How to get 3mo to nap lying down?!

[snowrevolution]

15 week old DS will nap only in his Ergo baby carrier. He has a reasonable routine (1 hour nap in morning, couple of hours over lunch, short nap late afternoon) but I'm desperate to put him down for at least some of his naps so I can get a rest (not least as his night sleeping isn't great at the moment).

I've tried: putting him in his cot drowsy but awake; feeding him to sleep then putting him in cot after 20 minutes (he wakes instantly, or 5 minutes later) and wheeling him around in his pram. Nothing works! He used to nap in his pram, but has stopped doing this, despite clearly being tired (he screamed non-stop for the 30 minute return nursery journey for my older child; very stressful for everyone, and nothing I could do, as I was gripping my 3 year old with one hand and pushing the pram with the other.

At night I feed to sleep, but still usually takes several goes to get him to go down (we usually have about 3 or 4 night wakings of 1 or 2 hours each).

Does anyone have any bright ideas?

This sounds so much like my DD at that age, I could have just about written your post word for word. She had a very hard time sleeping lying down (day or night) due to reflux. So she spent most of her time in the sling. The reflux cleared up at about 6 months or so but she'd still wake when placed in the cot for naps, and couldn't settle down drowsy without getting hysterical. I opted to feed her lying down on my bed and then co-sleep if I needed the rest or sneak away after she was out if not. I think it was the transfers that woke her. That, or the cot having some kind of 5 minute alarm in it that only she could hear...

She's 8 months now and sleep is still touch and go, but getting better. She is still fed to sleep on my bed, but transfers easily into cot without waking, and on a good night will sleep from 7-12 with minimal resettling. She'll then have a feed and will go back in cot from about 1am - 4am when she'll have a second feed in bed with me and co-sleep until 7-8. She also naps well in her pushcahir most afternoons. She likes sitting up and facing out, she hated lying flat on her back in the pram and would rarely settle - but that may have been due to the reflux.

Hope this helps and hang in there!

Just stick with it, we have been having nap wars these last 2 weeks! DS2 will now nap for 40 mins in his cot, then for his midday nap I go in and feed him back to sleep for another hour and a half where he just sleeps in my arms. DS1 was exactly the same and then one day - about 5 months I think - he just started to sleep longer in there.
Do you have a mobile? Ours lasts for about 15 mins so I try and put him down when he's getting tired (usually about an hour after he last work up) and put the mobile on and he drops off. The first week of trying he would usually cry when I put him down so I'd go back in and help him a bit - feeding/rocking whatever soothes him and try again.
I've just put him down now, he shouted a bit but wasn't crying as such, he's quiet now so hopefully I get 40mins to have a v early lunch!!
Good luck!

Just wanted to pop back to say thanks for the tips. DS entered growth spurt hell over the weekend, so napping lying down was the least of our worries!

Mitsouko: interesting. DS also has reflux, although we've been controlling it reasonably well with infant gaviscon for a number of weeks now. I would love to be able to co-sleep, but unfortunately just can't make it work for us. I will, however, try putting DS in his pushchair sitting up a little more. I had assumed that it was better to have him lying down flat in a pram for the first few months, but thinking about it, this could actually be causing some of the problems for us.

Chocchip: don't have a mobile yet, but might get one now! Might get one of those sound / light devices that projects an image on the ceiling...