UCB Parents Advice about Sleep

Sleep Training for 11-Month-old's Naps

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Feb 2002

Has anyone out there successfully done sleep training (Cry it out) for naps? My 11 mo. daughter is very, uh, driven and only falls asleep for naps in a sling listening to mellow music or in the car. This is okay for now as a 20 pounder but I'm thinking about the future. She falls asleep on her own at night (we sleep trained at 6 mos.) and usually sleeps through. Anyway, if you have, I'd like to read a description.thanks!

We sleep trained our daughter for naps when she was about 4 months old (she is now eight months.) I have found it to be largely successful, although she sometimes protests going to sleep more than she does at night. I basically decided that no matter what, she should have some down time in her crib every day, so I put her down for a nap at least once a day. I chose the nap times by first observing when she was tired each day, and found that a pattern emerged. Now I just put her down at those times. Occasionally she boycotts her naps, but that seems to be her way (once in a while she wakes frequently at night too.) She seems much happier for it, and is certainly a more cheerful baby with enough rest. It has been a tremendous relief not to have to fight to get her to take a nap by having to drive around for hours or take endless walks. I think we both appreciate the routine. Good luck!
We sleep trained our daughter for naps when she was about 4 months old (she is now eight months.) I have found it to be largely successful, although she sometimes protests going to sleep more than she does at night. I basically decided that no matter what, she should have some down time in her crib every day, so I put her down for a nap at least once a day. I chose the nap times by first observing when she was tired each day, and found that a pattern emerged. Now I just put her down at those times. Occasionally she boycotts her naps, but that seems to be her way (once in a while she wakes frequently at night too.) She seems much happier for it, and is certainly a more cheerful baby with enough rest. It has been a tremendous relief not to have to fight to get her to take a nap by having to drive around for hours or take endless walks. I think we both appreciate the routine. Good luck!
I followed Marc Weissbluth's recommendations on sleep training for naps in his book ''Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child''. He talks about getting babies to sleep just *before* they are really tired, when they are most susceptible to sleep (when you go beyond that window, they get wired with their second-wind!). He also discusses the importance of consistency in nap times and nap places (he's against car naps, for example). It might be useful to read. As for me, when my infant was about 6 months old, I put her down after nursing & patting for a few minutes. The first two days she cried 45 minutes (which was hard since that was the duration of her naps at that age!) but finally went to sleep. By day 3 she was falling asleep on her own. (By the way, I sleep with her at night so she had a different nap routine than nighttime routine, which didn't seem to matter too much.) Since you've already done sleep training at night it shouldn't be that new for her. Just try to be home for naps and follow the same routine and time each day (at least at first).
Our son changed his schedule around the age of your child from taking two shorter naps to one longer nap a day, so perhaps the resistance is due to this sort of change. We found it helps to have a routine for naps just as you would for going to bed at night. I try to keep naptimes regular from day to day (as with his rising and bedtimes) so that I am not trying to put an overtired baby down. At that age, I began taking him out every morning for an hour plus of physical activity like the park, etc and because he could walk, run and motor around, he would be worn out by the early afternoon. He eats lunch and then about 1/2 hour later after some subdued activity like reading or watching a video perhaps, goes down for a nap. I tell him it is naptime and take him down to his room. I close the blinds in his room, give him a bottle if he wants it, and put him in the crib with his blankies, which is pretty much the same as at night with the difference being the light level and some singing. It seems that he knows what to expect and he does well on a regular routine. He may fuss a few minutes but generally settles down pretty quickly. If he cries in a really distressed way for say five minutes, I go pick him up and make sure all is OK. A few days he has just not wanted to nap, and if he isn't asleep after 1/2 hour I would get him up and try later. Good luck.
I would like to offer a counter balance to the sleep training responses. I look to other mammals for examples on how to help my baby learn to enter the world of sleep with confidence. Puppies, kittens, bear cubs, gorilla babes...none are left to sleep alone. Mammal babies left alone are at risk so they instinctively cry so the mother can find them. Responding or not responding to the cry may be a rational decision on our part, but making the cry is not for human babies as it is not for kittens. So why do we say we should not respond? A mother bear would not put her cub in another cave and listen to it cry, occasionally going in and patting it. If we humans find a not-yet-walking-puppy left crying outside the nest, we put it back in among the other sleeping puppies out of pity and concern. Why then, do we humans sometimes leave our own babies to face the perhaps confusing and frightening world of sleep alone, waiting for the baby to give up trying to get us to respond? I think we humans may have over-intellectualized issues regarding sleep and children. Maybe mothers who find it difficult to let their babies ''cry it out'' should trust their gut feelings and not let others' ideas interfere with their quite normal emotional response.
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