Trouble Getting 10 Week Old to Sleep in Crib During the Day

One of my daughters napped best when we swaddled her and put her in a bouncy seat. My 2nd daughter we swaddled and she slept in a moses basket. We swaddled both in a thin blanket until they were about 3 months old and then transitioned to a blanket sleeper. It really seemed to help. Maybe she would enjoy being swaddled for sleeping? I would not put pillows in her crib, as was mentioned in another response. That seems dangerous! Hope this helps.

Hi!

I think sometimes we're too obsessed with nap times and where babies should sleep. I let my two fall asleep wherever they happened to be during the day, whether it was in their little carrier when quite small or under the dining room table when they started to crawl! As a result, they slept anywhere without a fuss when they got tired. I didn't have to worry about getting them home for a nap in "their" crib with "their" blanket. My pediatrician had a fit--he said they had to be put down at a regular time in a quiet room with the door shut. However, I ended up with two great kids who slept through phones ringing, vacuuming, my friends visiting, etc. There's nothing wrong with letting your beautiful baby sleep wherever she is when she starts yawnng. Just remember--there's no "right" way because all babies are different. Try this--I hope it works for you!

hi S.,
i also had this "problem". i found that putting her in my room during the day worked best bc our room has HEAVY dark drapes that keep the room really dark. also, it helped with our bedtime routine & she knows that her crib is for ALL night. (we got so lucky she started sleeping through the night at 5 and a half weeks old!)
so some suggestions are to get heavy drapes for her room for naps; try a different room or position for naps so she can tel the difference between naps & bedtime. Hope this helps. Remember, every baby is different so you just have to find what works best for yours :)
D.

Have you tried swaddling her? That seemed to help my son get to sleep. We wrapped him tightly so that his arms were not able to come loose (I know it sounds horrible..but it actually helps calm their little bodies.) Babies often display the startle reflex which would wake my son up..but when we started swaddling him, his arms were secure and he would sleep much longer. I hope this helps.
~G.

Oh S. - do you have my child? :) My little girl was the exact same way! Exact! Her crib is upstairs in her room... I finally started putting her down for naps in her Pack N Play in the dining room. That seemed to do the trick. I think she felt like I was close by. Plus, for us, it reinforced that naptime is different than bedtime. She got used to naps being temporary and nighttime being an all-night-through thing.

I think at this age rocking her to sleep is fine. Most peds say that babies don't get "trained" by rocking until 4-6mos old. As far as her waking up once you put her down, have you tried making sure she's in a deep sleep (the phase after active sleep) before you put her down? That usually takes about 20 mins after they appear "asleep". They are much less likely to wake once in deep sleep if you put them down. As silly as it sounds a good way to tell is to lift their little arm and let it flop. If they move or keep their arm somewhat stiff they are still in active sleep but if it flops right back down they're in deep sleep most likely. Maybe you're doing that already and just have a light sleeper... its just something that worked for us.

Well if none of this helps at all just know that someone else out there went through the exact same exhausting thing and that there is an end in sight - it will get better! Best of luck to you both!!

A trick: Instead of holding her in your arms, lay her across a pillow on your lap (face down - the curve of the pillow will ensure that her head is turned to the side). A sturdy pillow is best - like a large pillow from your couch. Pat her bottom or gently rub her back. When she falls asleep, pick up the pillow and move it to where-ever you want her to sleep.

The problem with the crib is most likely that it is far away from the activity in the house (you). She will sleep soundly if you have her with you - the sounds around her will actually soothe her. So set her on the couch - cover her with a blanket and get some alone time.

Incidentally, both of my kids did not sleep during the day much. This is normal for some babies - although exhausting for the mom. This trick helped with my second baby while she was small.

My 4 1/2 month old was the same way. She would just take her naps in her reclining rocking chair in the living room where I was. We started putting her in her crib for naps about a month ago. She would cry herself to sleep if she was fussy when I layed her down. Your little one is to young yet to let cry it out.

Also, have you tried swaddling her?

