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Sleep

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Original poster

Advice please! 4 month old refuses to nap in her cot!

16 replies

Riri85 · 10/01/2015 12:03

Hi all,

Am getting pretty desperate as my 4 month old refuses to sleep in her cot for naps during the day-as soon as I put her in the cot she screams and gets herself in to a state (sweating and hiccuping etc) this results in the rest of the day being a complete loss because she is miserable!
The only way I can get her to nap at present is either on me so I get nothing done around the house or by taking her out in the pram.
I know the biggest mistake I am making is that she falls asleep on me then I try and transfer her into the cot which causes her to wake up startled. I plan to try and put her down when she's awake but drowsy but am dreading the screaming and having yet another day filled with tears and hiccups!
Did anyone have similar problems? How did you solve it?

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Original poster

Riri85 · 11/01/2015 20:27

Anyone???

OP posts:

Pico2 · 11/01/2015 20:30

Could you put her in her buggy/pram and rock her for a few minutes until asleep?

ElphabaTheGreen · 11/01/2015 20:34

Just let her sleep on you. Honestly. I fought it with DS1 but now know better with DS2. If you let her sleep on you, she will sleep well, sleep as long as she needs to and probably wake up in a civilised enough mood to sit in a bouncy chair for long enough to let you get jobs done, albeit in bits.

You could also try a sling, but parking your bum in front of Netflix is so much nicer

fidgetywidget · 11/01/2015 20:38

Hi, my DS is almost 4 months & won't have day time naps in his cot either, only on me/in sling while walking, in the pram or in the car. Added to that he'll only sleep 45min max at a time & wakes if we're not moving with sling/pram/car. It's so frustrating isn't it! For now I've given up on daytime cot naps, will try again in a few weeks in the hope that it might work then.
Sorry, not really much help, just sympathising!

tippytappywriter · 11/01/2015 20:44

Ds was like this. I gave up and he napped in his pram in the hallway. Suited us anyway as often had to nip out to get Dd which would have been awkward if he was in the cot.

sleepybuthappy · 11/01/2015 21:20

Agree with elphaba, IME (albeit limited to 2 DC) 4 month olds don't want to nap in cots. As soon as they realise where they are they get upset. They love sleeping on their mums though and you should enjoy it while you can - all too soon they will be too big and won't want to any more. By letting him sleep on you now you won't spoil him for the future. Both my DC started to sleep willingly in their cots from about 6 months, before that it was just an exhausting battle that I always lost. There is nothing nicer than a few hours of Netflix with a sleeping baby!

sleepybuthappy · 11/01/2015 21:20

Sorry, her not him!

CakeMakesMeHappy · 11/01/2015 21:36

My little girl is 5 months and exactly the same. The only way I can get her to nap in her cot is to snuggle her in a blanket on me, let her fall asleep then wrap her in the blanket and pop her down. I think she thinks she's still being cuddled!

Original poster

Riri85 · 11/01/2015 21:39

Thank you all for your replies-much appreciated! It does seem to be a losing battle at the moment with her in tears (and sometimes both of us!) sometimes I think it's best to pick your battles and try to make things a bit easier for yourself! My mum keeps going on at me about 'spoiling' her and it was making me worry!

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SliceOfLime · 11/01/2015 21:44

My 5 month old (dd2) sometime sleeps in her cot / basket if I put her down but usually wakes - mostly she sleeps in the pram or on my shoulder for however long she wants to / can, and it doesn't seem to be causing any problems. Dd1 NEVER slept in a cot... I tried everything... my advice would be don't bother putting yourself through the hassle, let her snooze on you and snuggle while you put your feet up! I know some people are desperate for the babies to nap in their cots but you do risk ending up with a baby who 'can't' sleep anywhere else - I have plenty of friends who have to rush home from outings for nap time, take travel cots even if just going to a friend's for lunch, etc. Seems to me that a child that can sleep on you or in the pram is the easiest to have!

Original poster

Riri85 · 11/01/2015 21:46

Pico-am going to try the pram thing and see if that works-failing that am going to admit defeat and let her sleep on me!

OP posts:

homeaway · 11/01/2015 21:51

She possibly could be waking as she is going from a warm body to a cold cot. Can you put a sheepskin under the sheet so it is not a cold or pop a hot water bottle in there for a few minutes , but take it out before you put her down. Good luck.

Original poster

Riri85 · 11/01/2015 22:00

Homeaway-you must be psychic! Was just discussing this with OH-we used to use a sheep skin when LO was very small to stop her waking-going to give it a try and see if it works again!

OP posts:

rampallion · 12/01/2015 10:31

I'm in the exact same situation! And have given up trying to get her to sleep in her cot for naps, it just ended in an overtired grumpy baby that hadn't slept and was a nightmare by the end of the day! She sleeps happily in her pram so am settling for that for the time being... AT least she gets the sleep she clearly needs.

She also only does 40 min naps, does anyone know if that is pretty frequent for 18 weeks? Sometimes if I rock the pram I can stretch it to just over an hour but that's the longest she'll go...bliss when it happens!

ElphabaTheGreen · 12/01/2015 10:52

40 minute naps is pretty much all I get here at 23 weeks. I might get slightly longer if I force a boob into his mouth as soon as he stirs. His big brother was exactly the same. As long as they wake up fairly happy from a nap, that's all they need (unlike me, who would sell my soul for three hours of uninterrupted sleep).

sleepybuthappy · 12/01/2015 14:02

45 minutes is roughly one baby sleep cycle - that's why they all wake after 45 minutes as they drift in to light sleep and become conscious of their surroundings. And if they find themselves in a cot they will most likely cry, whereas if they find themselves snuggled in to a cosy boob they may well happily drift off again!

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