Any Advice on Getting My 3Month Old to Nap with Out Movement

Have you tried swaddling? Both my kids loved to be swaddled, actually Emily just stopped at 6 months, she started kicking out of it. With my son I found his crib sheet underneath him would sometimes feel cool and I think that would wake him up also. I hope you can find something that will work for her ((((HUGS)))

A., SAHM to Mikey (3 on 10/26) & Emily 7 months

From the first day we brought my son home from the hospital he refused to sleep in his bassinet. My husband and I would take turns letting him sleep on our chests between feedings so the other could get a few hours of sleep. After a while I brought it up to his doctor, and he told me to try letting him sleep in his carseat. (something about the angle at which he was laying while in the carseat) This worked for a while, but soon, he stopped sleeping there too. I realized that his problem was that he wanted to have the security of Mommy right there with him all night, so every night when I was getting ready for bed I would wrap him up in the shirt I had been wearing that day. That way he could still feel my warmth, and smell my scent. He slept through the night when he was 3 months old.

How to Get Your Baby to Nap
Sometimes it may seem impossible to get your baby to take a nap. Next time try these great tips and strategies.
By Pamela Stock (www.americanbaby.com - and do a search for Napping Strategies)

Nap-Happy Newborns?
Back when I was pregnant with my first child, I labored under the misconception that getting a baby to nap was a no-brainer. I simply assumed that each day at 1 p.m., I'd put my baby in his crib, where he'd sleep peacefully for several hours. I would straighten the house, return calls, check my e-mail, and refresh myself for an afternoon of child rearing.

That fantasy scenario proved to be as elusive as the perfect diaper bag. Soon enough, I discovered the ugly truth about a baby's peaceful nap: What should be a restorative rest period for everyone all too often becomes a battleground between baby and you. Just ask Ruth Mayer of Brooklyn. "One day I was out doing errands, and my 11-month-old, Katherine, was obviously tired. I figured if I just pushed her in the stroller a little longer she would fall asleep," she says. "Nearly two hours, several laps with the stroller, and a car ride later, Katherine finally slept for a scant hour. I was exhausted."

While avoiding such scenarios is not as simple as you may have hoped, it's not as difficult as you fear. Here's everything you need to know about what makes a nap work, what can ruin it, and strategies to cope with the most common nap saboteurs.

In the beginning, infants sleep so much and so irregularly that they don't need to nap -- they can't even distinguish night from day. In fact, for the first two months, babies sleep from 10 1/2 to 18 hours per day, for periods lasting anywhere from 20 minutes to 3 hours, according to the National Sleep Foundation. As you may have guessed, large amounts of sleep for a newborn allow for her rapid growth. Some newborns may seem to sleep all day; others run through short cycles of eating and then catnapping for 20 minutes at a time. "In the early days, you don't have to worry about when, where, or how long your baby is sleeping, as long as she is sleeping," says Jodi Mindell, PhD, author of Sleeping Through the Night (Harper Resource, 1997) and associate director of the Sleep Disorders Center of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. So forget about Ferberizing and rigid nap schedules for a tiny baby, and don't feel guilty if she falls asleep in the car, on your lap, or, if you're lucky, in the movie theater. "Sleep is sleep, and it all counts," says Mindell.


By three months, most babies can sleep for about six hours a night and are more alert during the day. If your baby isn't napping regularly, you should start working on a sleep schedule. Sleep experts and parents agree that the key to successful napping is to be consistent: Baby naps at the same time, in the same place, with the same routine each day. The trick to getting her to sleep when and where you want her to and not according to her own whims is to stick to a schedule. Don't follow my lead: Both of my kids have napped on the living room rug because that's where they collapsed while playing.

One recommended system, according to Mindell, is to set nap time according to the hour baby awakens each morning, remembering that your little one will need to go down for a nap roughly two hours later. Another is to choose a nap time by the clock. I know one mom of twins who swears by the "ten and two rule." Starting at six months, her kids were in their cribs at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and she arranged her day around the naps. Each choice has its drawbacks. If your baby doesn't wake up at the same time every day, her morning nap could fall anywhere from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., leaving you little ability to schedule your morning time. A nap at the same time every day means that your baby needs to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, something younger babies may not do yet.

Regardless of how you choose to schedule naps, getting baby into her crib before she's exhausted is key. "The biggest mistake parents make is waiting too long for the morning nap," says Mindell. If you're looking for signs of tiredness, like eye rubbing, you risk losing your window of napping and may wind up with a cranky, overtired child who's ready to explode.

While timing is important, you shouldn't discount location. "Ideally, your baby should nap where she sleeps at night, in her crib or bassinet in a dark room," says Mindell. How she drops off to dreamland is even more vital for her ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. Case in point: If your 3-month-old dozes each morning in the swing, you're going to be stuck rocking a much heavier child in your arms when she outgrows the swing several months later.

Similarly, "a child who needs a bottle or breastfeeding to snooze won't know how to soothe herself back to sleep when she wakes up," points out Sharon Greenip, spokesperson for Zero to Three, the early-childhood research and advocacy group in Washington, D.C. The key is to find soothing cues to help your little one fall asleep on her own that don't require your constant attendance. A daily ritual, similar but shorter than your bedtime ritual, can do just that. "Babies learn through repetition," says Greenip. "Predictability gives babies a sense of comfort and security." Sitting with your baby in the same chair for a prenap story or singing a favorite song each day signals to her that it's nap time. Kathleen Holt, of Houston, has sung the same song, John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads, " to her daughter Eliza, now 2, at every nap and bedtime since she was 4 months old. "I'm ready for something else, but since it works so well, I don't dare change it. I just put her in her crib, start to sing, and that's it," says Holt.

