Baby Daytime Sleep Routines - Babies Nap Routine, Patterns Advice....

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Just a tip that might help some of you who are having trouble getting your baby to sleep/nap during the day. My boy is 6 wks old and we found that putting him in his moses basket in the daytime made him scream and we soon realised that his was because he associated it with bed time and probably wondered why he had to go to 'bed' as it wasnt night time. Letting him rest in his bouncer or somewhere else safe helped him sleep easier. It took a few days but it works for us

added by trying81 [Thu 21st Jan 2010 @ 09:17:34]

my niece is nearly 8 wks old and is nocternal. she'll sleep after vertually every bottle during the day, but will only sleep for a few hours on and off during the night. she get bathed at 8pm ish then has a night feed at 9 ish then we try to settle her down by 10, but she'll wake up at 1am, 3-4am, 6-7am then at 9am. she loves to fall asleep with you holding her, but she hates being put down to sleep. we have to make sure she's propaly asleep before we can take her to bed. its driving us mad, lol. can anyone help please?

added by mellie46 [Mon 11th Jan 2010 @ 15:18:26]

My baby is 4 and 1/2 months old. He sleeps 6pm until 5am, waking for 2 feeds overnight. My problem is that he will not stay awake for longer than one hour once he's up at 5am, but in addition he wont sleep for longer than one 40min sleep cycle either. This means by lunctime he might of had 4 naps already. By afternoon he will manage a good nap of 2-3 hours and is able to stay awake longer aswell, its just the morning that seems to be a problem and this sleep pattern can make him very cranky. If I go in and feed him its possible to get him back over for another sleep cycle but it doesn't feel appropriate to do this at 06.40am. I'm thinking he might benefit from going to bed later and getting up later but I'm unsure. It used to be impossible to get him to fall asleep during the day at all and has taken quite a lot of work to get this far but I would be gratefull for any advice, suggestions or an insight to what's going on and what to do next??? Thanks.

added by Sally1973 [Thu 7th Jan 2010 @ 10:02:19]

In response to sally 7. I would recommend gina fords 'the complete sleep guide' it has some very useful advice. Also i would like to say before you let you baby cry to sleep it is very important that you have a good feeding and sleeping routine for it to be succesful. if you baby has regular nap times and a bedtime routine his bodies biology will easily adjust to the sleeping times and the baby will be able to fall asleep with less crying and predictable routines will also make him feel secure, the crying it down method usually takes upto 2 weeks for it to work and if it has not worked in 2 weeks I feel there might be an underlying problem such as the feeding and sleeping routine. and yes he need to get used to his cot so all his naps should be in his cot and make sure he is securely tucked in babies under six moths sleep better when tucked in properly

added by rbh [Fri 11th Dec 2009 @ 09:16:42]

hi. my baby girl is turning 6 months in a couple of days and will not sleep the best at night. when she was a new born she slept quite well,but now she wakes up about 4 or 5 even more times at night!! and not always because shes hungry just wakes up and moans. i think it could be because shes clingy with me and wakes up on her own and panicks?? ive been told to let her cry for a bit at night in her cot,but i just dont like the idea of hearing my baby cry,it just distresses me! i need some advice and help with this as my partner and i are absolutley nackered!!! thanks x

added by gem09 [Mon 26th Oct 2009 @ 12:51:13]

Hi. Do you have a recommended routine for 1 yr upwards. My little one is 15 months and is regularly waking up at 3am. He's had a speight of 'buidling up his immunity' when starting childcare a couple of months ago, during which time we settled him with a bottle and I think the sleep association has stuck. We are workign through getting him to sleep without a bottle...and are two exhausted parents to prove it. Help!

added by alchemist [Mon 29th Jun 2009 @ 09:59:40]

My baby girl is now 9 months old and sleeps like an absolute dream at night time. We put her to bed at 7pm and she sleeps through to 7am. However, daytimes are a complete nightmare as she will resist sleep completely and have screaming fits. We've tried putting her up in her cot when we know she's getting tired, or lying her down on her rug in a quiet room. The screaming fits are just about manageable at home but it makes it tricky when we go out. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd really appreciate them!

added by BigBrothers [Wed 10th Jun 2009 @ 10:01:21]

My baby wakes at 6pm and wants a feed and then feeds 3 hourly, but by 7.30pm cries for bed, his feeds don't work out?
	added by carol1 [Tue 9th Jun 2009 @ 11:11:56]

