So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

What are the signs. He doesn't rub his eyes or pulls his ear.

How can you get a baby to nap longer. I just cannot get him to nap for too long...30 mins is as far as he'll go sometimes he'll surprise you with longer naps but they are usually short. I can't get things done. Do things change as he gets older?

I can't even go back to work because DS needs my full attention right now and I feel bad leaving him with my mom with him being such a horrible sleeper. Plus with my mom's health issues it would be an extra stress for her.

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

I cannot afford Daycare or a babysitter...

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

I swaddled my daughter and it seemed to work - she began to talk longer naps - i guess because she felt secure and bundled as if I was holding her.

I hate to break it to you - but as they get olderr - they stay awake longer intervals. My 6 month old takes 3 naps per day - and they aren't always that long.....on some days she will sleep 2 hours but usually its about 45 minutes each time....

I wish that was a good enough reason for me to stay home but at the moment its not. As long as he is not cranky - try to keep him entertained.

Does he like his swing? Einstein videos? Maybe that can rock him to sleep after his meal.

good luck

Message edited 8/31/2006 1:13:08 PM.

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Ali seems to rub her eyes or she just cries. Then we usually rock her to sleep, or put her in her swing.

Ali doesn't nap too much, so I have just adjusted to her and learned to do things while she is awake. I take her shopping with me all the time

And cleaning the house, I put her in something in that room and I clean or cook or whatever.
Laundry is the trick, cause it is downstairs, I try and do that when she is sleeping or when my DH is home.

Eta - why does he need your full attention. Are you not able to put him down without crying?
What are you going to do about going back to work?

Message edited 8/31/2006 1:16:53 PM.

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

He was awake for almost 3 hours and I put him down at 12:45...It's now 1:15 and he's up already...



I can't get anything done. He hates the swing and anything else we put him in. Could it be that at 3 months he's too young to be entertained with things.

If they don't sleep much during the day is it healthy? At night he sleeps in our bed and goes to bed around 9/9:30 and starts to stir at around 4:30 am. I try to get him back to sleep but the most he'll go back down for is about 45 mins. He also jumps alot in his sleep and is restless.

DH and his mom both have nerves that make them jump in their sleep is it possible that this could be passed on to the baby?

He'll sleep about 6-7 hours during the night. Are they supposed to be sleeping 10 hours through the night at this stage.

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Consider yourself SERIOUSLY lucky if he's sleeping 6-7 hours at night at 3 months. My daughter was waking up about every hour to two hours at that age. She was also a HORRIBLE, I mean, HORRIBLE napper... I think her issue was gas so she just couldn't stay asleep too long, it would wake her up and upset her. If you need to get things done around the house (and really, don't have high expectations, it's par for the course that with a 3 month old you won't be able to get much done) try putting him in a baby carrier or sling so you can get some things done. The only way my daughter would nap at that age is if I would hold her the *entire* time. Sometimes I was lucky and she'd nap a little longer in the swing, but rarely... usually I would have to hold her so I ended up getting a baby carrier and spent most of my day walking around with her in it...

Also, like someone said, try swaddling...

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

He absolutely will not go for swaddling...

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Have you tired white noise? Running a fan while he's sleeping - the noise helps them sleep better and longer.

Also have you tried belly sleeping? Katie took her naps that way and would go 1-3 hrs at a time!! Now she sleeps all night on her belly (we have the Angel Car Monitor which monitors sound and movement bc I worry about SIDS).

Try the wite noise, try the belly thing...and try him in a bouncy seat or swing too - see what works best for you.

I can tell DD needs a nap when she starts to get fussy - or when she falls alseep on her own LOL

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Just to add, a lot of it is timing as well... if you miss your window of opportunity it can be hell trying to get baby to sleep and have him sleep for a substantial amount of time. What I suggest you do is start a diary and for a week write down everything - when he eats, when he naps, when he goes to sleep, when he wakes, etc... you should notice a pattern - a VERY loose one at that, but you should start noticing a pattern. When Alex was about 4 months I did that, and I what I learned from it was that she needed a nap every 2 hours, and if I missed the timeframe, she wouldn't nap, get very cranky or only nap for a very small amount of time... she didn't give me any hints either, like rubbing her face or pulling her ear, so the only way I knew was if she started getting really cranky and nothing would help, like giving a bottle. Then, I would know she needed a nap...

