Baby naps nightmare

[LettucesAndRoses]

Hello there,

My little girl is 5 months old and only goes to sleep for her naps in the baby carrier. I have tried all the recommended things when putting her down in her cot, lights down, drowsy but awake, same routine...
The only think I'm not doing is letting her cry as I don't feel it's the right thing to do.
I have to add that she's getting worse. I used to be able to lie next to her in the bed and breastfeed her to sleep but she now won't fall asleep after having her milk without being carried.
Nighttime isn't great either. She takes a good two hours to go down and keeps waking up every hour until 4-5 am. That's when she has her longest stretch, about 4 hours before she's up for the day.

I just wondered if any of you went through something similar and if so, if baby eventually grew to nap alone without crying it out.
If you have any tips for a soft approach, please do share!

Thank you!

I feel you... This used to be me. I'm so sorry you're so tired... I sleep trained my baby at 6 months old using the 21 days to peace and quiet program. This was the only sleep training program I could find that has a method for every one. I hope it's as helpful for you as it was for me!

Hi, my DD was very much a Velcro baby. She is 10 months now but until about 9 months she would only sleep on me for her naps and at nighttime. I couldn’t bring myself to let her cry it out so in the end after trying everything just went with and let her sleep on me. At about 9 months she was just willing to nap on her own. So I have no advice other than it will get better.

If she is willing to nap in the carrier then why not just let her for the time being.

In terms of nighttime, mine still wakes probably 3 / 4 times during the night but I sleep in a bed with her and cuddle her so she usually calms down then. At least I am now getting some sleep now.

Thanks for your reply LH1987!

Did you keep trying to put her in her cot until 9 months? How did you know she was ready to nap on her own?

I did attempt it every couple of days and it just wasn’t working at all. I would go through phases of trying and then through weeks when I just could not be bothered because it was easier to just let her sleep on me. I could have a coffee and a break while she slept there!

It just suddenly one day worked! No explanation at all. I still need to get her to sleep before I put her down but she sleeps in it and generally wakes up happy.

I tried EVERYTHING! Short of getting someone in to preform some kind of sleep ritual and nothing worked. So my only advice is that it will pass and lean into it. If she will nap in a carrier , do it! Just keep trying every few days and it will eventually work.

I agree with @lh1987 my 7 month old has only just started going down for naps, only for the last few days!! Before this, she would only sleep on walks in the pram or on me after a feed. I had previously tried lots and lots to put her down but in the end I decided it wasn't worth the stress. It was more important to give my baby the sleep she needed. However, I thought I would try again a few days ago and it just worked out of the blue and has worked for every nap since. I still feed to sleep and transfer her to the cot once asleep but she stays asleep and wakes up happy. I would say it's best to just go with what your baby needs now and try every few weeks. Eventually, she may just go down for naps. Good luck xx

@ASomers @LH1987 Thank you both for sharing your experiences, it comforts me in trusting my instinct and just letting do her thing.
@ASomers How's the nighttime for you?

I'm working from home and it is very difficult to get my work done standing up and moving in front of the computer (she often wakes up if I'm still) so I have to get up before her to fit everything in. Tiring but at least she gets her sleep for now!

@LettucesAndRoses, have you tried a sling? Mine will sleep in hers and it might be viable if you could put your laptop on a high platform and stand.

@lettucesandroses we have recently moved her into her own room. She'll go down there initially but it's always a mystery how long for. Sometimes she wakes after 30 mins, sometimes 3 hours. I'll try putting her back down but eventually she ends up coming into bed with me and we Co sleep. I just find we both get more sleep this way. However, she slept in her own room from 7-3am yesterday so that was pretty good!