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napping issues

post #1 of 9
1/27/12 at 8:15pm
Thread Starter 

It's hard getting my 7-month old dd to nap. She can't fall asleep without nursing. I nurse her to sleep, but once I leave, she wakes within 10 minutes and starts crying. When she was younger, she'd nap easily 1-2 hours without us there. Now, once she wakes up, she starts moving around and cries. It's gotten worse since she's been able to crawl a bit.

 

She can nap when in the sling though. I go on two one-hour walks daily and she naps then. 

 

She can also nap in my arms after nursing. Once I move her to the bed, she wakes up.

 

She wakes 5-6 times a night still, every 2 hours. 

 

Is this a phase? What can I do to help her nap better?

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post #2 of 9
1/28/12 at 12:35pm

My dd is the same way, so you have my sympathies!! Background/white noise doesn't help, swaddling doesn't either. I figure it will eventually get better? If nothing else by the time she is 4 or 5, I can tell her to lay down and be quiet at the very least...............I hope.

post #3 of 9
1/29/12 at 7:55am

My DD is the same way, been like that since birth. The only thing I've found that lets me sneak away (sometimes) is to nurse her laying down in our bed (we co-sleep). Once she's out, I put my finger in to release the nipple, and put a hand under her chin, so that as I remove my nipple, I hold her chin up. This seems to help her not wake up from the loss of sucking. Sometimes she'll stay down for 20 min, and I just go back in and do it again. Needless to say, I've given up on getting anything done during naps. It's frustrating, but it won't last forever (right??) :-)

post #4 of 9
1/29/12 at 9:23am

I have the same issue with naps.  She'll nurse to sleep, but once I put her down, she wakes up.  I've resorted to just letting DD nap on me.  If we're out, sometimes I'll get lucky and she'll nap in the car.  

post #5 of 9
1/29/12 at 6:27pm
Thread Starter 

I do this as well, but once I stand up and leave, she'll wake up in 5 minutes! She turns over a lot in her sleep, and wakes a bit when she turns. Once she realizes I'm not there, she'll wake completely and cry. 

 

I sure hope it won't last forever!

 

Because I've decided against letting her cry it out or using a pacifier, I can't really talk about this to anyone without people saying 'told you so!'

 

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by alerixon View Post

My DD is the same way, been like that since birth. The only thing I've found that lets me sneak away (sometimes) is to nurse her laying down in our bed (we co-sleep). Once she's out, I put my finger in to release the nipple, and put a hand under her chin, so that as I remove my nipple, I hold her chin up. This seems to help her not wake up from the loss of sucking. Sometimes she'll stay down for 20 min, and I just go back in and do it again. Needless to say, I've given up on getting anything done during naps. It's frustrating, but it won't last forever (right??) :-)



 

post #6 of 9
1/29/12 at 6:30pm
Thread Starter 

Letting her nap on me seems easiest... she can nap 2 hours without waking up even to nurse while on me! 

 

I've given up all hope of letting her nap by herself on the bed. It takes so much effort, and results in both dd and myself cranky. 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skippy918 View Post

I have the same issue with naps.  She'll nurse to sleep, but once I put her down, she wakes up.  I've resorted to just letting DD nap on me.  If we're out, sometimes I'll get lucky and she'll nap in the car.  



 

post #7 of 9
2/1/12 at 12:20pm

My DS1 was like that. The only thing that got him sleeping well was learning to fall asleep without me. I stayed with him for naps until he was about 14 months. He's 2.5 now and sometimes naps 2.5 hours on his own. It will get better!

post #8 of 9
2/4/12 at 10:36am

Have you looked into the No Cry Sleep Solution?  She has good tips on helping babies to fall asleep without nursing/nipples which I found for my DD helped her stay asleep better.  Also I would hold DD for naps at first and rock her, then I started laying down with her in bed for some naps and would go back to the rocker as soon as she woke up.  Slowly she learned to sleep longer.  Now I can put her in her crib to nap and she will sleep for 45 min (one sleep cycle) and sometimes 1.5 hrs (two cycles).

 

Have you tried putting your baby on her tummy to sleep?  That is what works best for DD or sometimes she rolls to her side.  If I put her on her back she will wake up within 5-10 min crying.  She is 10 months now but has been sleeping on her tummy since around 5 months I think (earlier she slept on her tummy too but it was on my chest).

post #9 of 9
2/7/12 at 6:39am

I have been struggling with the same issue (and had the same problem with DD1). What seems to be helping is recommended by Elizabeth Pantley in No Cry Sleep Solution, but I don't do the full technique. I co-sleep and so what I do is get DS to sleep in the Mei Tai (he never falls asleep nursing). I then transfer him to the bed, at which point he partially wakes up most times. I then nurse him back to sleep. When he stops actively nursing I take him off the boob. If he roots around I let him relatch, then I wait until he settles and try again. Once he has stopped nursing I slip away. I didn't do that with my DD and just let her nurse until she was fast asleep and I sometimes ended up trapped with her, which just wouldn't work now.

 

Something else that really can help with sleep is to swing your baby (in a baby swing) 3 times a day for 10 minutes each time. The vestibular stimulation helps to calm them and helps them sleep better.

 

It does get better! My DD falls asleep on her own and sleep through the night. My only regret was once trying sleep training in desperation, it only made matters worse. If only I knew about Mothering in those days!!!