Baby in the Bed
Parenting expert Jan Faull, MEd, helps a new mother learn how to get her baby to fall asleep on his own.

Breaking Habits

Q. "My 5-month-old son sleeps in our bed. It started because my husband works away from home for two weeks at a time. I would breastfeed my son in bed and we'd both fall asleep. Now the only place he will sleep is in our bed. Additionally, now he won't sleep unless someone is holding him. He will fall asleep, but he wakes up when put down and won't go back to sleep. As a result of this he has no schedule -- or rather, his sleeping schedule is based on his feeding schedule. What can I do to get him back on a regular sleeping schedule, in his crib?"

A. Your son associates sleeping with your presence as a result of his habit of nursing to fall asleep. This habit and association are common and can be a difficult cycle to break, but it's not impossible. At 5 months, your son can learn to calm himself in order to sleep. He simply needs the opportunity to learn how.

Teach Him to Self-Soothe
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, sleep habits are established by age 6 months. Since you wish to move him out of your bed, it's best to start working toward that goal now. It will be far easier for him to learn to put himself to sleep now than it will be when he's older. Be prepared for it to take about three weeks for your son to make the shift to the new sleeping routine and schedule. Instead of putting him in his crib and letting him cry it out, or just hoping that he'll voluntarily start sleeping on his own, you'll need to develop a plan. And in order for it to work, you must be consistent.

Change the Schedule
Start the process by not continuing to nurse your son until he falls asleep. You want to create a new routine, which means breaking out of the old one. Try singing a song to your son as you prepare him for bed -- the song will initiate the beginning of the bedtime routine. Bathe him, change his diaper, put on his pajamas, rock him, and nurse him. If he starts to fall asleep while you nurse, lay him down in his crib. He may wake and fuss. If he does, offer a kiss and a hug, then promptly lay him back down. Pat him gently on his back to soothe him and let him know that you are still present. Eventually your son will fall asleep -- fatigue will be working on your side.

Don't Give In to the Crying Game
After a few days of patting him to sleep, move to sitting in the room near his crib until he falls asleep without your patting him. Again, expect protest cries, but do not give in and pick him up. The next step will be to move completely out of the room. When he cries out, stand at the door and talk softly to him. Let him know you're there by saying something like, "Mommy's here, it's time to fall asleep." Keep your voice soft and monotone and check in on him every five minutes. Keep repeating the refrain, until you don't hear any more fussing from his side of the door.

Be Consistent
This new routine will be a challenge to you and your baby. He'll cry at first. That's to be expected. He'll be sad -- even mad -- because you're changing what has been familiar and comfortable. Let him protest, but steel yourself against his cries. It will be difficult for you both. However, if you really want him to sleep independently, you can't be wishy-washy about this process. For each step in the process, give yourself a least a week's time to help you both adjust to the changes. You may be surprised at how quickly your baby will adapt. However, it's important for you to be consistent. Keep reminding yourself that it's better to have him fuss and cry now than when he's older and more resistant to staying down or in his bed. Once your son is sleeping on his own, do not bring him back into your bed -- not unless you want to start the process over again.

my daughter was the same way so what i did was i let her sleep in her swing even at night because she wouldn't sleep at night either unless she was rocking so i talked to her dr and he said if thats what she likes then it's fine to let her sleep in her swing even at night and eventually she will sleep in her crib so what i did was put her swing in my room at night and thats where she slept and every night i tryed putting her in her crib and if she really got upset then i put her in the swing and she'd go right out and eventually when she was about 4 1/2 months she finally went to sleep in her crib with out a fus and she goes right to sleep in it every night now and she is now 22 months so if your little one likes to sleep in the swing let her eventually she will sleep in her bed

At that age, both my boys would nap in the sling, which meant I had both hands free to type, do light housework, etc. Maybe a "Mei-Tai" or "ABC - Asian Baby Carrier" would work, as long as she can hold her head up. There is a local woman who makes them to order for a very reasonable price, you pick the fabric and everything. Private Message me if you want her contact info.

Look at it this way... your baby is a perfectly normal baby! For thousands of years babies slept while being carried on their mothers, and it's something humans have evolved to expect! She also spent 9 comfy months sleeping in your rocking womb. :-) This time will not last forever... I encourage you to find a gentle solution for your family.

Warmly,

K.

We were afraid that the motion of the swing would become something that our son needed, so we would wait until he fell asleep, then turn it off. Sometimes he would wake up, but if we kept slowing it down gradually, he was usually pretty okay. When we would go to bed, if he was sleeping, we would just leave him there. He went through a pretty rough spot where he would cry and cry at night and one of us would have to walk with him. He would fall asleep in our arms, and we would slip into bed with him on our chest. Made for awful sleep for me, but he at least got in a few hours.

I am sure this phase will pass. It always feels like it is taking forever, but in a couple months she will be doing something new.

Good luck

as funny as it sounds get an old fashion clock ( the wind up ones), stick it under her mattress and give it a try ( she like the sounds of your womb while she was still in there, and that's what she feels like when she is moving.

Have you tried Swaddling her? My son is the same way, but when he' swaddled he can't create his own movement and naturally goes to sleep. Maybe it'll help!

My son was just like this. He slept in his swing for every nap and for nights until he was 4 1/2 months old. He transferred to the crib when he was ready and he is a wonderful sleeper. I say if she likes the swing let her sleep in it, it won't hurt her and you'll get some rest!!! Hope this helps.