3mo + and getting to nap in crib

[flipflopsonfifthavenue]

So DS2 is 3mo and since about 3wks old he mostly naps in the sling either at home or out and about. This is mainly as he hates his buggy, it leaves me hands free to deal with DS1, and because I simply haven't got him into the habit of napping in his crib.

On mornings that DS1 is at nursery (2 days a week) and at weekends when DP is around I can get DS2 is sleep in his crib. I bfeed him to sleep, let him sleep on me for an hour (yes - if I transfer him before that he wakes up) then I move him to crib and he'll sleep for another couple of hours.

This is a fairly laborious routine and one that is can't do when I have DS1 as even Peppa 'toddler crack' Pig won't keep him occupied for that long. Also I can't seem to bfeed DS2 to sleep at other points of the day so his other naps are in the sling.

In the perfect world if love to be able to put him down awake for his naps and let him fall asleep on his own so I can attend to DS1 without being physically encumbered by (a beautiful and adorable) 15lb weight

My question is this - I know there are plenty of ways to gently get him to go to sleep on his own over time BUT do I need to also implement a strict nap schedule/routine for this to work?

My DS is 3 and a half months and he naps in his cot in the day. I don't have a strict routine, I just take him up when he gets tired. That sounds so simple - I know it isn't! For mine there is such a small window...too early and he won't settle and screams to come out, too late and he is past it and won't go to sleep. He never sleeps more that 45 mins at a time so I end up having to put him down for about 4 naps a day, some days I have success others I don't but I stick at it. He can last between 90 mins and 2 hours before he needs his next nap. If I've been playing with him or there has been lots of other stimulation, he can need his next nap in an hour. I do always put him down awake. He never settled at first when on his own but he is getting better. I infroduced a cuddly toy as part of the short nap routine which he completely ignored to start with but has now started to touch before he goes off. I slept with it down my vest for a couple of nights before I gave it to him. It was really hard to put him down awake at first but I persevered during day and night, he probably goes off himself about 60% of the time now. Good luck!

What do you do if he doesn't go on his own?

Hi, I've had your problem except my DS, nearly 4 months, loves his pram for sleeping, meaning I would go out every day 10-12.30 to make sure he got a good sleep. He goes down fine and resettles during the night but the last time I tried enforcing naps at home in December he screamed blue murder (he won't just drop off anywhere else/bouncer/changing mat like some other babies. This week I've been ill so decided to take the bull by the horns - lots of clock watching but basically doing what first time says - about 1hr45 after waking upstairs into bedroom with blinds down ,Ewan dream sheep on, nice and warm. Do a bit of boob or a book if not too tired and into cot. The most he's cried for in cot is six mins and it was pretty low level crying, more tired /grumpy crying. This morning I think I missed his nap window, he got too tired (you don't want them to reach the crying stage) and he only slept for 20 mins but I'll persist!

flipflop I have no answers but just wanted to say I am right there with you! DD is the same - falls asleep in my arms or with motion of car/pram but will not go to sleep in the moses basket by herself. Honestly she just lays awake for ages & eventually cries, then screams blue murder as she is overtired. I also have to hold dd for at least an hour before putting her down or she wakes. Last night it took nearly 2hrs to settle her in the cot after her night feed. I also spend all evening rocking/settling her & am getting fed up of it. Never had any of this bother with ds - he just went down easily - so don't quite know where we went wrong this time. Dreading trying to sort it out!

It depends....if he's just grizzling I leave him. I find he does grizzle every time to wind down. If he starts crying I leave for a couple of mins and then try shhh/ pat. If it doesn't work and he's properly crying I get him up and just accept that the nap isn't going to happen that day, same as fatpony says if you miss the window he either doesn't sleep at all or only goes for a few mins then wakes himself up. I normally bring him downstairs, feed/ play for a bit then try again. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Its all a bit of trial and error with naps I think