...to not bother with the nap time routine today

[lucky1979]

DD is 3 months old, and going through (I assume) a growth spurt. Yesterday she fed every other hour, for at least an hour, culminating in a 5 hour marathon in the evening. She had a proper sleep overnight and then was up again at 7AM to feed for another hour and a half, short break and then she was back on again.

Since the beginning of last week, I've been trying to religiously put her down in her room, in her cot for naps rather than the previous plan which was letting her fall asleep in the living room in her glider, in her pram or on my lap. She's not been thrilled by this, and it takes at least 15 minutes each time of overtired shrieking while I sit with her in the dark trying to shush-pat her to sleep.

So anyway, today I'm already knackered from feeding, and last time she stopped feeding I popped her straight into her pram and she fell asleep. So, am I being unreasonable to keep using the pram today because I'm knackered from all the feeding and would like to sort out the growth spurt before going back to battling with getting her to sleep in her room, or should I be persevering?

Why do you need her to be asleep in her room?

YANBU.

Christ no. my DD2 (3 months) has just come out of her growth spurt. And your baby is still very very tiny. I can see that you are trying to get her ina good nap routine, but to be honest that can start anytime. Its not like doing it now is making it easy for you. take her our in the pram for yoru own sanity. my DD2 is currently asleep in the bugge wiht a cardy thrown over it while DD1 is in her bed.

What is this 'nap time routine' you speak of?

I would count yourself lucky that your baby sleeps anywhere other than her cot tbh!

My 3mth old DS will only sleep during the day in his moses basket which is a PITA when I want to go out (also have a 19mth old staying in all day is not an option!) cos I have to bounce him on my knee the whole time, he gets over-tired and cranky and we all get stressed!

Let her nap where she will - plenty of time for routines when they're older. DS1 didn't nap in his cot during the day til he was about nine months .

I had a 'nap time routine' for ds1 and it ended up dominating our bloody life. Because I had always made him sleep in his cot, he wouldn't sleep anywhere else. I couldn't leave the house in the afternoons. It was the worst decision I ever made.

Ds2, I decided, was NOT going to be like that. I made sure his pushchair had a carrycot attached and he slept in that. ALWAYS. Because the thing is about a carrycot, is you can take it anywhere. You cannot do that with a baby's bedroom.

Because pretty soon she's going to outgrow her pram, and her glider and I feel the earlier she gets used to sleeping in her cot the better. She sleeps in a moses basket by our bed every night at the moment and I'd really like her to already be used to being in her room before she gets put in there to sleep overnight in a few months. Plus I think she will get a better quality of sleep if I'm not crashing around in the same room as her all the time.

Whatever makes life easier for you.

Having had experience of 2 bad sleepers and using the controlled crying technique when they were much older than yours, I can say that the trying to get them to sleep in their own room will work properly, up to the time they can physically get themselves out of bed and walk/crawl across floor - you have months yet!!

You can get pushchairs that lie flat. Pad it with a nice thick fleece and it will be really comfortable.

DON'T set inflexibility into your child's day. Life is hard enough as it is.

Oooh sorry, lots of other posts crossed with mine - reply above was to coldtits.

The nap time routine is pretty lax - when she yawns a few times and looks definitely sleepy I pop her down for a nap, it roughly works in three hour of feed, play, sleep but not always. I'm trying to be more proactive about getting her to nap as she struggles sometimes to fall asleep and ends up shrieking while being so obviously exhausted she can barely keep her eyes open.

But thank you everyone! Am very grateful no one said anything about rods for backs and how routines are vitally important.