6 week old only naps in sling

[Sarahcollison]

Hi all,

I am having trouble getting my little one (almost 6 weeks old) to sleep in the day. I thought babies just fell asleep at this age but mine hasn't really been like that at all! I've tried everything and have now realised he will sleep (for hours!) in a sling so I end up wearing him for much of the day. I don't mind too much, it's rather nice to be so close to him but in the back of my mind I'm worried I'm creating a problem and he'll be forever sleeping in a sling. He seems to fall asleep well at night and will go down in his crib for 3-4 hour stretches.

I've tried buggy naps and he just ends up screaming, he won't even nap when he's being held. He seems fussy compared to my friends babies, never settling still for very long and when awake is very alert and on the go, not very chilled out!

Has anyone got any thoughts/experience of a similar baby?

Thanks!

Hi, my DD is now 5 months but has always been very alert and lively. I can remember in the first couple of months the only way I could help her sleep was to walk around at a fast pace until she dropped off - exhausting stuff in the early hours of the morning! However, some encouragement would be that your baby is still very young and babies do go through phases - mine is still a poor sleeper but I no longer have to fast pace everywhere for her to sleep. I think with alert babies, they can be easily stimulated by their surroundings so find it hard to switch off. A dummy and darkness/ snooze snade helped mine eventually sleep. Car journey usually did the trick at that age too. Good news that yours will go down in the crib without any trouble so as long as you are willing, I would carry on with what works for now

Thanks for your reply and I agree about lively babies finding it hard to switch off, this definitely appears to be the case with my DS. He's seems like he wants to be out running about already and gets frustrated he can't yet! I think in my heart I know he will go through lots of different phases and will change naturally as he gets older. At the moment it's better he naps than doesn't so I'll stick with it until it either stops working or he likes something else!

Definitely better that than no naps, mine were all the same when tiny. They all got to grips with naps in the cot when they were a bit older. Hard work for you though - do you have a dp who can take him for some of his naps? I wouldn't worry about creating a problem if he is doing good stretches in the crib at night. Can you at least sit down when he is asleep in the sling? I got through multiple box sets that way in the early days!

My OH is really good at helping out and we both have a sling so we can share the naps a bit although he's working a lot of the time. I can sit down once LO is settled to sleep so not so bad either. I just didn't want to start a habit I couldn't break later on.

What age were yours when they napped in a cot or buggy?

I wouldn't worry. DD was like this and had all her naps in the sling. At 4 months she just started sleeping in the buggy. Initially it had to be moving the whole time, but eventually I could rock her to sleep and she'd stay asleep and she had all her naps in the buggy until around 18mo. Then she went to the cot and is now at 2 a champion napper, sleeping for at least a couple of hours in her cot

That's good to hear, I'm feeling happier about it now. Being mt first baby I thought babies just fell asleep when they were tired and it's been a bit of a shock that mine doesn't! :-D

Ha I know the feeling! However, I've just had my second and after DD being such a tricky sleeper, it was a complete shock that I could put DS down in his cot and he would fall asleep I almost feel guilty putting him down and walking out of the room instead of sitting and rocking/patting/ssshing for ever and a day!

Bit late replying, but mine all started taking regular naps in their cot somewhere between 6 and 12 months.