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AIBU?

To think all babies can sleep where've except my DD?

31 replies

Chocoholism · 04/05/2014 16:37

5 month old DD has trouble napping unless I help her. Which is fine at home but when I go out to meet friends/family in cafés or wherever if she's due to sleep she causes a drama as it's either too stimulating or she wants to be rocked etc. It also seems that all other babies sleep fine and stay asleep as long as they want... My DD wakes up at most loud noises or if not being pushed in pram or rocked or In arms. Is this the rod I made early on come back to bite me or do I expect too much from so young?
Or AIBU to think all other babies nap anywhere except mine!?
(She's so adorable though as I write this she is in my arms sleeping and smiling!)

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Reenskar · 04/05/2014 21:03

My little one wouldn't nap in the day without a walk or being rocked at 5 months. Now at 9 months he'll happily nap in his cot at some point morning and afternoon but these are flexible so I just arrange coffee, lunches etc around them, it's not too painful and as they get older they can go a bit longer without a nap. It will get better.

DeadCert · 04/05/2014 20:49

DS does this and at nearly 3 will still only nap in his bed. He wouldn't ever sleep in his buggy, I'd walk for bloody miles sometimes in tears and nothing. Or he'd drop off only to wake the second we stopped moving, it was exhausting. I would have to rock him off or lie with him but eventually about 5/6 months he got the hang of it in his cot but as pp have said I've been ruled by nap times ever since!

Chocoholism · 04/05/2014 20:44

Seems we all have had some sort of issues then, she won't sleep in cot, some only In cot. What gets me though is that sometimes I've been around other mums who berate me for holding baby while she sleeps, it's like they can't understand that what they did or do isn't done by all mums.
quietninja it is so hard and the sleep thing makes me proper anxious and as for you little ones weight, it will be ok In the end, we all diff shapes and sizes and so are babies

OP posts:

Bearwantsmore · 04/05/2014 20:44

Forget about the "rod for your own back" thing. She's only little. Also, babies change constantly so what works now might not work next week - so my view is that there's not much point putting in lots of effort to try to change something as they'll probably get there in their own time anyway.

A comfortable sling might help (e.g. Ergo or similar) - my DS always needed help getting to sleep too and juggling in a sling was a bit easier than rocking, plus he was more likely to stay asleep in it. The Ergo has a little hood that you can cover them up with to block out external stimulation!

Or if he did fall asleep in the pushchair, I found that he was more likely to sleep for longer if I covered the hood with a scarf - so that if he did stir, there was nothing exciting to look at!

BonjourMinou · 04/05/2014 20:43

Mine only naps in the daytime if she feels like it, sometimes she will go down in the pram, sometimes she won't. It's luck of the draw and she rarely naps for very long. She is better at nighttime sleeping. (6 mo.)

mumofboyo · 04/05/2014 20:36

My youngest is now 19 months and naps in her cot. She will nap in the car but not very well: I can't just take her out and hope she'll sleep in the car as she'll end up overtired and then will be a nightmare at the next meal time and for the rest of the day. I remember feeling liberated when ds stopped napping and can't wait until dd no longer needs hers. Whilst routine is good and helpful, it is also quite limiting; I sometimes feel almost like I'm imprisoned by it.

somewherewest · 04/05/2014 19:35

DS would only nap in a moving car or pram till he was around 9 months old, and only for thirty minutes at a time. If the car / pram stopped moving for even a second the little eyes would snap wide open. He wasn't a good sleeper at night either. He seemed to get the hang of sleep generally between 9 to 12 months and now at 2.5 still goes down for a good ninety minute nap every day. I sometimes wonder what we did wrong!

QuietNinjaTardis · 04/05/2014 19:08

Sorry I didn't come back. Dd is 5 months. I had terrible anxiety when she was newborn about her sleeping and making she fed enough as she was slow to our weight on at first and I am trying to be relaxed but its bloody difficult. I'm living by the mantra that she will be small for such a short time that I'm doing what works right now. Ill sort any rods out later on

LostMyPants · 04/05/2014 18:58

Mine won't sleep in the sling if there's anything interesting going on. She sleeps well in the car or in her cot. She occasionally sleeps in the buggy when being pushed. She wakes from car journeys when the engine is switched off. DS was the same.

