7 month old - napping and violence!

[Jellyboobs]

Little bean is 7 months and due to mummy being a total wuss has not mastered self soothing for naps, she MUST have boob to sleep. It doesn't worry me but I am soon to be back at work and mother in law will be looking after her for two days a week. I have tried laying with her and shushing stroking her head, a mobile, daddy rocking her, pushing her in the pushchair, and trying to get her to have a dummy (she stopped using it once she got teeth) The result of all of this is crying, crying, crying. Any golden tips for helping with naps?

She is also a little violent lady, grabbing, scratching, biting, pinching, slapping, pulling hair etc etc etc. It's all exuberance, I think, but need to start teaching her that it (really) hurts. It's getting rather awkward at baby group....

Er the grabbing etc is normal. Most babies do it - you can't teach her it hurts. She won't get it. She's too young! Distraction is key - give her things to grab, throw etc as its how she learns to use her hands.

As for naps - she won't expect to be fed to sleep by her MIL so don't worry. Do you have a routine for her? Is she hungry before a nap? Can someone else give her milk first then rock her?

My Ds2 is 8 months and also does the grabbing and pinching thing. I think they all do to be honest. I seem to remember DS1 being pretty brutal at this age too but it does pass. I promise he's not still slapping and pinching me now anyway!

Naps are always a challenge in our house too! I tend to feed him to sleep with a bottle now, is there any way of doing this with expressed milk when your MIL has her? I think she will realise that MIL doesn' smell of milk so therefore won't expect to be fed but also won't know how to put herself to sleep either so she may well struggle for a bit but eventually will learn a new way of settling for naps. I sometimes rely on a car ride when I just don't have the energy for a battle but I know this isn't ideal.

She's still very young so everything you say sounds entirely normal (though frustrating at the time!) . My DS1 was a terrible napper, fought it, every nap time was preceeded by a screaming fit. He eventually got the hang of it and was a brilliant napper by age of 12 months and sometimes still has a nap now age 5!

she not violent she a baby exploring her world in the only ways she knows how. her brain doesn't work the way ours does she spent understand when she hurts you.

A for the sleep thing as other have said she'll be different for mil as you won't be there. You could try some settling in season with her before you go back to work and see if she can get her to sleep in the pushchair or rocking her.

I would recommend 'The No cry sleep solution' by Elizabeth Pantley. I think she also has one for naps.

My dd was grabby. I made a show of it hurting and I did tell her off with my voice. She soon stopped.

As others have said, MIL will find a way to get her to sleep - I am always amazed that DD sleeps for 2.5 hrs in the buggy for her childminder, without even being pushed to sleep!

As for the 'violence', I always just stroke DD and say 'gentle' which she now understands - if she pinches me, I say 'can you be gentle instead?' and she'll stroke me, for which I then praise her a lot. I worry that if you make a great big show of pain, then they've been rewarded with a great reaction.

Thank you! I was concerned as she loves to be round other babies and goes straight over, grabbing their hair and clothes and laughing, which I've not seen any of them do (group of 10 or so at surestart) If they're all doing it to their parents at home though, I feel better, I just didn't want them labelling her as 'the violent one'
I have been talking to her calmly after she bites etc, so I'll keep that up, and will definitely check out Elizabeth Pantley too!