Napping woes

[StValentine]

Jess was very difficult to nap in her early weeks but now 12 weeks and into a better habit. However, she always seems to need a good cry beforehand. She'll be yawning and rubbing her eyes but will only go off for a nap in my arms, patting and rocking, and once she realises what I'm trying to do she'll start to cry. She keeps it up until it's just too much effort and the eyes then close. Normally between 3 and 15 mins.

Can anyone tell me if this is usual? (first-time mummy!) Any ideas why it is and how I can help her? I don't like to think that nap time is an unhappy experience for her - I want her to enjoy her sleep. Leaving her tired for longer, or taking her down sooner, doesn't seem to help.

 

[Zazu]

Zac always used to fight sleep, don't think he wants to miss out, ha! When he was 6months I started controlled crying, only had to do 2nights and now he goes to sleep in his cot for naps and nighttime no problem. It's completely normal for some babies to fight sleep xxx

 

[bobkat]

Freddie does this at every nap time. He will go off by himself after a LONG time of moaning and grizzling but then only sleeps 10mins and is horrible for the rest of the day so I've become accustomed to letting him have a cry in my arms for 5-10 mins before he goes to sleep. I then put him down in his chair and he naps for 30-40 mins.

 

[xxbeckyxx]

Do you use a dummy? As soon as I give Lizzie hers, her little eyes glaze over and she's asleep within a minute

 

[rbryan0205]

amelia was like that but since she has gone on to formula she seems more content now and will sleep in her crib at night i just keep putting her dummy in until she realises its sleep time only had to do it one night and she goes down fine now xx

 

[StValentine]

Do you use a dummy? As soon as I give Lizzie hers, her little eyes glaze over and she's asleep within a minute

Yes, she has a dummy for all naps and at bedtime. I rock, pat, shush and keep popping the dummy back in. Need three hands sometimes!! The eyelids drop once the dummy has gone in for the 6th, 7th, 8th time and it has stopped her crying long enough.

So Jess isn't alone in doing this little performance each time. Do you think it affects their quality of sleep, drifting off in tears all the while?

 

[bobkat]

I found that giving Freddie a dummy for when he was going off for a nap made him cry harder cos it sort of put him off going to sleep - like it was a distraction. Yes he cries going to sleep (although not when he goes down at night oddly) but it soon turns into mantra like crying and a dummy really put him off what must be for him his calming down process. So he's not had a dummy since 12 weeks, he's 5 months tomorrow.
Is Jess full on crying until she goes to sleep or does she change to the mantra crying - like moaning out the same note over and over?

 

[AugustMum]

Totally normal. Only very recently (and Im talking a week or 2 ago) has it calmed down and now it will only take her about 10 minutes of slight moaning to get her to sleep. In the end I had to cry a bit of CC (controlled crying) as nothing I did would help her sleep. Its taken a few months to get to this point though. I read that some babies just arent aware of how to put themselves to sleep and so they need to learn it. I guess its just a case of mudling through until she learns.

 

[StValentine]

Is Jess full on crying until she goes to sleep or does she change to the mantra crying - like moaning out the same note over and over?

Yes, it's a general cry of complaint and her legs thrash around. She cries even harder if I try to restrain her legs.