Mine is 8mo too.

KeepOnKeepingOnAndOnAndOnAndOn · 04/05/2014 18:55

My dd was renound for fighting her sleep anywhere and everywhere. She would sleep at night though, but naps were not on her agenda! When she got to 7 months she napped a lot more.

Pregnantagain7 · 04/05/2014 18:53

All mine have always slept in the dark in their cots if I go out they will sleep in a buggy but massive battle to get them to go off then they will sleep for about half an hour then wake up in a vile mood.
If I'm at home I can put them down I their cot awake and they drop off in 5 mins and sleep for two and a half hours. Just not worth going out during nap time just messes up the whole day so it def not just you!

DrizzlyTuesday · 04/05/2014 18:47

My DD couldn't sleep wherever even as a newborn. She's two now and occasionally she'll go to sleep in other places if she's really really tired.

Fairylea · 04/05/2014 18:46

I have had two dc 11 years apart and despite my best efforts both of them would only ever nap in the dark in silence in their cots at home.

Ds had a record 12 hours awake at 5 months old because silly me took him out for the day convinced he would fall asleep in the pram or his car seat. Nope. Not even a blink. All much too exciting until he got more and more irate that his beloved cot wasn't there. Never again.

I just made sure I was home for the naps. Bit annoying but then I was lucky to be blessed with good sleepers - from 12 weeks both slept about 12 hours at night and 2 routine naps during the day.. In the cot :)

I used to look at the babies peacefully asleep in prams in cafes etc and wonder how on earth the mums managed it. Mine would just scream even if I walked them round for hours beforehand.

Florabeebaby · 04/05/2014 18:41

God no, my kids only ever napped in the cot. And I never went out a naptime....it was have a cup of tea time for me! On my own, in silence.

GoingToBedfordshire · 04/05/2014 18:22

Mine were all like that until they were a bit older. They got used to napping in a cot at 6-9 months I think. Just used to keep trying putting them down awake after lunch and a feed and eventually they got it.

Feel for you OP, I used to feel that everyone else had naps sorted and I was just floundering.

PrincessBabyCat · 04/05/2014 18:19

Mine will nap in my arms regardless of where we are. But if she naps somewhere noisy or around lots of people, she's fussy all night.

Safmellow · 04/05/2014 18:17

YANBU. If it is any consolation my DD was exactly the same, I used to have to leave cafes etc and walk her up and down in the pram for ages to get her off.

If it is any consolation, life was much easier when she stopped daytime napping, and she is also a good night sleeper now, so don't lose hope!

violetlights · 04/05/2014 18:15

Mine won't nap in his pushchair. He won't even let me recline it slightly even if he's tired. Since about 7 months he's always napped in his cot. What pisses me off though is people getting irritated with me for not going out at naptime because "everyone else's baby will sleep in the pram..."

maddening · 04/05/2014 18:10

at home all his naps were on me or in buggy - caught up with a lot of tv and internet :-)

maddening · 04/05/2014 18:09

I learnt to eat and drink pushing a buggy back and forward - or had him in the maxi cosi car seat bit rocking with my foot - it will pass.

I also planned trips out so he would nap in the car and I could carry him out in the maxi cosi asleep.

tealover1985 · 04/05/2014 17:20

The grass is always greener. My ds will only nap in sling, car or pram. I would love it if i could just put him in his cot for a nap then i could have a nice relaxing sit down!

4littleones · 04/05/2014 17:02

My Son only likes to sleep in his cot at home. I also feel like our lives are ruled by his Naps. But it will pass.

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Orangeanddemons · 04/05/2014 16:51

Mine would only ever sleep in her cot, or at push in the car. I don't think she ever ever slept in her buggy ever ever. It used to drive me wild

BertieBotts · 04/05/2014 16:49

I think it's fairly normal - DS would fall asleep anywhere but from the reactions of others I think it is unusual!

CuppaSarah · 04/05/2014 16:48

From 3 months old DD has never napped in her buggy and rarely in the car. Really the only place she'll sleep is in a dark room in a cot. It really sucks doesn't it? DD needs a lot of sleep still so we can only do things in 2 hour blocks or she ends up overtired and miserable, its really frustrating.

I get so envious when I see mums wheeling round sleeping babies or stopping for coffee during their babies naps.

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