General

Hi folks,

I stay home during the day with my 9 (almost 10) month old daughter and
she's been having trouble taking naps lately. She used to only go 2 hours
of being awake before easily going to sleep but now she can be awake for 4-5
hrs before showing the obvious signs of being tired (rubbing eyes, cranky,
etc.) The thing is she also just learned to crawl and sit up on her own and
can move around pretty easily, so when it's nap time she'll flop around the
crib for a while (sometimes 30-45 minutes), then will start fussing which
usually escalates into intense crying. Sometimes she falls asleep within 15
minutes, but if not I go up there and comfort her either by picking her up,
rocking her, giving her a bottle if feeding time has arrived, etc. I'm not
sure if I should just suck it up and let her go longer until she falls
asleep no matter what, or if I should follow my instincts which would be to
go up and get her as soon as she escalates, which I know probably isn't
helpful, but makes us both feel better. I called my ped's nurse's line and
she suggested letting her cry up to 20 minutes. Maybe I'm too sensitive,
but 15 minutes already seems kinda harsh to me. But on the other hand, I'm
not sure if picking her up and comforting her just reinforces her crying.
Any thoughts?

Thanks a lot,
Nate

She is getting older and her naps have changed. If she doens't seem tired
don't force her to have a nap. If it is taking her 30 minutes to fall
asleep she isn't tired enough for a nap. My kids never had scheduled naps.
I put them down when they started to rub their eyes and show me they were
tired. By putting her down when she is still flopping around the crib she
is just getting mad at you and wanting out, hence the crying, IMHO.
I would say don't put her down after she's been up for only 2 hours... wait
until she has been up for 4.5 hours.... I think she will fall asleep easier
that way and have a longer nap.
Good luck
Karen



"Nate C." <> wrote in message
news:ADqvc.76348$
> Hi folks,
>
> I stay home during the day with my 9 (almost 10) month old daughter and
> she's been having trouble taking naps lately. She used to only go 2 hours
> of being awake before easily going to sleep but now she can be awake for
4-5
> hrs before showing the obvious signs of being tired (rubbing eyes, cranky,
> etc.) The thing is she also just learned to crawl and sit up on her own
and
> can move around pretty easily, so when it's nap time she'll flop around
the
> crib for a while (sometimes 30-45 minutes), then will start fussing which
> usually escalates into intense crying. Sometimes she falls asleep within
15
> minutes, but if not I go up there and comfort her either by picking her
up,
> rocking her, giving her a bottle if feeding time has arrived, etc. I'm
not
> sure if I should just suck it up and let her go longer until she falls
> asleep no matter what, or if I should follow my instincts which would be
to
> go up and get her as soon as she escalates, which I know probably isn't
> helpful, but makes us both feel better. I called my ped's nurse's line
and
> she suggested letting her cry up to 20 minutes. Maybe I'm too sensitive,
> but 15 minutes already seems kinda harsh to me. But on the other hand,
I'm
> not sure if picking her up and comforting her just reinforces her crying.
> Any thoughts?
>
> Thanks a lot,
> Nate
>
>

"Nate C." <> wrote in message
news:ADqvc.76348$
> Hi folks,
>
> I stay home during the day with my 9 (almost 10) month old daughter and
> she's been having trouble taking naps lately. She used to only go 2 hours
> of being awake before easily going to sleep but now she can be awake for
4-5
> hrs before showing the obvious signs of being tired (rubbing eyes, cranky,
> etc.) The thing is she also just learned to crawl and sit up on her own
and
> can move around pretty easily, so when it's nap time she'll flop around
the
> crib for a while (sometimes 30-45 minutes), then will start fussing which
> usually escalates into intense crying. Sometimes she falls asleep within
15
> minutes, but if not I go up there and comfort her either by picking her
up,
> rocking her, giving her a bottle if feeding time has arrived, etc. I'm
not
> sure if I should just suck it up and let her go longer until she falls
> asleep no matter what, or if I should follow my instincts which would be
to
> go up and get her as soon as she escalates, which I know probably isn't
> helpful, but makes us both feel better. I called my ped's nurse's line
and
> she suggested letting her cry up to 20 minutes. Maybe I'm too sensitive,
> but 15 minutes already seems kinda harsh to me. But on the other hand,
I'm
> not sure if picking her up and comforting her just reinforces her crying.
> Any thoughts?
>
> Thanks a lot,
> Nate
>
>

