Am I doing this wrong

[19annie86]

Hi I'm a first time mum so it's all new to me

Baby currently 3 months old (15 weeks) nap time frustrates me as I feel I'm doing it all wrong. She usually takes bottle then falls asleep which is great but she sleeps in my arms, if I hold her for a while them try set her into pram or cot she wakes. I feel if I hold her at least she is getting some sleep rather than very little. I feel iv build up a bad habit and it gets me down. If she didn't sleep after bottle and somehow rocked to sleep in pram she will only sleep 30 minutes at the most. Had this happened to anyone else.

This is very normal. Babies don't want to be separated from us as we are all they know.
I'd say embrace all of the contact naps and just relax and enjoy them.
My 11.5 month old still loves to nap on us and hates to be put down.
You've not done anything wrong, it's just what babies are like.

Is there a reason you don’t want her to sleep on you? DS did the same at that age and I just used it as an opportunity to read/watch a series and generally relax. He grew out of it over the next few months and by 6 months onwards was happily having all his naps in the cot.

My first DC was exactly the same. I hated just sitting there all day when I wanted to do housework or just anything else. But eventually DH said to me stop worrying, sit there and watch telly. So I did and let DC sleep on me.

With my second DC I didn't really have that option with a toddler as well, so I started putting him in his own room to nap from six weeks which he seemed to prefer.

I should add that she goes into her next to me crib at night without any problems, which is great.

I really don't mind her sleeping on me during the day, I just feel like as a first time mum maybe I had built up a bad habit and doing it wrong

I suppose what my worry is that when she gets older and heavier to hold for those times I have had to stand and rock her in my arms, she will be too heavy. Another question is, do they grow out of contact naps?

They 100 percent grow out of it! Don't worry and just enjoy the cuddles, apart from when it's this hot it must be hard!

It's very normal. Your baby is very new still.

They do generally grow out of needing to be on you. Some learn to go to sleep quite easily. Both of mine beeded some rocking to and fro in the buggy or a walk around the block to manage to nap.

This time where baby is so tiny and cuddly will go so quickly. Just relax and enjoy these cuddles. I wish I had just sat back and enjoyed it rather than stressing about getting jobs done.

Thank u all so much, this had made me feel so much better x

No such thing as bad habits for babies- unless you're giving them 20 Benson and Hedges. 😉 Anyway. All three of mine have nap trapped me which used to drive me mad as I'm a proper fidget. If you don't want to sit still you could always sling the baby and get on with whatever you want while they sleep. Best of both worlds then- you get your arms back/ ability to go for a wee etc and they sleep where they're happiest. I bloody loved my connecta solarweave sling (now integra) for giving me the freedom to move during naps!

Just go with the flow, honestly things change so much with sleep it's not worth worrying about at this early stage. You're doing fab!

I feel like if I tried to transfer them to the sling she would wake in the process of doing so unfortunately

Can I also add, if she falls asleep after bottle and its on me thats ok, but it's so must harder if she isn't tired enough at bottle time and doesn't fall asleep at that stage my back is so sore when I'm standing trying to rock her over to sleep.

I always try to make sure she is yired enough at bottle time to avoid having to stand with her as she is getting so heavy to hold

My little one grew out of contact naps all by himself, cherish them while you can. However a couple of times I needed to put him down Especially on days like today. I used a couple of tricks. Iaid him next to something that smelled like me. Or Iaid him on the sofa with things on the floor in case he rolled and rocked him with my hands stroked his face etc then when he was fully asleep I could just move my hands, hope that helps. Don't listen to anyone that tells you your spoiling them making a rod for your own back etc, babies need there parents it's totally normal xx

Perfectly normal! My daughter has never really napped very well unless it’s on me. Even now at the age of 3 when she does have a nap she sleeps better when I’m cuddling her (never had problems getting her to sleep in her bed at night though without us cuddling her to sleep).

My Almost 9 month old sleeps fine in her crib at night but only contact naps during the day, I just roll with it. It would be nice to be able to get things done while she’s asleep but she’s only going to be this little once so try to enjoy it.

Sleep habits only begin to be formed between 4-6 months, so there are no "bad" habits formed at the moment. She's only little and is only recently come out of the 4th trimester, so there's nothing wrong with this at all!!

If you do want to form "good" sleep habits, then you can look up some gentle sleep training methods starting at 4 months.

For now though, it's totally normal for her to sleep on you. She's comforted by you being there and it increases your bond.