Max is almost 8 mths and has always been good at night until now, I am glad I found this site because I thought I was only one and was doing something wrong as he is our third child and both siblings did not have this problem unless ill or obvious teething. I had a look at suggested day routine for 6-9 mths and noticed that Max has a big nap betwen 9 - 11am then wakes up has bottle and then lunch around 12pm which fits in with our toddler we have our time whilst he is napping. He then plays until arounf 2 pm and today he slept until 4pm and went up to bed at 8.30pm, he sleeps soundly until around 12.30 onwards and is from then on just really unsettled , not sure whether this is were we are going wrong it is the same routine as our first two. Any tips xx

added by sophb [Wed 6th May 2009 @ 09:19:03]

My baby is just over 4 weeks old, and though he sleeps fantasically at night (settling as soon as he's put down and sleeping for 3 to 4 hours each time), he absolutely refuses to nap during the day unless I'm holding him. He'll go drowsy in my arms but when I lay him down in his moses basket he wakes himself up in minutes and starts to cry.

I was advised by my health visitor to swaddle him so that he feels like he's being held and let him have a little moan and cry, then go and try to comfort him without picking him up. Sometimes this works, but other times he will simply get louder and louder and scream for half an hour at a time. He does eventually go off to sleep but within 20 mins he's awake and it starts all over again.

I'm on my own during the day and it's getting harder and harder to perservere with this technique; I am simply sick of listening to him scream. I've tried playing soft music, turning the lights down, keeping the house quiet, and he sleeps in the same moses basket that he sleeps in during the night time. PLEASE PLEASE if you have any suggestions I'd be grateful, I am going out of my mind!!!!!
xox

added by Beckifer [Wed 11th Mar 2009 @ 09:15:35]

My baby ( Age one Month) is sleeping entire day and awaiking entire night. She is sleeping so deeply, she isn't awaking after every try to awaking her.
	added by Rajeshd [Tue 17th Feb 2009 @ 09:44:36]

The answer to most of the queries and concerns posed in all these items can be found in The New Contented Little Baby Book. There you will find ready-made routines that REALLY work. I didn't have a routine until I discovered this book when my baby was 7 weeks old and she took to it from the very first day! Please do get a copy from your library of buy one - it's miraculous! The book has great advice on feeding, sleeping and common problems such as those raised in this forum. The routines are fairly strict but after you've fully established them you can introduce some flexibility such as where your baby sleeps for his/her afternoon nap (eg moses basket, car seat in car on a journey etc). I thoroughly recommend it as it's based on true experience with hundreds of women and their babies.

added by crk007 [Wed 4th Feb 2009 @ 08:47:41]

my son maxwell is 8 months old and we have so many problems with him going to sleep. since day 1 i have nursed him to sleep and about 2 months ago he stared sleeping in our bed . he wakes about 4-5 times a night and i have now stared feeding him twice in the night in order to just get some sleep. typical day is up at 6am no bottle feed as i normaly give him a feed at 4am so he has some toast or baby cereal about 7am than normally sleeps at about 8am for about 20-30mins. bottle feed between 9- 10am lunch between 12:30-1pm than and afternoon nap between 1-2 for about 20-30 mins than he has a snack. then at 4:30- 5 he has dinner than only sometimes he has a nap for about 20 mins not always. 6:00pm bedtime routine a bath everyother night i always play his favourate c.d while getting him ready for bed. than between 6:30-7pm bottle and than nursed till he falls alsleep. then this is when the fun begins. he wakes about 8.30 i put his dummy back in, but sometimes this is not enough he is teething so i'll give him some teething gel, water and try and leave him so if he still does not settle i'll pick him up and nurse him. than at 11pm he awakes and i'll feed him about 4oz and after trying to settle him i give up and he sleeps in with me. than about 1am he wakes and i'll give him some water or another feed of 3oz than at about 2.30 he awakes again so i get up with him and nurse him untill he falls alseep then bring him back in with me. 4am and up again so i feed him 5oz bottle and he settles than till 6am. i am going out of my mind and am so tired i cant see a way out of this. can anyone please help.

added by stressymessy [Mon 12th Jan 2009 @ 10:36:20]