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Posted by Marcie

Ali seems to rub her eyes or she just cries. Then we usually rock her to sleep, or put her in her swing.

Ali doesn't nap too much, so I have just adjusted to her and learned to do things while she is awake. I take her shopping with me all the time

And cleaning the house, I put her in something in that room and I clean or cook or whatever.
Laundry is the trick, cause it is downstairs, I try and do that when she is sleeping or when my DH is home.

Eta - why does he need your full attention. Are you not able to put him down without crying?
What are you going to do about going back to work?

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Posted by bedda26

Posted by Marcie

Ali seems to rub her eyes or she just cries. Then we usually rock her to sleep, or put her in her swing.

Ali doesn't nap too much, so I have just adjusted to her and learned to do things while she is awake. I take her shopping with me all the time

And cleaning the house, I put her in something in that room and I clean or cook or whatever.
Laundry is the trick, cause it is downstairs, I try and do that when she is sleeping or when my DH is home.

Eta - why does he need your full attention. Are you not able to put him down without crying?
What are you going to do about going back to work?

Because no matter what I put him in after about 20 mins he wants out and wants to be held all the time.

I won't be able to go back to work. DH said he will support any decision I make.

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Posted by Bxgell2

Posted by bedda26

Posted by Marcie

Ali seems to rub her eyes or she just cries. Then we usually rock her to sleep, or put her in her swing.

Ali doesn't nap too much, so I have just adjusted to her and learned to do things while she is awake. I take her shopping with me all the time

And cleaning the house, I put her in something in that room and I clean or cook or whatever.
Laundry is the trick, cause it is downstairs, I try and do that when she is sleeping or when my DH is home.

Eta - why does he need your full attention. Are you not able to put him down without crying?
What are you going to do about going back to work?

Because no matter what I put him in after about 20 mins he wants out and wants to be held all the time.

I won't be able to go back to work. DH said he will support any decision I make.

You can go back to work, I promise you, you can... I had the same problem with my daughter, but you know what? She learned to adapt. Of course the first week at daycare was a little difficult, but the daycare workers have A LOT of experience with this, and amazingly enough they found ways to put her to sleep that never worked with me! And in a way I think it's a good thing that she learned how to adapt to other situations... it helped make her a better sleeper in the end...

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Yeah i'm going to try it as of today...we'll see how it goes...

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

Try reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. This book really helped me put Nate on a napping schedule and bedtime routine. We started aroung 3 months and he's still on the same routine (minus one nap) at 15 months.

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...

I purchased the book that was mentioned, Happy child, Healthy Sleep Habits. It really helped me figure out his sleep schedule. I use to put him to bed between 9&10 but he always took at nap around 7 and after reading the book it dawned on me that he was tired because sometimes if he didnt take that nap he was cranky and well he went to bed between 7&7:30 up until about 2 weeks ago and he would sleep 11 hours a night. Now he has to be asleep by 6:30 other wise I am in trouble and he will not go to sleep for anything and he will cry for at least an hour. As far as nap the only way DS would take long naps was on me. I "allowed" him one a day that was usually for about 3 hours until he turned 3 months because I didnt want him to get use to it. Now I put him down in the morning before 7:30am for a nap and he sleeps for about 2 hours give or take a few minutes. Then I get usually another 2 short naps durning the day. I always try to put him down an hour and half after he gets up if I am home and sometimes he actually takes more nap but doesnt always work. I also started to put him to bed awake. He has a colorful mobile on his crib that plays music for 15 minutes and 9 out of 10 times I can put him in their and he will fall asleep. Maybe also try going for walks since the weather is so nice and he might fall asleep. I would take a 45 minute walk and if I saw he was still sleeping I would just keep walking for a few minutes. DS also loved his bouncy because it had a mobile and mirror abvoe him and he loved to watch it.

Re: So how can you tell if your 3 month old needs a nap...