Has anyone sleep trained for naps but not bedtime

[Karma1387]

Hoping for a bit of advice. I have a lovely 8 month old DS who I co-sleep with at night and for his naps (I leave him once hes asleep in my bed for naps but he requires boob to go to sleep)

I am looking for a full time job so he will be going to a childminder and also with my DP 2 days a week so I really need him to sleep independently without the boob.

Has anyone transitioned to the crib and sleep trained just for naps? I don't really want to stop co-sleeping at night as it will help me not feel so guilty about missing so much time with him plus will give him time to make up for lost feeds during the day if he wont take the bottle well.

Any advice appreciated!

Unfortunately he doesn't transfer. He is a very very light sleeper which is why he naps in my bed. It isn't ideal and I have to watch the camera constantly but its that or he doesnt nap.

Going from never looking after the kids on his own to looking after 2, I think I can help him out with lunches and dinners so he isn't completely thrown in the deep end initially.

Totally get it, a light sleeper who won't transfer is so hard, and watching the camera the whole nap sounds exhausting. One thing that helps a lot of babies like that: transfers often fail because they fall asleep in one place and come up in another, which is a bit of a jolt. So the more of the drifting off that can happen in the cot itself, the less there is to wake up to. A really dark room helps light sleepers stay under too. Might be worth a go before the childminder starts.

If he could transfer I would have no concerns regarding childminder or my partner. But he has never successfully transfered no matter how deep a sleep he is in.

Yeah I have tried every trick I can find online including putting him down in the cot before he is fully asleep but he wakes straight up and wont resettle unfortunately. Which is why I was hoping it would be possible to sleep train for naps.

OP could you get a floor bed? Then he can nap there and you can cosleep there to. It really helped us transition away from cosleeping in our bed. It’s not that safe to cosleep in an adult bed at that age once they move so much more. Or use bed guards on both sides of your bed?

Do you have room to put your 8 month old in his own room?

We got our DD a floorbed when she was about 12 months old. It's adult sized but on the ground with railings. When we first stopped feeding to sleep and my husband was learning how to put her down for naps/bed, we would just lie next to her and cuddle until she was asleep. It would only take 10-15 minutes and then we'd roll away.

Possibly a solution to naps and also having to leave him on your bed.

Ah that's frustrating, sounds like you've really tried everything. Honest answer, it's possible, but naps on their own aren't the usual starting point. Most approaches start at bedtime, because that first fall asleep of the night is where the skill gets learned, and it tends to spread to naps from there. Whatever you go with, picking something you can stick to every single nap matters more than which method it is.

We dont have the space in our room unfortunately otherwise that is what I would do as thats what I did with my first.

Unfortunately he will be in our room for the next year or two until we move house and we cant fit a floor bed in our room.

If you got bed guards then at least he could be left alone on your bed? I’d be using bed guards at that age anyway, as they get bigger they’re more likely to fall out and that’s unsafe from an adult bed. Or change your own bed to a floor bed?
Sleepy training for naps is so hard, it’s usually advised to start at bedtime as that’s when sleep pressure is highest. Whereas naps it’s just enough to get them through. Honestly I think you just need to leave your partner to figure it out. Babies respond so different to others. My daughters never fallen asleep alone at home but naps fine at nursery on her own.