20 min. naps

[megant]

So my son has finally learned how to lay down for a nap and fall asleep on his own, but he still only sleeps for about 20 minutes and then gets up and cries. Should I go to him at this point? Or should I let him cry? And for how long? I feel as though, since he has learned to fall asleep on his own I'm punishing him by not going up there even if he only napped for 20 minutes. He has never been a long napper, but I was hoping this crying it out would help with that.

[mamaof3]

How old is your son? Personally I would go and get him. All kids are different. Maybe he needs a bunch of short naps versus one or two long naps. When you go and get your son after his short nap does he still seem tired or is he wide awake and ready to play? So I guess my advice would be to go and get him even if it is a short nap and then if he still seems tired maybe you could try to feed him, change him rock him for a while and put him back down. But you know him best so do what your mother instincts are telling you to. Good luck, let us know what you end up doing!

[ra11en]

I'm with mamaof3. When my wee one finally started learning to put herself to sleep, I would go get her no matter how long (or little) she slept. One battle at a time was my motto. Then, when she seemed to have that down pretty well I started working on a set schedule which meant trying to get her to go back to sleep if she didn't sleep long enough. When I do have to let her cry it out, I usually only let it last about 5 minutes or so if she did in fact fall asleep.

Good luck!