Help! My baby won't nap without me.

[htcmom]

6 week old DS will not nap anywhere but in my arms. If I try to put him down in bed he wakes up within a few minutes. We do co-sleep so it makes sense that he would want me to sleep with him during the day but I have other children and need him to nap alone. Any tips?

[planet]

My babe was like this really intensely until he was 12 weeks old. He has changed so much in a short time! He's now 5 months and sleeping next to me right now. We got a rock n play and, after a couple weeks of practice, he became more and more comfy sleeping in it. Now he loves it, I think cuz it's more upright and kinda hugs him nice and snug. Also, we swaddled him with the double swaddle and it helped a lot (arms in, legs free). I also just let him nap in his carrier on me while I went about my business and that was really fun, actually. I was so worried he would be a needy sleeper like that for a long time, in retrospect it want that long, though, and I have always felt out wad such a sweet problem to have. Too much snuggling! :-) Good luck mama.

[heatherdeg]

On one hand, that's a tiny baby to try to break of that.  On the other hand, I am STILL putting down a 4yo (and most nights, a 9yo  )... so I see where panic could set in.  None-the-less, I'm not sure how you would go about getting him to nap alone.  Have you tried wearing him while he naps so you can get around more?

[katelove]

My 3mo will only sleep without me sometimes. Usually she sleeps in the carrier on my chest so I can do things around the house and with my 2.75yo.

[htcmom]

I guess I will have to put him in carrier more often 😉

[katelove]

Definitely worth a try :-)

[deailedlace]

I am in the same boat. My 8 week old co sleeps and if shes in a deep sleep I can sneak off but during the day she will only nap for more then ten minutes if shes on me. I invested in a carrier and a sling an it has reallyhelped me get things done around the house. Good luck!

[Jaxy]

What we've done since ds was born was to put him in our bed, nurse him to sleep and sneak off. It works every time!

[sageowl]

Until my son was about 4 months old, the ONLY way I could get him to take a nap without me to put him in the Moby Wrap and just wear him around.  So in otherwords, he really wouldn't. 

[skinnyloveBC]

It's the same for me as some of the PPs. DD is 5 months old now and spent the first 2.5 months sleeping exclusively on me or next to me (co-sleeping). Then, she started waking every hour and wasn't sleeping well anymore. I found the blog Troublesome Tots and got great advice for transitioning her to her swing and (hopefully) ultimately her crib (probably still in our room though). It took her two days to sleep an 8-hour stretch in her swing. It was heaven! I think she's just a really light sleeper and was being woken up by me in the night. She did go through a bad month from about 4 to 5 months, however, because she got the flu and then I got a cold. But she's doing great in her swing again and I'm much more comfortable at night.

For me, naps in the sling didn't work well because DD is such a light sleeper. She woke up every time I moved. But the swing was what allowed me to work from home again, shower, eat, etc. Of course, now DD rarely naps on me or DH and we miss it. I guess try to enjoy it while it lasts, if possible. :-)