Persuasive techniques

So I'm working on convincing William that daytime naps are, in the parlance of Martha Stewart, a Good Thing. However, I am not having any discernable success. I've been reading this book on developing healthy sleep habits in your child, and one of the main tenets is that sleep begets more sleep. And a well-rested child is a happy child. Hear, hear. A rested adult is also a happy adult. So it stands to reason that if William gets more sleep, I get more sleep, and then we're all well-rested, and we're all happy. Sounds great, eh? Now, to figure out the key to getting it to actually happen...

I'm having a little success on getting him to sleep more at night. Evenings were always hard on me. Often, William would cry and fuss and nurse most of the evening away anyway. So I'm trying to put him down for the night much earlier. I managed to get him down at 7:30 two nights ago and at 8 p.m. last night. I'm going to shoot for 7:30 tonight. I may move the bedtime even earlier, if I think it might help. I'm working on creating a little bedtime routine to get him settled. It's not as elaborate as one you might use with an older child, but it goes like this: maybe a bath (preferably one that does not involve washing his hair), a diaper change, put him in a soft sleeper, close the curtains in the room and just leave one lamp on, nurse him in a quiet room, burp him, put him in his bassinette and turn the music on low and let him lie there. If he's asleep then, great, and if not, he often bats at the little toys we have hanging from the bassinette and falls asleep later. Either way is great. David and I get some time together in the evening to hang out, and William gets more sleep. Now, if we could only convince him that he only needs to wake up once in the night to nurse, we'd be golden. I mean, yes, I wish he'd sleep through the night and into the morning, but I also know it's not realistic to expect that from him at this stage of his development.

Daytime is a different story. William does. not. want. to nap. Not anywhere. Not anytime. Never. I've tried putting him in the crib. Nope. I've tried putting him in the Pack n Play. Nope. The bouncy seat. He likes that if he's awake but not for a nap, usually. I've tried the swing. Nope. Nothing seems to work. He will only sleep if I am holding him. I put him in his car seat and took him for a ride this afternoon because he often falls asleep in the car. He did, and I brought him inside, still in the car seat, and left him alone. He stayed asleep maybe 10 or 15 minutes. He just started crying a second ago. Sigh. There was a time when he'd sleep in his car seat for an hour or longer. I guess he's decided that's not going to happen anymore. Now granted, I've read that babies his age often don't nap reliably, so it's not that weird. But still! He needs more sleep than he's getting, and I know he's tired. He acts tired. So why won't he just nap? It's like he won't let himself nap. Can you imagine a lifestyle where someone kept saying to you, "no, no, you go sleep. take it easy. have a nice nap." Wouldn't that be amazing? Wouldn't you love to have that lifestyle? Apparently it's not such a sexy option when you're an eight-week old baby. Sigh.

Wait. He stopped crying. Oh no! Maybe he's not breathing! I'll be right back.

Okay. He's alive. He's still in his car seat and he's breathing. Actually, he's rolling his eyes a bit in his sleep and snoring. Ah, the golden sound of your baby snoring like a trucker!

Great. I spoke too soon. I hear him tuning up. The prelude to a full scale symphony of crying is now wafting not-so-gently through the hallway. Gotta go.