S.,
I know you have a lot of responses already - but I HAD to respond because I went through the SAME THING!!! My daughter sleeps PERFECTLY in her crib at night but I couldn't get her to nap in her crib. We ended up working on getting her to sleep at specific times of day and THEN worked on where she would sleep. So first we would put her to sleep in the rocking chair and put her in the swing (she loved the coziness (sp?) of it) and she slept in her swing for naps for 2 months. I transistioned her to the crib when she started sleeping poorly in the swing - which was about 2 weeks ago. Nap times aren't totally perfect yet - but they get better each day - she doesn't love taking naps in the crib (but she is putting herself to sleep!- and she has outgrown her swing. The really great thing is that we got her used to sleeping at those times during the day. The other thing that really helped was putting her down for a nap 2 hours after she would wake up. I was trying for 3 hours - but that was too long for her - 2 hours seems to be the right time for her. Our daughter just wasn't ready for naps in the crib but slept great in the swing!
Good luck! I know how you feel and you WILL get through it! Please feel free to email me back for more info/support if you want or need it!

We had the same problem with our daughter. What I started to do per Dr suggestion, was put her in the pack in play during the day and for her shorter nap of the day put her in her bed. I also slept with a t-shirt or even took off the one I was wearing and put it in her crib. It took about a week and a half and she was taking all her naps in her crib.

Good luck...

S.,

My son was the same. Unfortunately I ended up holding him for his naps (especially during the afternoon) until he was nearly 6 months old. He did better sleeping in his swing or in the car seat. He also slept well and went to sleep well on his own at night.

I don't have advice, but I wanted you to know that you are not alone.

J.

My daughter wouldn't take naps in her crib either but would sleep fine at night, I just let her nap in her swing. She did this until she was too big for it. Around 7 months is when she started napping in her crib. Her doctor said it was alright but try by 6 months to get her in her crib during the day.

This sounds just like my oldest who is now 3. She was great at sleeping at night but napping was another story. My second was was opposite, naps but woke up a lot at night. Enjoy the good night sleeper it is the best opption. My oldest, Grace, would fall asleep nursing and also did well in the car, but never in her crib. I also could not lay her down even when she was asleep. She knew it was daytime. That was just the way she was, she is just not much of a napper. It is rare that she naps. If she does she is wide awake at bedtime. When she was little the one thing that we found to work was to put her in the swing on full blast and play music. Mindy Smith always worked like magic. Sometimes trying to make a kid nap just isn't worth the stress on you and your relationship with your child. It would be great to have that quiet time every day like some people get, I am jelous. But you just have to love the kids you have and know that they are all different. Good luck.

I have a few suggestions that may or may not help you but i hope they do! The first is wrap your baby tightly in a blanket and put pillows on either side when you lay her down in the crib. The crib is a big place and since she might be wanting the tightness and security of you holding her...you can wrap her up and it might help to imitate you holding her. Or, you could just keep her in a bassinet. The second would be to use a swing or bouncy chair to help her sleep. Sometimes my daughter would sleep better in the swing for almost an hour or so at times during the day better then she would nap in her crib. The gentle rocking movement helps. My last idea for you is the car seat. Last resort but it did come in handy at times for my daughter when she wanted a nice tight place to nap. But i wouldn't suggest using it all the time. I guess I just thought of one more thing. When I could tell that my daughter was getting ready to take a nap I would put her in the stroller and take her for a walk. The fresh air is great and she would sleep through the entire walk and I would be getting some exercise and a mental break at the same time. Good luck!

Hi S.! I would try keeping a journal of when she naps and for how long and discuss with her doctor. If she is not sick, you have done everything to ensure her comfort, i.e. check diaper, not too hot or too cold, clothing is comfortable, not hungry, and all those need are met, it is ok to let her cry for a little while. Some children are simply over stimulated and need to cry themselves to sleep. You sound like you are doing a great job though! It will get beter! :)

I just want to say - I think you're doing the right thing by really working with her on napping in her crib. I did the same with my son, put him down sleepy and calm, and stay in the room with him until he's sleeping. And WOW it was a lot of work sometimes (I also did the 45 minutes thing), but I stuck it out. Now he's 10 months and he's a WONDERFUL sleeper who is very secure and comfortable in his crib. We put him in there for naps and bedtime and he basically rolls over and goes to sleep. We did swaddle him - it took me a couple months to realize how well it worked - you didn't say if you were doing that or not. At first I always thought, my baby doesn't like to be swaddled!! But really, once I figured it out he slept SO much better. Use a LARGE thin blanket (those 30x30 receiving blankets are worthless, even a flat sheet is better) and don't be afraid to wrap her up tight. Now that I know what I'm doing, my next baby will be swaddled from the beginning! :) Good luck, it sounds like you're on the right track.