12mos still only naps in ergo!!

[kdescalzi]

I have always worn dd for her naps. The whole nurse to sleep and sneak away results in 20min naps and a very cranky baby.
Now I am getting a lot of flack from family and my dh because she is... gasp almost a year old and still only naps in the ergo. They give me such a hard time because she does not sleep in her crib...we actually took apart the crib because it was simply wasting space. It is hard on me...I get no personal space at all because I am her paci all night long and she is in the ergo for her naps but this is where she sleeps the best. Anyone else out there have a babe that naps in carrier at this age?? Is there still hope that she will eventually nap on her own?? Anyone btdt??

[YayJennie]

My son would only nap in arms from about 4 months to about 11-12ish months. It's only in the last month or two I've been able to transition him to sleeping on his own, but I still stay in the room while he sleeps, because he will often wake up and need me to give him his soothie or pick him up and hold him for the rest of his nap if he wakes too early. Like your babe, for months if I put my son down for naps, even in the deepest sleep, he would sleep for 20-40 minutes, wake up terribly cranky, and nap worse the next time. It just wasn't worth it, and I got used to holding him for naps and was able to crochet, read, sit on the computer or watch videos while he napped. It worked out to be nice down time for me, and honestly, I kind of miss it now

So my advice, don't listen to the relatives! I was lucky to have a very supportive husband/family, who all encouraged me to meet my son's needs however. And they're equally encouraging now that I've transitioned him to sleeping on his own. But if you're feeling the need for more personal space, and it's intruding on your "you" time, definitely try to transition her and see what happens.

With Wyatt, I would just lay him down for one nap each week, when I knew we weren't going to do anything so it was OK if he was cranky. I'd stay in the room to help him sleep if he needed it. But eventually, he started sleeping longer and longer, and now I hardly ever hold him for naps anymore. And it is nice to have that free time for me! Good luck

[kdescalzi]

Now I am really scared!! Only one reply means that maybe I have gone down the wrong path. I hate to think that because dd is so happy about her sleeping arrangment. No other mamas out there have one year olds still napping in carriers?? Please....any other mamas in my shoes, I would love to hear from you!!

[tzs]

no experience in the matter but...
i was just really in awe of you being able to carry a one year old around like that!

[gracemamma]

same boat here-you are not alone!
my 9 1/2 mo old only naps in ergo on me. haven't found anything else to work.
no suggestions- much commiseration!

[lizsky]

The baby I nannied for was like that. (My own baby is 2 months old and the naps are hit or miss right now...yesterday she took only 20 min naps, but today she's been napping for 2hrs and counting ).

It was an interesting situation because the baby's parents really believed in wearing the baby for all naps, but I am much smaller framed than they are, and as the baby grew, it became really physically taxing on my body to wear her for EVERY nap. So with their permission, I experimented with the crib (had no luck) and a cushioned rocking chair. I was able to get her to sleep in the rocking chair with me sitting on the floor nearby and rocking it every so often. We did that for a few months, and then as she became more verbal, I was able to get her to nap on a mattress on the floor. I initially sat nearby, but over time I was able to just sit at the beginning and then go do other things.

I hope it will get easier for you!

[amywren]

Whatever happened? Did you transition to some place other than the Ergo for naps? I ask because my daughter is almost one and she still naps in the Ergo. She will nap if I lie down with her, but I have to stay there! In general she doesn't want to sleep without me, at night or for naps. I use the Ergo so I can get things done. She's small, which helps. Was the transition hard?

As I write this, she's in the Ergo!

[mom2lucy]

DD1, who is almost 3, slept in the carrier for her naps until she was a little over a year.  Once she got too heavy I started having her nap in bed with me next to her, but it was always a battle.  Around 19 mo. we moved her to a mattress on the floor of her own room and she did a little better there, but she's just never been a good napper.

DD2 doesn't sleep in the carrier, but she's not much a napper either.

I officially hate naps and will be thrilled when I have children that no longer need them.