My son Oliver is 15 weeks and he is sleeping through the night from 7pm until 6.30/7am. In the beginning he didn't like to sleep in the day or night, he constantly cried because he was over tired. We established a bath, feed and bed routine early on so he now settles easily when putting him down at night as he is used to the routine. During the day he gets four feeds but I give him as much as he wants, which is normally an extra ounce that recommended as he only has 4 instead of five feeds and I feed him normal formula milk in the day and then give him hugrier baby milk before he goes to bed and first thing in the morning which seems to satisfy him. when we started doing the night time routine he used to wake up a bout 4/5am and I would feed him but he wasn't really hungry so I stopped feeding hime at that time and let him cry and just re-assured him by patting his tummy but not talking to him, he would cry for about half and hour and then settle back down and now he does not wake at that time or if he does he just fidgets and then goes back to sleep, this however toook a few days of perserverence. In the day he still doesn't like napping as he is too alert so I have had to resort to giving him a dummy for naps to soothe him but I made sure I did this after establishing a good night time routine, as I did not want him to need a dummy at night, which he doesn't. I only give him the dummy for naps or if he gets himself really stressed, if he remains a wake or calms down I take the dummy away and stimulate by talking and playing with him which seems to stop him from being grizzly. I hope this helps but every baby is different and all I can say is perservere at getting them into a routine and just stick to it, the crying will stop eventually.

added by Lisa1979 [Mon 22nd Dec 2008 @ 08:51:09]

My baby is 7 months old. She still seems to need a nap every 2 hrs max in the daytime. She does seem very grumpy if she is a wake longer than 2 hrs. Your routine for this age doesn't show many milk feeds. Is that a mistake? I thought that they should still be having 4 milk feeds up until about 9 months?
	added by giggi [Fri 19th Dec 2008 @ 10:05:23]

Hi, my baby is nearly 10 weeks old and has a good night time sleeping pattern but not very good in the day. At night I put him down to sleep in his moses basket at around 7pm and he wakes around 3.30am for a feed and then at 7.30am. A few weeks ago before he started being awake more during the day he used to sleep in his moses basket during the day downstairs but won't do that anymore. I have now got into the habit of pushing him in his pram to sleep in the house. When you all talk about daytime naps do you put your babies upstairs to bed where they sleep at night?

Thank you Nickijo, I'm glad we're not alone!

added by slw1 [Tue 21st Oct 2008 @ 08:58:49]

I relate to the comments about getting baby to sleep during the day. I've had the same problem with my two boys - they'd sleep well in bed at night but not usually during the day - even if they dozed off and I put them in bed they'd wake up within a few minutes. I couldn't understand this with my first son - I thought newborns were supposed to sleep easily! We tried leaving him to cry a lot for a while when he was about a month old, but it didn't reaaly work. He ended up sleeping well in his bouncy chair, if we bounced him for a little while - for his other sleep I'd take him for a walk and eventually he'd stay asleep when we got home. Neither of those has worked very well yet with my 4-month-old. I carried him around a lot in a frontpack when he was younger - I stiil resort to that sometimes when I'm trying to cook and he keeps crying, but now he likes to face outwards and see what I'm doing! I usually try putting him back to bed for a while in the morning and often he cries for a little while and then sleeps, and the rest of the day he just sleeps in the stroller, in the car or on my lap, but mostly he's awake - if I put him to bed he just screams. I keep trying though because I started putting my older son in bed during the day when he was about 8 months and getting too big for the bouncer, and it worked - he was so used to sleeping in bed at night. I'm thankful that at least he (and currently my little one) went to sleep early in the evening and when he'd had a feed in the night I could put him down and he'd just go back to sleep. Hope this helps someone or maybe someone has some advice.

added by NickiJo [Mon 20th Oct 2008 @ 10:06:23]

Following the time schedules...it is really necessary to wake the baby just to feed them even if he's fast asleep?Can we extend the time?
	added by Eyah [Fri 3rd Oct 2008 @ 08:58:13]

In response to mommyb316 - I can't wait for my baby to sleep through the night but I wouldn't feed him solids to do this. Babies do not have the digestive enzymes to break down solids until 17 weeks, before this you can cause damage to their kidneys. I know that solids help to make them sleep because I fed my daughter at 4 months and that's when she started sleeping through. I don't think that waiting 4 to 6 months is that bad if it means making sure your baby is getting the best start in life. I would warn other mothers not to feed their babies solids too early and to talk to their health visitor rather than taking advice from people who have no medical knowledge. Your babies will sleep it just takes a bit of time.

added by mommamia [Mon 11th Aug 2008 @ 08:47:25]

For those who have babies older than 4 months...I read some of the posts that say your babies are not sleeping through the night...when they wake up..let them cry..babies do things by habbit, so if there waking up and not hungry, sick..etc..then there just up to be up cause they know that you will be there to entertain them...let them cry for a bit, go in check on them with out picking him/her up try and lull them back to sleep...a few nights of this and your lil one will realize that there not gonna be able to just cry and get up...also...Im a HUGE believer in solid feeding..my son was on cereal by the time he was 4 weeks old, from an infa feeder...4 times a day on top of a 6 ounce bottle, he was well fed and very happy! Slept through the night from 6 weeks..and took 2, 2+ hour naps a day! So for those who are wanting sleep and wanting there babies to sleep...FEED THEM...they will sleep 100% better

added by mommyb316 [Mon 4th Aug 2008 @ 09:10:07]

