Naps - 4 month old

[insanelycheerful]

Can anyone help me out with some advice on settling 4mo DD for daytime naps please? I am really struggling with this, despite this being DC3!

I think a big problem is she doesn't get enough practice to fall asleep by herself in bed as she tends to fall asleep on school/nursery run twice a day in the car, although sadly wakes when transferred to the house. So she is not napping for long enough, and is also used to motion to fall asleep.

She loves to suck my little finger for comfort, and will usually fall asleep in her bed if I let her do this. I'm worried it's become a prop though, and am keen to encourage her to self settle.

I can put her down when I know she is tired and ready for a sleep, she is quite happy with it all until the second I leave the room. I have a nap time routine (put her in sleeping bag, read a story, sing a nursery rhyme, into bed, kiss and leave).

I've tried leaving her for 2mins crying then go in and shush and stroke for 2mins, leave her for 4mjns crying then in again for 2mins, leave for 6mins etc. It has worked a couple of times but I can spend a lot of time in and out and have a 5 and 3 year old to deal with too!

Any tips/advice?? Please!!

She nearly gets to sleep crying but when I go in to calm and comfort her she just wakes up more and seems totally alert again!

Do I just need to persevere with a routine and hope she will get there? I don't want to go down a controlled crying route, and would actually like to minimise crying and distress for her, but I can't help but think some amount of crying is going to have to happen whilst we try and crack this self settling.

Incidentally she self settles at bedtime no problem (very occasionally I have to go back in). I feed her then put her down drowsy but awake and she goes off absolutely fine. So I know she can do it! Just not in the day time!

[WishUponAStar88]

Goodness knows so lurking for tips. My (nearly) 4 month old sleeps fine in her crib at night but has never slept in it in the day :( for naps she'll only sleep being held or in the pram/ car it's driving me mad!

[insanelycheerful]

Much as I don't wish you struggles, Wish, it is comforting to know I'm not alone here! Hopefully someone will check their manual and let us know the answer imminently!

[maymow]

No magical advice here either I'm afraid. All DD's daytime naps are in sling, occasionally car, or the two of us lying down for a nap. Not a luxury I guess you have insanelycheerful!

I'd understood the sleep training/controlled crying stuff needed to wait till six months, but I'd be interested to know if that's not the case.

[Heatherbell1978]

No advice as such but I was at a baby group the other day and it seemed like my boy was very unusual in going down in his cot during the day for naps so you're definitely not alone! Not sure if this is helpful at this stage now but from the get go I got into the habit of always putting DS down somewhere to sleep. It did mean I didn't get as many baby cuddles as I liked but from a very young age he's self settled in his crib/cot. I didn't quite follow the NHS advice of having baby sleeping next to me all the time but I'm in a flat so I didn't see the issue putting him in our room as I could hear him.