CIO at night = terrible napping?

so, we've done cio for 3 days - yesterday should've been easier but for some reason, he cried for 26 mins the most thus far. anyway, now whenever i put him in the crib for a nap (either drowsy or sleeping) he freaks out. And if i put him in the crib to play with toys so he's contained and i can get stuff done...ohhhhh my does he throw a fit and he never did this before.

is this due to cio? will it get better? tia

Re: CIO at night = terrible napping?

If you are doing CIO at night, I would def. do it during naps as well. Also, what about not letting him play in the crib, why not put him in the pnp instead. You want him to associate the crib with sleeptime, not playtime. JMO. I never let my son play in his crib for this reason.

Re: CIO at night = terrible napping?

we moved from our house to an apt so i gave the pnp to my parents so they could use it when he's there. i guess i'll have to find another place for him to play since i don't want to confuse him.

how did u do cio for naps? i know i won't have the same napping schedule everyday b/c we go places - bedtime is different.

please offer your insight...thanks

Re: CIO at night = terrible napping?

I used the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." In the book- we used total CIO at night- no going in at ALL. Within 4 nights, it worked, with each night getting better.

For naps, she is always put down 2-2.5 hours after waking. When I put her down, the clock starts. If she is still awake after 1 hour of crying/fussing, I "rescue" her and that nap is skipped. If she misses her afternoon nap, I put her down at least 30 minutes to one hour earlier than normal. Again, with night sleep- there is no going in- once she's in, she's in for the night (or until 5am).

For naps, she must stay in for one hour, regardless of crying.

ETA: in the beginning, you might want to alter YOUR schedule to get your child on a better nap schedule. In my house, there is NOTHING scheduled until after her morning nap. Once DC is on a good schedule, it's OK to mess with it once in awhile.

I truly find that when she naps well during the day, she sleeps well that night.

Message edited 7/22/2008 11:06:20 AM.

Re: CIO at night = terrible napping?

I agree with Amy.

For naps - he is in the crib for no less than an hour. Once the hour is up and he is showing no signs of falling asleep I take him out.

We have no toys in the crib. IMO - the crib is to be associated with sleeping and not playing. We have a ton of toys in the two pack and plays we have for him.

If he's being stubborn he will scream like a lunatic before a nap. Just this morning he screamed for almost 30 mins - a very angry scream - but he then passed out and is still sleeping (thankfully lol)

Re: CIO at night = terrible napping?