Im putting Samuel down to sleep about 8-8.30pm & he is sleeping til about 4-5am for a feed then back to sleep til 7-8am!! Sam is now 20 weeks old & I have just stopped breastfeeding, just wondering if anyone has any idea when he might start sleeping thru the night?? Its actually bliss that he only wakes once now as he used to be awake every other hour - but wondered if he may start sleeping thru soon??!!

added by J97 [Mon 14th Jul 2008 @ 08:49:27]

In responce to Sally7 - First off my baby is also called Joshua and we had this problem with him too. With my first I craddled her all the time and she fell asleep in my arms and even now at 3 1/2 she wants us to be with her. So when Joshua came along it was a case of tough love to get what I wanted! It took a good two weeks before he sorted his sleep routine out. During the day is best to start. We layed him in his cot and god did he cry but after 10 minutes go in pick up cuddle and put down, dummy in and walk out the room keep going for how ever long it takes then eventually they will get so tired they will just go to sleep. Try and block out the crying its hard I know but it will work. You must also stick your ground at 0500 dont bring him in bed with you, feed, dummy in lay down WALK OUT!!!!!!! If he cries 10 minutes again cuddle, and repeat the same routine. We were tearing our hair out getting myself all upset but now come half 9 in the morning its nap time I take him upstairs close his curtains lay him down and within 10 minutes he is sound asleep and no crying the same at bed time, I always try and lay him down awake so he knows how to fall asleep and sure enough he does. During the day let the baby nap in the cot if your out and about that cant be helped but look at when the baby starts getting ratty and think well that must be their sleep time, straight away upstairs and let them get on with it. Keep at it. You rule the baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

added by pinksweetness [Fri 11th Jul 2008 @ 09:01:33]

have been trying to teach Joshua to sleep on his own in his cot, but I have been trying for two weeks now, I have some good days but most days he end up crying for an hour. When he eventually fall asleep, he wakes up at 5 am and I feed him, but then he doesn't want to go back to sleep in his cot, unfortunately I tend to give up and let him sleep with us on the bed. Am I confusing him by being firm at night but giving up in at 5 am? He also does not nap on his cot dring the day, culd this be a problem?
I just can not bear his crying anymore, I thought this will take three days to a week but it is taking forever. Help!!!!!

added by Sally7 [Fri 27th Jun 2008 @ 08:50:16]

In respone to lola123...my son is almost 5 months old. I was having similar problems with him at night. We don't put him to bed until about 8:30. He gets a bottle with a little bit of rice cereal mixed in with it. He sleeps usually 5 sometimes 6 hours before he wakes for another bottle. Now don't get me wrong, sometimes he wakes before this, but he's not really hungry. I let him cry a bit, reasure him that I'm there and he'll go back to sleep usually within 15 min or so. When I feed him at night he gets another bottle with a bit of cereal in it. He then sleeps until 6 or 7 in the morning. Matthew was waking at all hours of the night and we decided at that point it was time to let him cry it out some. I don't know if you've tried that or if you are ready for that. It has made a world of difference though. He was much better by about the third night. I hope this will help some.

added by mom2matt [Tue 6th May 2008 @ 12:10:47]

I have a 15 wk old baby who goes to bed with a 4 1/2 oz bottle around 6.30-7.00pm then wakes for another feed at 11.00-11.30pm drinks another 4 1/2 oz bottle then wakes again at around 2.30-3.00am and drinks just under 4 oz. How do I get him to be satisfied with his first bottle at 6.30-7.00pm so he will sleep through the night?
	added by lola123 [Mon 14th Apr 2008 @ 08:43:15]

My Baby is 6wks old, and we have no real routine. Sometimes he sleeps for 4 hous, and sometimes only 1 and a half. This happens during the night and day.How would you reinforce you sleeping routine? Should I wake my baby during the day if he is sleeps longer than on the schedule? Would this then help him to sleep longer at night time?
	added by EPH [Thu 20th Mar 2008 @ 15:10:22]

I have a 4 1/2 month old who was 2 months premature. He began sleeping through the night 2 months ago with no problems, but he won't sleep well through the day without someone holding him and rocking him--sometimes that doesn't help. I read "BabyWise" while I was pregnant and tried to follow it, but with a preemie, I simply could not let a 4 lb baby cry after he'd been in the NICU for almost a month. I'm trying the routine, just laying him down in his bed and letting him cry, but he just keeps crying. I feel like I'm not caring for him properly, but in 2 months I go back to work and he goes to day care. I don't want him crying all day there--that would be so much harder to leave him! Help--how do I get my baby to sleep during the day?!?

