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Nap times

Annh17 profile image
27 Replies

So who does or did put baby down in their cor for day time naps?

I really need to start doing this, but I’m enjoying her cuddles far too much when she’s asleep, plus she’s such a pain going too sleep at night at the moment. I can’t stand to be putting up with during the day and at night time.

I know I need to start too doing this and be strict with it, but I can’t put up with the crying and screaming then and night time. Once she’s screaming the only thing that’s stops her is getting picked up

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Annh17 profile image
Annh17
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27 Replies

My LG didn’t start going in her cot for nap time until she started nursery at 11 months. It wasn’t that I didn’t want her to I just found it impossible. After that I just had to sit by her cot occasionally until she went off.

I always think about something my colleague and friend at work tells me is that it won’t be forever they won’t still get in bed with you when they are 16 so enjoy it now and they just learn to grow out of it x

Annh17 profile image
Annh17 in reply to

That’s exactly how I look at it, I love those cuddles and they don’t last forever. But sometimes I’m like will it be harder later on, when I try x

in reply to Annh17

Yeah I know what you mean. Will she be starting nursery soon? If she is might be worth just waiting til then x

Annh17 profile image
Annh17 in reply to

We are lucky and her nannies will be having her when I go back too work, I might get them too start it 😂😂 x

in reply to Annh17

Ha ha yeah give them the task 😂. You never know that might help x

Annh17 profile image
Annh17 in reply to

Yea it might do actually. We just have too be strict. She woke up when I put her too bed 1 hour ago, we left her and she cried (well scream and whinge) for about 10 minutes and then asleep. So we just got too be firm and strict. I just hope we don’t wake her when we go up x

in reply to Annh17

Aw bless. I definitely think the night is a phase but it can be really tough and hard to know what to do xx

Fletcherrrrrrrrrr profile image
Fletcherrrrrrrrrr in reply to Annh17

Im havin same bother as we speak 😭😭😭😭 down at haf7, up at haf8 crying. Distressed so picked up cuddled n put down. Up 15 mins later. Put dummy in an habd on his face an now asleep but scared to move. Send help lol 😭😭😭

Annh17 profile image
Annh17 in reply to Fletcherrrrrrrrrr

I would love help aswell lol. But tonight we were the horrible parents and just let her cry it out, 10 minutes and she went too sleep. The last few nights, she wasn’t giving up, so. 🤞🏻 she has got the hint tonight.

It’s horrible just letting them cry and you feel so cruel, but you just gotta do it. x

kt_11 profile image
kt_11 in reply to Annh17

You know what though, you really don’t have to just leave them to cry if you don’t want to. My little boy has never been a good sleeper. He still needs rocking to sleep at nearly 18 months but he’s gradually getting better and I’ve never left him to cry it out. He can sleep through the night - last night he woke once between 7:30 and 7:30 and that time I settled him back within 20 mins.

Not judging anyone who chooses a different method to myself (my LB’s awful sleep has really affected my mental health & relationship so can understand why people might choose sleep training methods) but just wanted to put it out there that if you’re not comfortable with doing that, it’s not a necessity. I had so many people telling me if baby didn’t learn to ‘self soothe’ they would wake up every 2 hours needing me to help him back to sleep. Well turns out that’s not true 🤔

Hope things improve for you soon. I do know how hard it is and feel like in your case it’s probably teething...x

Fletcherrrrrrrrrr profile image
Fletcherrrrrrrrrr in reply to kt_11

I totally get this & most of the time i think they grow so quick why not enjoy all the cuddles. I am a sucker for cuddles and i think watever works for u is great.

My baby has settled since 845 - will it last? Some nites better than others. Last nite i brought him into the big bed at 2am just to get some sleep. Do uz do this? Also how r they in the car? X

kt_11 profile image
kt_11 in reply to Fletcherrrrrrrrrr

I only ever brought him into bed with me a handful of times when I was still breastfeeding, but I understand why some people do.

I was never really happy for baby to be in the bed with my partner because he sleeps more deeply than me and I worried he would would roll on my little boy. It didn’t really seem to help him sleep any better anyhow. Wouldn’t have him in my bed now cos he’s 18 months and might be able to escape without me noticing 😂

Not gonna lie, I think after about 6-7 months of very very broken sleep I started to really suffer psychologically so I can totally see why people turn to sleep training. I just decided it wasn’t for me though. I’m glad I didn’t now cos most times he wakes up it’s now obvious that it’s because he’s got wind or his teeth hurt, so I’d feel terrible knowing I’d left him to cry when he was really just in pain.

My advice is to just do what feels right for you and your baby. They’re all different and there’s no one way to do things - anyone who tells you that their way is the only way has probably just had a really easy baby 🤣

Fletcherrrrrrrrrr profile image
Fletcherrrrrrrrrr in reply to kt_11

Or talkin rubbish 😁 how often would u baby wake thro the nite up until 6/7 month? My boy is 5 month nxt week. Shocked to say wen he fell over at845 that was him til 1am. Wouldnt fall over on his own. Gave him a cuddle and Hes fallen asleep in my arms. X

kt_11 profile image
kt_11 in reply to Fletcherrrrrrrrrr

Until then, probably two or three times.

At about 7 months he was suddenly up every couple of hours or even less. He still goes through phases of it being really bad again when he’s unwell or teething but things did gradually improve.

