How to Do I Get Baby to Nap at Relatives Home?

BE CONSISTENT! The first few times it may take her hours to nap, but every day will be less and less time. Make sure she is napping in the same place every time, so yes...a pack n play would be a great idea....just be sure they are CONSISTENT in making her nap. Let her cry if needed....it won't always be so hard. After like three days or so of the crying to sleep, she will cry shorter and shorter periods until she doesn't cry at all anymore! Be sure it is a place with little distraction, no tv or people buzzing about. Also be sure it is a place she can feel safe.

She's such a young baby. You don't have as much control as you might want! Comfort her & I think once she's more familiar with the surroundings she might ease into the napping thing! A good idea to have as many of her things around her as possible. None of my kids ever napped well away from home. I usually had to put them down after they were asleep.

Here are my tips as we JUST took our 8 mo. old on his first weekend (3 nights) away from home and trust me I was freakin out about it for months in advance - here is what I did to make sure he slept as well as possible (who knows if he really needed any of it :)
1. Brought a fan with us (because he sleeps with a fan on at our house)
2. brought the blanket and "froggy" that he sleeps with as well as the "wind up" part of the mobile that he is used to sleeping to at bedtime
3. Cushioned the pack in play with 2 layers of foam "bed topper/egg crate" that we had in the garage (you can by a twin size at k-mart for about $12.00). I sized it out and cut out 2 layers of it and placed them both under the fitted bed-sheet of the pack and play and I swear it worked so well- because I would never sleep on that pack-in-play because it was sooo hard - anywho- I think it worked really well :)

At each naptime and bedtime, I placed him in the pack-in-play after turning on his fan and gave him his blankie and frog then I turned the "mobile music" on and although it took a little longer then normal to get him down (about 15 minutes longer) he slept fine the whole time!!!!

Good luck!

Hi V., I would get something like a Pack n Play to leave at the relatives, for her to nap, and just make sure she has a blanket and stuffed animal, something she is familar with that gives her comfort and security. You didn't mentioned if the relatives were grand paerents, at 7 months old she an be rocked and nurtured to sleep apposed to her putting herself to sleep. It's adjustment that she will eventually get used to. J.

If this is a "long" term arrangement, that your Relative will be caring for her...then I would definitely get a crib or pack n' play for when your baby is at their home.

The reason being... that way you can keep her sleep/nap "habits" consistent... and then there won't be a big change in that compared to her home environment. It is therefore an "investment"... to ensure your baby's consistent habits.

Beware... that any "new" sleep/nap habits she acquires at her Relative... MAY interfere/abrupt her sleep/nap habits at home.... and being that you JUST got her to sleeping in her crib nicely... I would not want to mess with that...otherwise you may have trouble getting her to sleep at home too.

Being that this is a Relative caring for your baby... just "duplicate" your nap/sleep routine for her there as well. Tell your relative "how" the routine goes. Write it down if you have to. This is what I do, when Grandma babysits my son. The reason being, if the routine is "different"....my son will NOT nap. And then he gets into bad habits... which I therefore have to "correct" after Grandma. And this takes time, to get them back to their original "routine." And, it's not fun. Mommy suffers the backlash of "bad" habits learned by Grandma...although well intentioned.

So, if your relative gets your baby into the "habit" of being rocked, carried, or co-slept with, in order for her to nap/sleep.... your baby will then expect this at home too. So you need to think IF this is a "new" habit that you want to continue at home, or not.

Many times, when a baby/child's routine is changed...it may probably change their habit at home too.

Just keep that in mind.

My vote is to (1) get a crib/pack n' play for the relative (2) have them keep to your nap/sleep routine that you have for your baby and "duplicate" it...thus, keeping consistency when she is at home too, and she won't get "confused" as to how to fall asleep.

All the best,
Susan

Whenever I had to get my kids to nap somewhere else, I would bring as much familiar stuff with me as possible. For example, I would bring the same crib sheets that they were used to sleeping on, the same blanket, the same stuffed animals, etc. Worked like a charm.

Good luck!!

Being consistent by using your own portable bed when the baby is at relatives is certainly worth a try. I would also make sure it has familiar objects in it, like a favorite blanket and stuffed animal.