added by jaxonsmommy [Wed 12th Mar 2008 @ 08:35:03]

My baby is 3 months old, but 2 months prem.... We have just started the routine above which some days works and some days does not. He can really only be up for 1.5hrs max at a time. This morning he woke at 6.45 feed and then feel asleep at 8.15 for 45 mins... he woke and cried so we held him and accupied him till 9.30 for his feed then he went back down at 10am... his routine his now way out. can you recommend what I do in situations like this?

added by ShellB [Mon 25th Feb 2008 @ 08:38:55]

My 8 week old will not sleep during the daytime without being held. I will get her to sleep and lay her down and within 5 minutes she is awake and unhappy. How do I change this pattern.... Help
	added by sylv [Mon 17th Dec 2007 @ 12:57:59]

in answer to the questions below what i do when my 11 week old wakes up b4 she is supposed to is let her get herself back of to sleep around 6 weeks old they start to come into a light sleep around 30-40 mins after you put them down so they need to learn to settle themselves if she was to really get herself worked up i would check that she didnt have a dirty nappy etc but i would always put them straight back down! my 2 children are both in strict routines and i find i have a much calmer house! it wont hurt a baby to cry and use the crying down method with my baby often when she crys at sleep times and have found taking the dummy off her at sleep times very successfull in ensuring a good sleep routine

added by klmn [Mon 29th Oct 2007 @ 08:34:24]

My baby's now almost 4 months old. But he doesn't do the 3 am feed anymmore. He feeds 5 times a day about 5-7 oz each feed, is this okay?
	added by Kristina [Mon 20th Aug 2007 @ 08:47:08]

I have an 8 week old who is breastfed and her routine is pretty much as follows:
wakes at 8am - feeds/massage/wash/dress/play
10am: sleeps
1pm wakes for play/feed/feed/feed....
occasionally will sleep midafternoon at about 3ish for 2 hours and then awake until 11pm (during which time she is very clingy between 9pm and 11pm). I have tried massage/bath routine then but it does not work. she then wakes every 3 hours in the night for a feed, sometimes every 2 hours. I feel like I am doing something wrong - and also how do I get her to wake up without being a grump?

added by babyjay [Thu 12th Jul 2007 @ 16:03:57]

the information on sleep patterns for daytime is ok , but i bottle feed my baby 7 week old , and she has a bottle every 4 hours and so is up and awake on bottle and play time for about one hour to an hour and half before she shows signs of tiredness so i wrap her and put her in her cot, she will then get herself off to sleep for mybe an hour , what i would like to know is , when she wakes after this hour or so , crying should i try to re comfort her and get her back to sleep until she is due her next feed, i have tried to get get her up to see her reaction but she is always still tired, how come she wakes up if she is still tired. is she just simply bored and want to see me , or should i give her some of her next bottle , i am very confused as to what to do now as in her earlier weeks she would sleep the entire time between feeds, now shw is older aarrgh not sure what to do , i did get her up and then she just got over tired and cross and was reallyl hard to re settle

added by kaylloyd [Mon 4th Jun 2007 @ 08:34:20]

OK, this may be very stupid/obvious for a first question: when you say 'put down for a nap' does that mean by any means necessary, including pacing the corridor for 20 minutes carrying and reassuring a crying baby, or going for 2 hour walks in the pram? Can anyone just put a baby down (in cot/chair/bouncer etc) and he/she will just go to sleep when they are ready for a nap? I know my baby is tired - he knows he is tired, but he just won't give in to it easily - he fights and struggles against it with all his heart!! I think that overall he probably gets just about enough sleep - it's just the time it takes up actually getting him there that seems to be the issue.

added by mattarno [Tue 2nd Jan 2007 @ 12:41:56]

It's up to you on what you want to do. If it is working the way you are doing it then keep with it but if you want something more consistant then try a journal. Write down everyday when your baby takes a nap. If it happens to fall pretty close to the same time each day then start putting your baby down for a nap at that time each day or 15 minutes before nap time. If you are consistant then he may fall into your routine.

added by Mwoolf [Thu 30th Nov 2006 @ 12:17:52]

my baby is 6 months old and still doesn't really have a day time routine, he has 2 naps a day but not really at set times, is this a problem or should I go with the flow?
	added by AskBaby7882 [Wed 15th Nov 2006 @ 09:51:31]

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Daytime sleep routines

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