To want DD to nap in her cot?

[nm123]

DD is 9.5mo and I've struggled with her naps since birth.

We recently went on holiday where she fell into an AMAZING routine of awake at 7ish, nap at 9-9:30 for 1.5-2.5 hrs, then another nap at 1:30-2ish for another 1.5-2 hrs... All naps on holiday were in the maclaren, with a snoozeshade over her.

Since we've got home on Saturday it has been impossible to get her to nap in the cot. Shell go to bed in the cot at night but will.not.nap there. Anyone would think I'd told her the worst news ever when she goes in there - the crying, spluttering, choking is incredible. In the buggy she'll go down for ages....

We had made some progress before we went away and she would be ok in the cot but now she sits herself up and shakes her head whilst crying too and it almost breaks my heart.

I don't know whether to tough it out and insist on the cot or stick with the buggy?

Maybe pop a mattress on her bedroom floor and see if she''ll fall asleep on that? You could lie down with her the first time?

I guess it depends whether you need to keep rolling the buggy or not? If she sleeps when it'st still it sounds perfect. I think your baby sounds much like mine as at 5 months we are trying to learn to nap indoors and self settle at night to try and be more settled during the night. Think we are trying a similar approach. If you don't mind me asking what steps did you take and how long did it take? I'll also search for that thread.

Bissy - I'd always bf DD to sleep laying down in our bed, then transfer her into the cot. She'd go from 7ish to about 3:30am. Then as she got bigger the transfer to get cot would wake her and I'd have to lean over so my boob would be there for her in the cot, it was ridic. That along with bad/no naps was driving us all mad. So I needed to take control... Using gradual retreat I fed DD until she's fussing or really sleepy, put her on my shoulder to wind her, go over to the window, say n'night to everything, close the blind and pop her in the cot and sit with her til she goes to sleep. The first time it took over an hour of her crying. It nearly broke my heart but I stayed string and just sat there patting her occasionally and reassuring her and then went and had a good cry myself afterwards... The next time took about 40 minutes, then it got shorter and shorter til it was taking anywhere from 3-12ish minutes. This was for naps and bedtime. With gradual retreat you're supposed to move further from the cot after about 3-4 nights, then a bit further etc etc until you're just reassuring them from outside the door... I never really did that As didn't need to. It's harder now because she sits herself up and won't lay back down do I have to turn her in to her front and pull her ATMs and legs out from under her so she's flat! Sometimes she wriggles back to sitting so we'll do that a few times and eventually she won't fight it. Or otherwise I take all the teddies out of her cot so she can't play and just leave her sitting (though if she's wailing I'll stay). She then sometimes just face plants the mattress and I'll have to go in and unfold her legs from underneath! Funny baby :-). Let me know if you can't find the link and I'll have a look for you.

Thanks that's pretty much what I'm doing (except with a song instead of the night nights). Took 50 mins first time and about 15 next 2. I've been too chicken to take the dummy off her so may be all in vain. Before I was feeding to sleep exactly as you describe which worked fab but she is up every 2 hours for a quick suck to get back to sleep. I've no plans to night wean (she used to feed at 2 and 5 which is fine) but I need her to find another way to settle before I go potty. Glad to hear it worked for you