3.5 month old fighting naps!!!

[PinkBlossom33]

HELP!!

We have always rocked/bounced our 3.5 month old to sleep but she started to put up a real fight when I try to get her down for her daytime naps. She's always been a bit resistant, but I think it's getting worse and makes me dread naptime. She's unable to self settle and I didn't want to start sleep training yet as I've read that should start at 6 months?

Strangely she's fine for my husband and drops off to sleep really calmly, which makes me feel frustrated because I'm alone all day having a real battle!

Has anyone else experienced this or have may suggestions about what to do?

It's really getting me down 😞

Personally I wouldn't want to sleep train so young either.

Where are you trying to get her to nap now?

Can't you just read the signals and put her down to sleep when she is tired? Are you trying to get a certain nap time or something because whatever it is doesn't seem to work of she is resistant she can't be tired

Mum of a 6 month old here. We (well, I) implemented a gentle sleep-training approach. Read up about it. Naps are a bit trickier than nights, your baby is still working out the difference between night and day and will need you more in the day. Try letting baby cry for a few mins, go back to her and give her a cuddle, put her down and go back after an extra few minutes crying, repeat ad finitum. She'll get it soon enough.

They say that dad can get baby off to sleep quicker because their bodies are calmer- he probably hasn't had all the tension you've been feeling all day- and in our case, daddy holds our DS a bit firmer than I do. That seems to do the trick.

@SiouxsieSiouxStiletto she still contact naps on me or dp. We've tried putting her down for naps and she wakes up within 5 minutes 😩

@NoKnit I do look out for her sleepy signals and keep to her wake window (1.5-2 hours). She is tired because when dp is at home and I have handed her over, because she is resisting so much, she falls pretty much straight to sleep. Or he'll pick her up for a nap at the same time I would have done and she falls to sleep on him no problem.

We've also tried putting her down awake and she screams until you pick her back up again.

@postitnote8 when did you introduce the gentle sleep training? I think that's the type of approach I want to try when she's ready. I'm not a fan of the CIO method.

I think that's probably true about dads. My husband is a much calmer person than me generally and perhaps DD can sense that.

Introduced sleep training about 3 months old. We were staying at my mums and baby was sleepy, my mum said "try putting him down now." He cried, but we went up intermittently and spent time soothing. From then on I just made that a habit, even during the day.

Hey- not to say you're not calm- I know I certainly am- but our little darlings know before we do when we're itching for them to sleep! I don't know if you're breastfeeding, but they can smell your milk if so, dads have the natural advantage of sending them off to sleep and you shouldn't fret about your own 'skills'. I know it's difficult right now, but as long as she isn't fussing because she's in pain or discomfort, she will honestly be okay just to let her cry for a little while.

To those that are severely against crying it out- what do you do when you're driving and your baby cries?!

You are not a bad parent for letting your baby cry for a little while. Just go up and give her a cuddle and when she's stopped, walk away. I don't walk out on my baby crying but if he starts up after I've left, I leave him to it and he stops after a couple of minutes. X

Ok so of they're waking after 5 mins you can try using a T-shirt that DH has worn as the sheet in the crib or sleep with the crib sheets for a couple of nights so that they have a reassuring smell. Are you using white noise as well?

With DD I could gently lay a hand on her tummy as soon as she started to stir and she'd settle again.