Should my 11 month old still nap on me?

[allbeth]

My 11 month old dd still sleeps on me for all her naps. My mother and sister have asked me why I don't put her in her cot for naps when I'm at home. I simply don't want to. She seems happy sleeping on me. My dm thinks she will nap for longer in her cot, is this true?Sometimes she naps for an hour of two on me, sometimes it might only be 30mins. Surely this is completely normal for a baby to have inconsistent nap lengths? It does not bother me in the slightest. Should I be putting her down for naps at this age?

Don't worry, she won't be doing it when she's 30.

Our son stopped contact napping at 4 months. I think it’s lovely your baby still wants to sleep on you at 11 months. They won’t want to forever, enjoy x

Contact naps are great, but getting her used to being put down for them sometimes is also a good idea.

If she can be put down it gives you the flexibility to choose. Fancy a sit down and a contact nap -brilliant! Have guests arriving for dinner in an hour, or you have a stomach bug or you've got a delivery scheduled for half way through - put her down for that one. It also makes it easier if anyone else is looking after her.

I tried to make sure (when on more than one nap a day) that at least one nap was a contact nap, and one wasn't too both keep that closeness and the versatility.

As a PP says - there’s a lot of scaremongering that you need to somehow prepare them for other types of naps or sleeping alone. No, children adapt. A baby will know quickly at nursery you aren’t there and it’s a different scenario and therefore she will sleep differently there. No issue.

I contact napped with all 3 of mine and they co sleep and when they need to go in their bed eg if one of them is unwell and I don’t want to spread it, or when I had a new baby so it was unsafe, they trot off very happily to their beds.

I also wouldn’t prioritise housework over the cuddles - fuck that!

No one else's business where your DD naps.

My god I miss those contact nails so much, when I try to hug my 2 year old now he says 'stop it mummy' 😢 I only get cuddles on his terms 😂

You do need to cut back down as in the future you will resent it .maybe not right now but you will .

I did this with my first and honestly regretted it to this day. He is a terrible sleeper. Speaking to a few friends who have kids with poor sleep habits they did this too. My dc is 8 and still needs me to lie with him to sleep, wakes up during the night to come lie by him, just doesn't sleep well. Otoh we sleep trained my baby at 1 year, and she's 18m now and puts herself to sleep, sleeps through and can keep this routine if we stay anywhere too! At night I put the baby in her cot and have to sit with my ds till he falls asleep! Oh and he had terrible separation anxiety too.

Exactly, it's all cute and cuddly now but when you have spend hours at night either sitting with your dc till they sleep or doing musical rooms at night because they keep waking for years then you will look back and regret it.

I’m sorry your ds is difficult at night time but contact napping doesn’t cause this for everyone. I contact napped with my child till she was well over 1. She’s over 2 now and goes to bed at night okay. It will be different for everyone.

If you have an hour or two to be sat down in the middle of the day, I’m pretty envious of you!

I'm sorry there are so many ignorant uninformed people answering your question. Look at all the research and be comfortable knowing you aren't doing anything bad

Both of mine napped on me...Happy memories watching Greys Anatomy!
DS (6) slept in my bed until age 3 and DD (3) is still in. No stress, just happy little children.

If you're struggling to keep on top of things, perhaps reduce the contact naps and use some of the time to get bits done about the house. Personally, I wouldn't be sitting for hours knowing the house is a mess.

Absolutely!

I don't think you'll ever look back and regret those naps. In the years to come, you'll look back and cherish those memories. You sound so happy writing about it. Please don't stop because other people tell you your daughter "should" be sleeping in her cot. She'll have so many years ahead of her to sleep in her own bed (and before anyone says, "but she'll never learn to sleep by herself" - ever heard of a 16-year-old needing naps on their mother?). Just enjoy her littleness and the close bond with her for as long as it makes both of you happy.

My two never just went off to sleep in their own cots. But it was such a special time together and I didn't mind being there for them when they needed me. Today they are 9 and 12 and confident, happy children. We have such a close bond. I still spend lots of time with them at their bedtimes and it's still great.

My nearly 3 year old still sleeps and naps on me.

Nah, enjoy them. The times when they don't want to be physically close to you anymore come so quickly.

Contact naps are the best. I sometimes nap in bed with my baba.

House doesn’t have to be a mess - it’s perfectly possible to do washing/tidying etc whilst little one is awake playing next to you etc.

💙

People have different priorities, OPs is enjoying her child napping on her.

I still let my near 3 year old nap on me. Why not? It's lovely.

This is so lovely, thank you!