Establishing a day time nap routine

[Tuty]

Hi all,

We have a night time routine that works great and our 13 weeks old DD goes to sleep immediately and usually sleeps for almost an 8 hour stretch, but during the day it is always a struggle. I can usually help her get one good nap a day and the others require props like the car seat or the breast (which don't always work). She gets very fussy in the afternoon from not sleeping most of the day. This also breaks the EASY routine which we're trying to get her into.

Any tips on creating a day time nap routine are highly appreciated. Some calming way that would set her mind that the sleep comes next and would be repeated before each nap.

Thanks,
Tuty

[Meg's Mom]

we used this nap time routine:

diaper change, swaddle, close the blinds, turn on the sounds machine (rain or white noise), sit in the rocker for 10mins, then shh-pat on my shoulder and into the crib.  Continue w/ shh/pat in the crib until she started to settle on her own.

Until your LO learns to fall asleep independently and w/o the props she will fight you/sleep.  But if you are consistent for all sleep then she will understand that sleep comes after the events above.  Has your LO ever gone to sleep independently?  Until a baby is old enough they don't have the skills to self-soothe, Shush/pat will teach independent sleep and is an excellent replacement for props like the breast.  consistency is the key, w/o it your LO will be confused and won't understand what you want from her.

Are you using the 4S wind-down routine and making sure you're getting your LO into bed in plenty of time so she's not over-tired?  I would also be aware of her A times, if she is overtired then this will also cause her to fight sleep.  If you want to post your routine, maybe we can help.


What do you do at the one nap you do get? 

HTH!

[Tuty]

The one successful nap is usually achieved by swaddling, laying her on her side in my hands and swinging for a couple of minutes. When I put her in the crib if she gets fussy I give her the pacifier and she would suck on it to calm herself and then fall asleep after spitting it.

Perhaps she wasn't really tired?? today she yawned and I wasn't able to put her to sleep and after a couple of hours she was swaddled held for a few seconds and fell asleep on her own for over 2 hours.

Also, she usually sleeps better at night if she hasn't napped too much during the day.

Do we need to be home all the time to establish the routine? What about afterwards when we go outside? My DD usually sleeps better after spending some time out, it gives her more stimulation.

Thanks,
Tuty