[accountclosed2]

You're not alone. And things will change. At 12 months DD ONLY napped in the Ergo (but until 8 months she had ONLY napped in the push chair). At 16-18 months she was still napping in the Ergo or by then the mei tai. By 20 months she usually napped cuddled up right next to me on the sofa (and I couldn't get up, or move at all, or she'd wake), or in a carrier, if we were out. By her second birthday she either still napped like that or in my arms at the computer. A month or so later I could get up and leave her sleeping on the sofa or the floor, once in a while, at least for 1/2 hour. Around the same time she started to sometimes cuddle to sleep after a breastfeed at night, rather than feeding to sleep, as always. By 2 yrs and 3 months she was sleeping on her own on a blanket on the floor (although I have to feed her to sleep at the computer, and then feed her for a few more minutes on the floor). Now she's 2 and 9 months, and lately she's had her whole sleep, 1-2 1/2 hours at a stretch, without waking up and me having to feed her back to sleep. We haven't worked hard on this (we've worked hard, always, on getting her to sleep at all!), it has more sort of evolved.

The big change in her sleep occurred around 2. This was when she started to be able to go to sleep without breastfeeding into oblivion (she still breastfeeds, but usually comes off the breast and goes to sleep, at bedtime, that is), and when she was able to sleep without felling me next to her, day or night.

A 1 yo sleeping in a carrier is great when you go out! We had several big family parties when DD was 16-20 months old. and while the other parents had to take their babies to the hotel room/home or leave with a sitter or one tried getting her child to sleep in the push chair, but he always sleeps in the cot, so, well... (she spent 2 hours walking around trying to get her screaming child to sleep). But DD sat up t the table until she got tired, then I popped her in the mei tai and walked around in the lobby or in the hosts bedroom for 15 min or so, to settle DD. And then she slept as the party weaved into the wee hours...

Edited by accountclosed2 - 11/29/10 at 5:38pm

[Ella-6]

My 11 month old (9.6kg) needs to be held and walked to sleep every time, naps or to bed for the night. He takes all his naps with me in the Mei Tei. Luckily when his father helps out in the morning or late in the evening he will sleep on DH too.

I used to find it quite tiring, but I've increased in my ability to handle it and have also grown a lot in acceptance towards it. Although like you, I'm starting to wonder how long he will be needing to do this.

DS is a super cuddly baby and that may have something to do with it.

I find going out with him breaks up the day a lot and he is just as happy to nap in the Mei Tei while we are out. This has helped save my sanity because at least we are both getting stimulated. Also, while he is napping I have found that I can order a meal at a cafe no probs.

I have been thinking about transitioning DS to naps on a mattress on the floor. From time to time I have successfully had him nap there by walking him till he's sound asleep, slowly removing him from the Mei Tei, lying next to him for awhile and then easing myself away. I only do this when I'm feeling lucky, because if he wakes up we have to go through the whole routine again. However maybe in the future I will experiment with this more.

[amywren]

I'm so glad to know that I'm not alone! My daughter has NEVER been able to sleep alone! Before she was born I didn't think I would co-sleep, but we had no choice. You can't leave a newborn to scream in a crib. When she was about six months I tried a little bit of crying it out in the crib, but she was so resistant that it just felt wrong. I decided that I should just go with the co-sleeping and embrace it for now. I wish she could nap alone, but when we try it, it's SO hard and she will only sleep for a half hour. In the Ergo she can sleep up to two hours. An hour at least. I finally just took down the crib and accepted that it's just not her thing. We have a futon on the floor of her room that will be her bed. I have the idea that I'm going to try to transition her to her bed by lying down with her until she falls asleep. I know she will wake up within a half hour after I get up, but you have to start somewhere. I know it will be a long process so I feel like I should just start now. The thing is, I'm in graduate school right now and I need nap time to work! When my classes end next week, I'm going to start, though. Sleeping is just not an easy thing with us. Even at night, after she falls asleep and we leave (we have rails on our bed, a small house, and we're within sight and sound of her), she keeps waking every half hour. And she still wakes during the night. It's better than it used to be, though! That kid screamed nonstop for the first six months!

And so true about the ease of a baby that will sleep in a carrier when you're out! It's hard in one way, but easy in that way!

[Asiago]

Same here! My 13 month old is napping in the carrier on me right now.

There were a few months that I was able to slip him out of the carrier and into a jog stroller for naps (we co-sleep at night). However he had cried a few times upon waking in the stroller and I made the decision it just is not worth the stress to him to do that. He is secure and content napping on me, so that's the way it will be until he is comfortable sleeping some other way.

