Should I try to get her to nap in her cot?

[blushingmare]

DD is 11mo and, since stopping naps in the sling at 4mo, has always napped in her buggy. She naps brilliantly in it now - just a tiny bit of rocking to get her off, she sleeps for ages (1.5-2hrs afternoon nap) and if she does happen to wake just a bit of rocking usually gets her off again.

I've never really had a problem with the fact that she doesn't nap in her cot. But recently I've been thinking perhaps she should start napping there..... I'm not sure why it's partly peer pressure that I think perhaps when she's older she will stop sleeping so well in the buggy and then I'll have a problem and it's partly a feeling that maybe if she was use to napping in her cot she would sleep better at night. She doesn't sleep through yet - waking once a night on a really good night, but more often 2-3 times a night and always waking early.

So I've been putting in some work to get her napping in the cot. The morning nap is pretty good - she goes down pretty easily and sleeps for 30-45mins. The afternoon nap is really hard. She often won't go down at all or if she does she wakes after 45mins and won't go down again. It really throws our afternoons because it takes me ages to get her to sleep and then she's either awake really early or much later than normal if I've had to resort to the buggy.

I have to say she copes pretty well with the lack of sleep, so I'm not overly concerned about it making her a grizzly nightmare all afternoon, but it's more that it's a real pita for me and I never get anything done in her nap times anymore. I'd be happy to persevere if I thought it was going to be worth it, but I'm not sure the benefits of her napping in the cot are enough to justify the hassle!

But am I missing something? Should I persevere or just continue with afternoon naps in the buggy? Is there a really good reason why I want her napping in the cot in the future?

[Munxx]

If you are planning more DC I will just say that a nice long sleep in the cot means a pregnant you can have an equally nice long nap!

But if she will do similar in the buggy I wouldn't worry too much.

[nellyjelly]

My two would never nap in the cot. Only the pram, pushchair or car. Worked for me.

[teacher123]

When I got DS to nap in the cot he immediately started fighting sleep in the buggy and the car... So I had to buy a snooze shade and essentially blackout wherever he is to get him to sleep...

However I do like cot naps... It means I can do stuff in the house and watch telly!