5 Month Old Only Takes 20 Minute Naps?

[CordiallyCranberry]

Hello! I recently got a 5 month old girl. Her naps last usually only about 20 minutes. Her parents told us this is normal. Any ideas on how to get her to nap longer? Yesterday I tried to follow a normal sleep schedule for her of 3 naps, but she completely refused an afternoon nap at all and just played instead. Of course her mother said she wouldn't go to bed for her and was miserable.
Any tricks?

[craftymissbeth]

No, 2pm minute naps aren't "normal". Is she waking up happy or crying?

[mountainside13]

Have the parents or you tried swaddling? The miracle blanket worked wonders for my youngest and my little daycare kids!

[CordiallyCranberry]

That's what I said to her mother. All of my kids at least take a 2 hour nap at some point. Even the 3 year olds.

She is happy when she wakes up, but within about an hour she gets fussy for another snooze.

[CordiallyCranberry]

Have the parents or you tried swaddling? The miracle blanket worked wonders for my youngest and my little daycare kids!

I asked her mother about this at one point and she said she didn't want her to be swaddled, so she never did it. :/

[craftymissbeth]

Is she taking these 20 minute naps every hour?

How about tummy time? I have a 5 mo old who HATES tummy time, but he gets a good long session before nap time specifically because it wears his little butt out

[Play Care]

Time for some GENTLE sleep training, IMO. She may have developed a "cat napper" pattern, so I would be putting her down in a dark room with some white noise. If she wakes and isn't fussy I would let her be. If she is fussy I would go in give quiet shushing noise, and maybe a gentle pat on the tummy I would not pick baby up or try to engage - I treat early waking from nap the same way I did middle of the night wakings - no lights, no taking, no eye contact. It was all business. Increase time between going in, and then get her up at regular time. Lather, rinse, repeat. Make sure awake times are lots of playing, floor time, excersize.

It can take a few weeks for baby to learn the difference between play and nap time. Good luck!

[NightOwl]

Push her nap times back so she's super tired. White noise has always worked for me to extend nap times

[jenboo]

Time for some GENTLE sleep training, IMO. She may have developed a "cat napper" pattern, so I would be putting her down in a dark room with some white noise. If she wakes and isn't fussy I would let her be. If she is fussy I would go in give quiet shushing noise, and maybe a gentle pat on the tummy I would not pick baby up or try to engage - I treat early waking from nap the same way I did middle of the night wakings - no lights, no taking, no eye contact. It was all business. Increase time between going in, and then get her up at regular time. Lather, rinse, repeat. Make sure awake times are lots of playing, floor time, excersize.

It can take a few weeks for baby to learn the difference between play and nap time. Good luck!

I have a 4 month old dcg who naps 9-11 then 1-3 and sleeps 12 hours at night.

Definitely start some sleep training to get her off the cat naps

[daycare_jen]

I have a just-turned 6mo who has been a terrible napper. From what I can figure out, when she is home with mom, she is in a sling constantly with mom and sleeps up against her and sleeps with the parents at night. I swaddle the baby and put the pnp in a very dark room, with soft lullaby music playing, and she will sleep so much longer than when I was just putting her down in the pnp to sleep without swaddling.

[Oss_cc]

I have a just-turned 6mo who has been a terrible napper. From what I can figure out, when she is home with mom, she is in a sling constantly with mom and sleeps up against her and sleeps with the parents at night. I swaddle the baby and put the pnp in a very dark room, with soft lullaby music playing, and she will sleep so much longer than when I was just putting her down in the pnp to sleep without swaddling.

How old will you swaddle a baby?

[Heidi]

Time for some GENTLE sleep training, IMO. She may have developed a "cat napper" pattern, so I would be putting her down in a dark room with some white noise. If she wakes and isn't fussy I would let her be. If she is fussy I would go in give quiet shushing noise, and maybe a gentle pat on the tummy I would not pick baby up or try to engage - I treat early waking from nap the same way I did middle of the night wakings - no lights, no taking, no eye contact. It was all business. Increase time between going in, and then get her up at regular time. Lather, rinse, repeat. Make sure awake times are lots of playing, floor time, excersize.

It can take a few weeks for baby to learn the difference between play and nap time. Good luck!

[KiddieCahoots]

I use Play Care's method, and it works like a charm!

Just be careful placing baby in a seperate room. Because of SIDS, it's recommended babies not be placed in a separate room until they are 6 months old.

[daycare_jen]

How old will you swaddle a baby?

Normally I wouldn't swaddle at all, (4 of my own kids, was not a big swaddler with them) but this baby is used to being cocooned in a sling with mom constantly. She will not sleep unless I wrap her up or hold her snugly the whole time. It was driving me crazy to get her to sleep and finally realized they never put her down to sleep on her own, so I swaddled and it was a miracle!

I probably would have sleep trained her at this point, but didn't feel like investing in the time to do so, as mom is a teacher and had two weeks of spring break and will have summer break in another month. It has been an issue... she is exclusively breast-fed and not given a bottle on the school breaks... until the day before she returns so mom can say, "oh, she's taken the bottle" and I have that battle all over again. Anything she gets used to with me gets undone on the breaks. so, I will swaddle her as long as she fits in the blanket or until summer comes and will figure out next fall when it comes.

[Oss_cc]

Normally I wouldn't swaddle at all, (4 of my own kids, was not a big swaddler with them) but this baby is used to being cocooned in a sling with mom constantly. She will not sleep unless I wrap her up or hold her snugly the whole time. It was driving me crazy to get her to sleep and finally realized they never put her down to sleep on her own, so I swaddled and it was a miracle!

I probably would have sleep trained her at this point, but didn't feel like investing in the time to do so, as mom is a teacher and had two weeks of spring break and will have summer break in another month. It has been an issue... she is exclusively breast-fed and not given a bottle on the school breaks... until the day before she returns so mom can say, "oh, she's taken the bottle" and I have that battle all over again. Anything she gets used to with me gets undone on the breaks. so, I will swaddle her as long as she fits in the blanket or until summer comes and will figure out next fall when it comes.

Gotcha. I have a 9 month old who is used to being held/rocked/nursed/driven around to sleep and the ONLY way she sleeps here for more than ten mins is swaddled. She's little, so it still works (arms out), but I don't know when to cut it out for her.