Help! Only naps in swing...

[BlueWolf]

... and she's reaching the weight limit!

I don't know what to do. My DD will be 8 months on the 9th. She has only napped in the swing since she was 2 months old. I've tried to wean her into napping in her crib or in bed with me, but it's a no go. At max, she will nap for maybe 5-10 minutes then waking up super unhappy and over tired. It's an absolute train wreck. She will nap in her swing from 30-60 minutes. She will nap in the car too, but that's not a practical option.

I really don't know what to do... she needs her naps, and she's a very poor sleeper to begin with. Baby with no nap = screaming and fussing while awake, then even more nightly wake ups than normal (which range from 3-6 wake ups per night).

We don't nurse anymore, fyi, so I can't nurse her down. She won't nap in my arms anymore, and that's not really a practical solution anyways.

Thoughts?

[atlantafemme]

My LO's willingness to nap in places other than his swing gradually evolved. I just kept trying and he eventually accepted the floor (on a blanket) and even sometimes his crib. Have you tried slings or other baby-wearing products to wear her down?

If all else fails, this swing goes up to 30 lbs: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...JZ0KK562FETPS0

[BlueWolf]

I have an Ergo but I can't realistically wear here long enough for a full nap without my back screaming at me (bad back).

How did you get your LO to nap on the floor?

[tzs]

i have a poor napper. she does sleep in a crib/bed but she fights sleep so i have to do what i call "manually putting her to sleep." basically it just involves holding her really tight horizontally against me with a nuk in her mouth and swinging side to side pretty vigorously while shushing. once she's really asleep i can put her down. i imagine it might work for your swing fiend.

also, if she's been taking crappy naps i'll do a long one with her on top of me on the couch that way i can put her back to sleep when she wakes. not an option for everybody but i'll do it every once in a while. maybe it could be a transition out of the swing?

good luck.

[maptome]

I had this same dilemma when DD was 5 months and nearing the weight limit. We didn't have any kind of routine and the swing was the signal for her to nap. We switched to napping after being awake 3 hours (I know that's long for 5 months) and nursing until asleep. Then, I put her in the bed. This had created other problems, but at least we survived without the swing.

[atlantafemme]

OP-- the 1st few times I got DS to nap on the floor, I nursed him down. But now my partner is able to do it just by laying next to him, singing or shushing and rubbing his back. It's a process but it's all worth it when it works for sure!

Also, when you LO falls asleep in the ergo, can you lay her down then? Or does she instantly wake?

When my guy is really resisting naps, I drive him around til he falls asleep and then I park somewhere and read. I kinda love it b/c if we were at home I would feel the need to "get things done."

[mkksmom]

I do stroller naps. If she wakes too early, then I walk her around some more.

[BlueWolf]

Originally Posted by atlantafemme

OP-- the 1st few times I got DS to nap on the floor, I nursed him down. But now my partner is able to do it just by laying next to him, singing or shushing and rubbing his back. It's a process but it's all worth it when it works for sure!

Also, when you LO falls asleep in the ergo, can you lay her down then? Or does she instantly wake?

When my guy is really resisting naps, I drive him around til he falls asleep and then I park somewhere and read. I kinda love it b/c if we were at home I would feel the need to "get things done."

She's an "instantly awake the moment movement stops" type of napper. If we're in the car and at a stop light too long, she wakes up. I like the napping in the car then parking and having a change to read though. I haven't picked up a book since DD was a newborn.

I really feel like I've created a monster.

Even putting her to bed for the night is rough. It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours to get her asleep. Then she's up every 2-3 hours all night long.

[MeredithK]

I don't have any advice since I've created a nap monster, too. I have to push the swing in order to get DS to nap. The swing by itself doesn't work. The book the No Cry Nap Solution has a chapter on weaning out of the swing. Have you read that?

[atlantafemme]

I truly don't think either of you "created monsters," though the books may make you think so. I only have one baby but from all the talking with other moms I've done, I've come to realize that some babies are really easy sleepers and some are not no matter what their parents do.

Check out this blog: http://attachmentparenting.org/blog/...baby-led-sleep I read this when my son was waking almost every hour at night a few months ago. It saved my sanity! Btw, he only wakes 2-3 times now and I changed nothing. He simply matured.

[Heidi74]

Originally Posted by mkksmom

I do stroller naps. If she wakes too early, then I walk her around some more.

I do this too. I put a short-shorn lambskin (specifically made for babies to sleep on, so it hasn't been treated with chemicals), in the fully-reclining stroller, with holes cut through for the straps, and both my kids sleep there for naps. In fact, it's the only guaranteed place to get my two and a half year old to nap. With the baby, I just jiggle the stroller until he falls asleep, if I'm not walking outside.

It's also nice, because we can take the stroller anywhere...to friends' houses for example, and they always have a familiar place to nap.

[BlueWolf]

Originally Posted by atlantafemme

I truly don't think either of you "created monsters," though the books may make you think so. I only have one baby but from all the talking with other moms I've done, I've come to realize that some babies are really easy sleepers and some are not no matter what their parents do.

Check out this blog: http://attachmentparenting.org/blog/...baby-led-sleep I read this when my son was waking almost every hour at night a few months ago. It saved my sanity! Btw, he only wakes 2-3 times now and I changed nothing. He simply matured.

Thank you so much for that link. It really gave me hope!

Originally Posted by Heidi74

I do this too. I put a short-shorn lambskin (specifically made for babies to sleep on, so it hasn't been treated with chemicals), in the fully-reclining stroller, with holes cut through for the straps, and both my kids sleep there for naps. In fact, it's the only guaranteed place to get my two and a half year old to nap. With the baby, I just jiggle the stroller until he falls asleep, if I'm not walking outside.

It's also nice, because we can take the stroller anywhere...to friends' houses for example, and they always have a familiar place to nap.

Where did you get your short-shorn lambskin?

[Heidi74]

Originally Posted by BlueWolf

Thank you so much for that link. It really gave me hope!



Where did you get your short-shorn lambskin?

You know, I actually forget where I got them (we have two), since we've had them for a couple of years now. I did a quick search, though, and these sites came up:

Here's one that's specifically made for a stroller (even though they also have regular ones that you can cut holes in)

http://www.kiwi-sheepskins.com/detai...oduct_id=BA003

and another one

http://www.magiccabin.com/product.as...ndex=&pcode=84