[MelizaTJ]

My DD is 7 mths. I got the Ergo when she turned 5 mths because the Bjorn was hurting my lower back. I thought her weight would be evenly/or better distributed in the Ergo. It seemed fine til now. She is getting heavy. I've tried sneaking her out of it while she is in a deep sleep, but she wakes up! I end up spending so much time trying to get her to nap, she is more cranky than ever. It is easier to have her in the Ergo. She will not nap in our bed, unless I stay in the bed with her. And that is okay if I want to take a nap, but I have so many other things to do..eg, laundry, dishes. BTW, she hates her crib. She sleeps in our bed the best. And even then, now that she is teething, she wakes up quite a bit. I am conflicted. I love the closeness and at most times,  I can spend the time she is napping in the Ergo, checking email. Then there is the the other quarter of me that hopes soon she can at least take a nap in her own bed soon, or even just out of the Ergo.

We have come to terms she is a very spirited baby. We love her and she is a healthy baby. That is what is most important. 

As for bedtime, as I mentioned she hates her crib. We have tried many sleep training methods, the last two attempts of letting her CIO for 15 min, she vomitted. I wasn't happy about that. We are taking a break from sleep training. 

[Megan73]

No advice just more commiseration. My 11-month-old will only nap in the car, stroller or Ergo and I'm getting really tired of taking long walks in the snow or sitting in the car while he sleeps.
The annoying thing is that by this age his older brother - who was generally a fussier baby - took two 90-minute naps a day in the crib after being nursed to sleep. It was heaven...

[Louisep]

Check in to the family bed forum and you won't feel alone :)

Btdt. Around 9 months though I began a very slow transition to having ds1 lie in the family bed for naps. One day I was so tired of bouncing ds1 in the ergo that I just stopped doing it and lay him down on the bed and lay down next to him, determined to see it through. It actually was fine! Maybe it took a long time for him to fall asleep, but he did and without crying. Slow progressions over the next year with dh able to get him to nap this way. Up until he dropped his nap at 2.5 years, one of us always helped him get to sleep by laying next to him. I treasure those moments now. Parenting to sleep is such a lovely memory for a child to have and am sure brings long lasting security. It's so hard in the moment to see these sleep troubles as such a fleeting period of time, but they are, they pass in a blink of the eye, and then you are sad that your LO no longer needs you to get to sleep.

[mamakay17]

I know this post was from 2007... but I thought there may be an off chance that you would still read this reply... So my 11 month old daughter will ONLY sleep in her ergo pack, or next to me at night while I frequently nurse her through out... So you are not the only mother who had a baby sleep that long in the carrier...

I am replying to you, cause now your babe must be 6 years old now, and I, now in the shoes you were in 5 years ago, I MUST know how it panned out for you, and what you did to help with the day time napping.. I am totally comfortable with the night time family bed, and I am a firm believer of attatchment parenting, but it would be like HEAVEN to beable to put my daughter down for a nap... not just for my own freedom during the day, but so she can feel comfortable sleeping on her own for naps, and not get disturbed by my movements or having to go use the restroom! haha, thats how much I wear this ergo pack! I feel her quality of naps is most important, but I feel like I am neglecting myself...

SO I pray that you still go on here, and that you could tell me about your now young child, and how he/she turned out... and when you got them to nap during the day not in the ergo pack.

I am so HAPPY that I saw this thread, cause now, I can atleast know that I am not the only mother who has worn an ero pack for naps this long! She will be 12 months in a month... and i have recieved a lot of flack from family, and they are frowning one me cause I cant lay her down at their houses in a pack and play like a "normal" baby... All of my research as shown me that attatchement parenting and baby wearing leads to a confident well rounded independant child... I am praying that you can confirm that light at the end of this tunnel.....

Thanks for you post! <3

[mamakay17]

I too am writing this while wearing my 11 month old in an Ergo pack.. She will only sleep on me or next to me day or night, most of the time nursed down... What did you end up doing? And what is your relationship like with her now, years later?? I can't tell you, and all of you how happy I am that I found this thread. Even though it is now 2012, and a lot of you were in the shoes I am in now, all of a sudden I feel more normal.. in my attatchement parenting ways. But I am getting to a point that I feel for her sake and mine, she needs to nap on her own during the day... Hope you are still on here.. I need advice!

Thanks a ton

p.s I would really love to hear about how your attatcment parenting ways have had positive affects on your now.. 3 year old?? (not sure if I did the math right on their current age.)