Was wondering how others mommys went about their baby's nap times? My third baby is now 4 months old. She sleeps through the night, but won't sleep more than 20 min alone during the day. If held, she'll sleep up to three hours, (done one lazy day)! She's nursed, so she falls asleep eating, so I can't just put her down drowsy. My first son I held for every nap until he was three, loved it! Second son around 10 months he'd fall asleep in my arms, than I'd lay him in his crib.
I'm just too busy now and need her to fall asleep alone.
My daughter slept best in one of those vibrating bouncy chairs. If she started stirring before I felt like she had slept long enough, I would gently bounce her and see if she fell back asleep. (Usually did.)
The swing worked wonders for us! Also, the carseat, if you have the one that snaps in to the base. I would put our son in the carseat after feeding him. If he did wake up (sometimes they don't), I could pick up the carseat and swing it for a bit until he fell back to sleep. Then just set it down and let him sleep.
Have you tried a swing or one of the seats that moves in a choice of patterns? Kind of the same idea as riding in the car - the motion lulls them to sleep. White noise? Sometimes blocking out "house noises" and other stimuli can help them settle.
Can you stop nursing just before she drops off. At some point when she gets really tired, she's not taking in much nutrition and just using the breast for comfort. Can you then put her in the swing and put a hand on her head or shoulder so she knows you're there but not actually holding her? Is she past the point of swaddling because she moves too much or perhaps she didn't like it?
Sounds like she needs the sleep if she slept for 3 hours so I'd try some ways of duplicating that feeling (warmth, being a little comfortably squished, moving a little such as with a gentle swing). We had one of those heartbeat stuffed animals to provide a rhythmic sound reminiscent of Mama's heartbeat and it also drowned out some outside noises.
Yes you need her to sleep more! Good luck!
Let her fuss a little (5 min or so) when she wakes up after 20 min, she may go back to sleep.
Have you tried swaddling? She may need that feeling. I also love the ergo baby carrier- you could wear her on your back if you really need to.
Oh boy, by the third kid we were on the move all the time. She hardly EVER napped in her crib. It was usually on me (in the carrier or backpack) in the car seat, swing or stroller. Even at night she often preferred her car seat. Maybe she had a little reflux and felt better sleeping upright? I don't know I just did whatever worked!
My guys took lots of naps in car seats and strollers. We would go out for a drive or a walk, they would fall asleep and I would leave them in the van/stroller to finish their nap. My older son liked to nap when I took a shower. He would sit in his bouncy seat in the bathroom and the sound of the water would put him to sleep.
My son slept wherever he was, whenever he was tired. I never even kept track of his naps until he was over a year old. If he fell asleep while I was holding him, I put him down - on a mat, in his crib, in the stroller or whatever was appropriate for where we were. Never had a problem with him falling asleep. We never tried to put him on a schedule and never tried to make it quiet or dark for him to sleep. At night we put him in the crib when we went to bed - generally awake and he would simply go to sleep.
Another vote for the swing.
With my third we had a moses basket that was on the living room floor. If she fell asleep in the living room and I needed my hands free I'd put her in there. If I was upstairs I'd put her in her crib. She slept where ever we were. She'd sleep in the stroller or in the sling. If we were going to be at people's houses for a while we'd bring the moses basket with us. If I wasn't going to get off the couch I'd lay her next to me where I could keep an eye or a hand on her. We never bothered with a pack and play, never had enough room for one for any of our 3.
Sometimes she's nurse to sleep, other times she'd be tired and just fall asleep.
My son is a year old and pretty much the past twelve months will sleep 1/2-1 hour in his crib for naps but up to 2 hours if held. Sometimes he only naps for 15 minutes being held though. I think some kids are great nappers and some aren't. Just like some are great sleepers and others aren't. What I did find that helps at night to sleep longer was to put him down drowsy (not asleep). I then sit next to the crib in case he cries so I can shush him or rub his back. But he will fall asleep on his own, which is good!
why can't you put her down drowsy?
i NEVER held my babies to make them nap. nor did i stick to arbitrary schedules. they slept when they were sleepy, and i put them down when i needed to, awake or asleep.
my younger was kind of a bear. if he got too crabby we'd throw him in a car seat, or his dad would wear him and mow the lawn. that boy STILL can't resist the siren song of an engine (fortunately not when he himself is at the wheel!)
i think my kids fared well from having a mom far too busy to hold them forever while they considered their sleeping options.
khairete
S.
Have you tried swaddling? My first baby wouldn't nap more than a 15/20 minutes until we started swaddling her, then she would nap for 2-3 hours. You can buy velcro self swaddlers at Walmart or Target. At 4 months with my second baby, we like the halo sleepsack swaddler or swaddleme wrapsack.
