9.
I know he needs sleep. I can tell when he's tired. But he absolutely fights sleep during the day like he'll never see you again if he closes his eyes. .
What in the world can I do, especially since his nap environment at daycare is bright, loud, and unpredictable?
