Doesn't cry so can't do PU/PD

[MHilton]

I am trying to extend my son't nap times, but after the 40 min wake up he doesn't cry - so I can't do PU/PD.... he is still tired though as he rubs his eyes and yawns.  Have tried Shh/Pat but it doesn't seem to lul him back to sleep, he will try to get back to sleep but will suddenly turn and look at me and grin and then we are back to square one.  I have also tried leaving the room to see if he will settle himself, but all he does is whimper a bit, roll over  and then cry a bit becuase he cannot get back onto his front... it is very frustrating and I am not sure what to do?

[momofnewbaby]

How old is your lo? How long do u leave the room for? From my experience they take 15-20 minutes of babbling / talking /playing, before they go back to sleep. When he smiles at you, do u smile back? There should be no eye contact is you want him to know its still sleep time, and time for play yet. These are my two cents from my limited experience.

[Gigismom]

my dd never cried either.  she woke happy after 30-45 min naps.  so i just let her take short naps.  they got longer around 6 months.  now her naps are usually 1.5 - 2 hours.  sometimes we still have a short nap here and there.

[Jadynsmom]

I went through this phase with our 7mo also.  When she woke up at 45min nap, I tried to give her her paci & pat back to sleep.  That worked about 25% of the time because she would just look at me & smile & wanted to play.  If I left the room, she would whimper & cry and most of the time would not go back to sleep for naps.  Once in a while now she takes 30- 45mins & can tell she needs to sleep more (she's fussy), so I put her in my sling and 95% of the she goes back to sleep.  I then lay her down on my bed for the remainder of the nap.  She usually sleeps another hour.  I don't do this every day but whenever she has a short nap and is cranky,  I will extend it this way.  She loves it.  I pat her bottom while she's in the sling & I also give her the paci as well.  You might not want to do this too often, but I think once in while when nothing else seems to work, it might be worth a try....

Kathy

[MHilton]

Thank you all for replying, I'm glad that I'm not the only one with a baby that just doesn't seem to want to nap for long!  He is now 5 months old, so maybe he will start to take longer naps as he gets more active!

This morning was a nightmare, he woke at 6.20, I fed him at 6.40, he was tired at 7.50 so I put him to bed and he went to sleep by 8.05, then he was awake again at 8.40!  He didn't cry, so I left him for 30 mins while he chattered and played.  I tried to intervene at that point by turning him back onto his back but he just didn't seem tired at all!

That meant he was then sleepy when I fed him at 10.40!  I have just put him back to sleep again at 11.45.... I just know he will be a wake again at 12.15.  Maybe I should try the 'wake to sleep' idea... did any of you try this approach?

[Jadynsmom]

You might try keeping him awake a little longer, like 2hrs in the morning?  So if he wakes at 6:20, try to keep him up til at least around 8:30?? I just took her outside or put Baby Einstein to keep her awake without getting her overtired.  My lo took 45mins naps until we extended her wake times. You could try 15min increment to extend her wake time.  The goal is to have his wake time to be 2 or 2.5hrs after waking up in the morning and 2.5hrs after waking from first nap & 3 or 4hrs til bedtime.  You might have days he will take catnaps, but my lo dropped the catnap around 5 1/2 mos.  She fought it so hard that we just dropped it.

Hope this helps.  Write back if you need more help.

Kathy