9 Month Old Won't Sleep

[small_steps]

I have a new 9 month old who literally will not nap more than about 10-15 per day (he's here about 9-10 hours a day). His mom says he will not sleep at home either. Even at night he wakes up every few hours ready to play she says.

Id love to hear any suggestions on how to get him on a good sleep pattern. Grandma used to keep him. He's been here about two full weeks now. He also doesn't like to be put down but he is getting used to that.
This little guy really needs a nap. He is fussy a lot and I know sleeping better would help!

[Heidi]

I think "you can lead a horse to water...." applies here.

When it's nap time, you give him a cuddle, say night night, and lay him down with whatever lovey he's allowed to have. Then you leave the room. White noise helps.

You come back when nap time is over. That's all. If he wakes up earlier, you go in, whisper "it's still nap time", and slip out. If you have an alarm clock you can set for when it's time to get up, set it. Then he'll have an external cue for "nap time is over". Then go in and have a celebrations. "Hi..so happy to see you, did you have a nice rest?" etc.

Afternoon, same deal.

If others nap at those times, you could put them down first, making a big deal out of everyone saying night night. That way he knows he's not the only one.


My 8 mo's sleep an hour in the morning (I wake them), and then 3 in the afternoon. You could shoot for 1 and 1 to start, then start stretching the afternoon one more and more as he gets used to it. He doesn't HAVE to sleep. But, he can lay in bed an rest. And, he can let everyone else rest. At 9 months, this is becoming a behavioral pattern where he expects to be entertained...AT NIGHT?! Oh...no way!

[angiescott]

If you're state allows, swaddle him. I have a dcb who used to have to be swaddled so he was immobile and then a paci put in and then rocked and what not. It was a whole multi-step process, but we had to do what we had to do. We use white noise machines in the infant room, it seems to help them sleep longer. There are also cd's that are specifically designed for infants to sleep better, they have something to do with their sleep patterns and are used to promote the deep sleep stage. Mine is downstairs, I could get the name of it tomorrow for you. It worked wonders for 3 of my infants, one there is just no hope for.

[coolconfidentme]

I had a bouncy house that dry rotted. I use the blower as white noise & point it down the hallway. It's like it puts sleeping dust in the air & everyone falls asleep.The ones that wake up can't be heard by the others. It's white noise on steroids & I love it!!!