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Am I Making a Mistake? Naps

534 views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  gethane 
#1 ·
I've read NCSS and it hasn't helped me with putting the babe down for naps.
I nurse her to sleep a lot of the time, but she will need to learn to get to sleep another way as I am now back at work.

What do you recommend?

Also, is Weissbluth a CIO person? Someone recommended I read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and if he's going to rec CIO, I want to avoid the book.

I know my baby needs more sleep -- she rarely naps -- and we don't know how to help her. She doesn't just fall asleep on her own.
 
#2 ·
Stay away from Weissbluth. He's one of the, if they throw up while crying alone, just go in, say nothing, clean it up, and leave again folks.

My son, who's 2.5 started life only nursing to sleep. He then transitioned to being able to take a bottle for sleep when my partner went back to work and I had him most of the time. So, that's my first suggestion -- see if DD will take a bottle at all, and, if so, whether your partner can get her down to sleep with a bottle. That would help others put her to sleep.

Also, when DS went to daycare (he was much older), he developed a totally different routine with his care provider that works well for him there. He wouldn't have a bottle from her; refused it. Instead, she rocked him in a chair until he fell asleep, then he slept in her bed. Over a year later, he still sleeps in her bed, but now he just climbs in and generally falls asleep by himself. Something he still is not even close to at home. I guess the bottom line is I think that our little ones, when they are with a wonderful care provider, develop routines that work in that situation that are often quite different than those at home. So, in finding a care provider, ask lots of sleep questions and really find someone who is flexible enough to meet your daughter's needs as they change over time.

Finally, I wouldnt' worry too much about nursing to sleep when you are together. That's your special thing. DS still does when my partner is home for naps. Especially when you spend part of the day apart, it's a wonderful way to reconnect.

Good luck!
megin

ps -- I just remembered the part about your DD rarely napping. Are you trying soon enough? At that age, DS could only be awake 30 min to an hour, tops, before needing to sleep again. At that point, falling asleep in a carrier worked best. And it didn't get in the way of him not needing a carrier to fall asleep a month or so later.
 
#3 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by megincl
Also, when DS went to daycare (he was much older), he developed a totally different routine with his care provider that works well for him there.
My ds went to daycare at 6 months and while I was so worried about him, he developed his own routine there. He's gone from taking one 45 min nap during the first month, to taking two naps (one of them sometimes as long as 1-2 hours). Our babes are often more adaptable than we are and I'm sure your babe will surprise you.

mskgandn
 
#4 ·
my ds would not nap at home for the longest time - 20 min spurts here and there, usually right after nursing. and certainly not in any place other than in my arms.

my dcp has been able to accommodate his needs - they will let him fall asleep in their arms and they do respond fairly quickly when he wakes upon touching the crib mattress. he used to not nap at all at daycare but has gradually started napping occasionally from 1 to 2 hours at a stretch. oh i so wish he would nap like that for me at home on the weekends sometimes!

our dcp really respects parent suggestions (he likes to fall asleep in X way).... there's one infant (i'm gonna say that he's 4 months old?) that cries while he falls asleep. the parents told dcps to let him cry (even for up to half an hour ?!) and then he'd sleep. yikes. but the dcps respect the parents' wishes.
 
#6 ·
Quote:
Hmm, I wonder if she'll nap more at daycare when I'm not around. I'm starting to think that the mama milk smell is stimulating to her and makes her want to nurse around the clock (instead of sleep).
My DD is the same way. I had to go back to work PT at 8 weeks and she naps great at daycare or with daddy. The only way she naps for me is nursing, but for them she will be rocked or patted or swings to sleep.
 
#7 ·
I'm following this conversation closely b/c my DS was also born in August... I cannot get him to nap AT ALL during the day--just the 20 min. spurt thing. I'm not going back to work until January. Is there anything I can do before then to get him to nap, or am I just doomed b/c of the mama milk smell?
 
#9 ·
I'm prob talking to myself again here, but I want to write and say that DD is sleeping!!!! What? Do I have to post a ques here to get some kind of a miracle?

She fell asleep at the boob and then I swaddled her and transferred her to her swing. She only woke up when the LC came by the house for a weight check.

Now she's asleep again! I had a meeting via phone. She nursed through the meeting in the sling. Before the meeting, the LC took a moment to show me how to use the sling and DD is still asleep in it. I'm thrilled. She's been in the sling at least 2 hours.
 
#10 ·
congratulations!!!!!! i know what a huge relief that is. see if you can recount for yourself the conditions of the day that helped facilitate her sleep and replicate as much as possible. she might also have moved to a new stage in her young life that includes more daytime sleep.

yahoo!
megin
 
#11 ·
yay!

my ds snuck in an extra nap on the weekend when i put him on my back in my mai tai. right when we were getting ready to eat dinner. then he wouldn't go to sleep after he woke up. blah. i think sleep is just one of those things we mamas get to worry about for quite some time.
 
#12 ·
Some babies sleep a lot less than others. My first three kids all took fairly dependable naps. My last one? Ugh, the child never slept! He was never a cheerful baby either. All the baby charts said he needed 16 hours, then 14 hours, etc, etc, and I knew he wasn't getting it.

Finally, after he hit a year he started getting more cheerful, and napping better. He's almost 2 now and for several months he takes a 2 hour nap in the afternoon (sometimes a little longer, sometimes a little shorter) and then sleeps from 9pm - 7am.

I never woulda believed it a year ago.
 
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