Fletcherrrrrrrrrr profile image
Fletcherrrrrrrrrr in reply to kt_11

This boy has never slept great. He is waking every 2.5/3 hours. Is this normal? Hes ok going down, but dummy needs put in several times through the night then when he wakes up he cries and wont stop til hes cuddled bak to sleep or fed. Drained. He was up at 11, 230, woke at 4 again and cried wenever i put him in the cot. Eventually went down at 5 then up at 650 again x drained x

kt_11 profile image
kt_11 in reply to Fletcherrrrrrrrrr

Totally normal. Mine was exactly the same. Not gonna lie, it’s really hard and it’s important if you have a partner to try sharing the load with them if possible. Is he bottle fed?

My boy was breastfed and wouldn’t accept a bottle so when he was waking to feed I had to do it all. One thing I found helped was rocking him til he was very sleepy then putting him in the cot and patting him until he fell asleep so he knew I was there but he was actually falling asleep in he cot.

He’s always struggled to settle himself as he seems to find it hard to switch off but he can now put himself back to sleep if he wakes in the night. It’s just taken time for him to develop this. If he cries and stays awake now it means something is bothering him, usually pain.

Fletcherrrrrrrrrr profile image
Fletcherrrrrrrrrr in reply to kt_11

Hes breastfed but startin to take the bottle now after months of resistence lol he prefers the cheap standard teats people used years ago. Thats a relief knowin its normal. HV makes me feel like its abnormal & that every baby shud be self soothing from birth! I usually let him fall asleep on me then put in the cot like u. Or if he wakes i cuddle h and put him in with my hand on his face. Thanks for ur reply. Im trustin he will find his own way with self soothin? Did u let baby cry for 5 if they stirred? X

Annh17 profile image
Annh17 in reply to Fletcherrrrrrrrrr

My little girl will sleep in the car if it’s around her nap times and yes I do bring her in our bed, so we can all sleep x

Fletcherrrrrrrrrr profile image
Fletcherrrrrrrrrr in reply to Annh17

He loves the car too and usually sleeps in it. Baby cuddles r the best. They arnt small for long x

Google AHA parenting and gentle parenting. Trust your instincts and ignore what society is telling you. I was "strict " with my first because that's what I'd heard I should do, but with my second I did what I wanted to do. They can both put themselves to bed when they are ready now, they're 7 and 5 years old.

A baby's natural instinct is to want to have their carer nearby to look after them and protect them from danger, as far as they know a sabre tooth tiger could be lurking nearby waiting to attack, the only way they can communicate is by crying, so by not picking baby up they learn that their carer sometimes isn't there to look after them, they don't know you are in the next room.

Do what feels right to you and what works for your family. I wore my second in a sling and he took most of his naps there, we co-slept until he was nearly a year.

Rach2022 profile image
Rach2022

Hi,

When we did this Lucas was napping 2-3 times a day and would only fall asleep on us. We started by moving him into the cot once he was asleep (the first few times he woke up and had to be resettled and put down again). Then one day he happened to miss his nap and was exhausted so I read him a nice book and put him down with the same music in the same cot and he did cry but it was for about 3 minutes and then he just fell asleep. We let him sleep religiously like that from then on and he hardly ever cries when he’s put down now (he is also a lot bigger now! 15 months)

Good luck and do what works for you - it is ok to hold her while she sleeps. It is also ok to want some time in the day to do something else.

Annh17 profile image
Annh17 in reply to Rach2022

Thank you, I feel like I should be putting her down too sleep in cot during the day, but then I’m like, I’m going too miss this so much when I go back too work and tbh I can’t stand the thought of putting her in cot and her screaming and then not going back too sleep for nap.

I’m happy doing what I’m doing for now and maybe eventually I will start putting her in her cot. I just love having those little cuddles when she is asleep x

Rach2022 profile image
Rach2022

I should also say, the main reason we did start putting him down on his own was because when he was rocked asleep or fed to sleep he would only sleep for 30-40 mins and I was concerned that he wasn’t getting good daytime sleep. The mums who put their babies down to self settle seemed to have babies that slept for longer stints. When Lucas started sleeping on his own he did sleep for longer stings at a time and was much happier when he woke up as a result. Obviously different for everyone and I certainly missed feeding him to sleep and holding his lovely sleepy form in my arms, but it seemed that he slept better on his own (and it was nice to be able to empty the dishwasher and have a warm cup of coffee without interruption!)

Bexta6060 profile image
Bexta6060

Couldn't get my DD to nap during the day in her cot til she was nearly 6 months, it was just easier and less stressful that way

Lovefood1984 profile image
Lovefood1984

If it doesn’t bother you or your little girl I’d say don’t worry 😊 Mine hated to be held and refused to drift off in my arms, picking her up would stop the crying but just prolonged the tired upset so I’d just sit with her until she dropped off until she got the hang of it. She was in a Moses basket for naps until about 6 1/2 months where things were just too stimulating downstairs for her (and she got too big for it) and then I put her in her big cot for a few weeks during the day and she was still in with us in her next2me at night until around 7 1/2 months (as she dropped her last bottle and got too big for that too 😂). I think with all parenting you make the best decisions on what works best for you, she’ll do these things eventually and every baby is different x

Annh17 profile image
Annh17 in reply to Lovefood1984

Thank you, we always used too put her down for naps in Moses basket, but then she got too clingy and hated being put down.

I am happy doing what I’m doing, but I just feel sometimes I could do so much more with that time, but I am loving that’s sleepy cuddles far too much. x

Ok my baby went 1130 - 540 between feeds but woke every hour to 2 hours during this time. But fine once picked up and cuddled bak to sleep. Any advice on how to get him to stop wakin? X

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