Picking her up will reinforce her crying and show her that if she cries just
that little bit more someome will come get her up. I've read a book that
suggests putting the child to bed, and walking out of the room. Go back in
there after 2 minutes has passed to reassure them, don't pick her up and
don't make eye contact, then 4 mins, then 8 mins and gradually work the
amount of time up. Their crying needs to reach a peak, then it comes back
down and the child will settle. Most parents will "give up" a few minutes
before the child reaches their peak. If after 1 hour the child is still
awake, they are obviously not tired.

"Nate C.
I feel your pain. I was up with my little guy at 4 am. I had to write and tell you of a book that was very helpful in that it reassured me that I was not hurting my child to let him cry. It's called "Solve your child's sleep problems" by Richard Ferber M.D..Good Luck <> wrote in message news:<ADqvc.76348$>...
> Hi folks,
>
> I stay home during the day with my 9 (almost 10) month old daughter and
> she's been having trouble taking naps lately. She used to only go 2 hours
> of being awake before easily going to sleep but now she can be awake for 4-5
> hrs before showing the obvious signs of being tired (rubbing eyes, cranky,
> etc.) The thing is she also just learned to crawl and sit up on her own and
> can move around pretty easily, so when it's nap time she'll flop around the
> crib for a while (sometimes 30-45 minutes), then will start fussing which
> usually escalates into intense crying. Sometimes she falls asleep within 15
> minutes, but if not I go up there and comfort her either by picking her up,
> rocking her, giving her a bottle if feeding time has arrived, etc. I'm not
> sure if I should just suck it up and let her go longer until she falls
> asleep no matter what, or if I should follow my instincts which would be to
> go up and get her as soon as she escalates, which I know probably isn't
> helpful, but makes us both feel better. I called my ped's nurse's line and
> she suggested letting her cry up to 20 minutes. Maybe I'm too sensitive,
> but 15 minutes already seems kinda harsh to me. But on the other hand, I'm
> not sure if picking her up and comforting her just reinforces her crying.
> Any thoughts?
>
> Thanks a lot,
> Nate

Hi Nate,
Not sure what just happened. The book is called
Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems, by Richard Ferber.
Good Luck.
"Nate C." <> wrote in message news:<ADqvc.76348$>...
> Hi folks,
>
> I stay home during the day with my 9 (almost 10) month old daughter and
> she's been having trouble taking naps lately. She used to only go 2 hours
> of being awake before easily going to sleep but now she can be awake for 4-5
> hrs before showing the obvious signs of being tired (rubbing eyes, cranky,
> etc.) The thing is she also just learned to crawl and sit up on her own and
> can move around pretty easily, so when it's nap time she'll flop around the
> crib for a while (sometimes 30-45 minutes), then will start fussing which
> usually escalates into intense crying. Sometimes she falls asleep within 15
> minutes, but if not I go up there and comfort her either by picking her up,
> rocking her, giving her a bottle if feeding time has arrived, etc. I'm not
> sure if I should just suck it up and let her go longer until she falls
> asleep no matter what, or if I should follow my instincts which would be to
> go up and get her as soon as she escalates, which I know probably isn't
> helpful, but makes us both feel better. I called my ped's nurse's line and
> she suggested letting her cry up to 20 minutes. Maybe I'm too sensitive,
> but 15 minutes already seems kinda harsh to me. But on the other hand, I'm
> not sure if picking her up and comforting her just reinforces her crying.
> Any thoughts?
>
> Thanks a lot,
> Nate