hw to transition from sling to cot for naps

[teamB2011]

I have been wearing my daughter in a sling for naps since she was 2 weeks old. This has worked well as she sleeps for long periods.. sometimes 3 hours in the sling. I have however pulled a ligament/muscle in my hip while walking with the sling and the osteopath I have been to see has said I need to rest it for at least a week while it heals. I am not sure what caused the injury but perhaps I have been walking for longer periods with the sling and putting too much weight on my hips. I have mild hip displasia on one hip so my hips may not be as strong as they could be.

I therefore would like to reduce the length of time my daughter is in the sling so it puts less pressure on my hips. So, the question is how to transition her from sling to cot. I tried feeding to sleep last week and that worked in my bed so long as I was lying with her. Sometimes she falls asleep feeding on breastfeeding cushion but not often. I need a gentle approach as that is our preference.

Hopefully when my hip is better I can get back to daytime naps at home in the sling but that may be 2 weeks away. This may be good time to try and implement a new sleep arrangement.

Try the carry cot of the pram, pushing her about or a quick walk round the block. If she is a very suckly baby you may want to try a dummy. If your hip is weak you need to prioritise that because DD is going to get much heavier and you nont want to end up with significant mobility problems as she will start to get mobile.
Depending what way she lies in the sling you may ne able to maneuver her in the pram in the sling and you can wriggle out of the sling. She may also like swaddling.

How old is she now?
DS2 is 13wks and pretty much only sleeps in the sling. If I'm alone with him I can feed to sleep then transfer to his crib but process can take an hour or so.
I too need a gentle way to get him to nap in his cot as it's becoming increasingly difficult to have him in the sling around the house as he's getting heavier and I've got DS2 aswell.
Watching with interest...!

LO is almost 6 months..

I have gone from all naps in the sling to one in sling, one in pushchair (moving or staying still indoors) and one in cot. I did not want to have a baby that only slept in cot because you end up trapped. You have to just go for it one day - you get scared because when they were 4/6/8 weeks they freaked out when you put them down, but they get to an age where they can manage it and IME there is a window where you can do the transition fairly gently.

I just went for it with the cot one day and although he woke up crying after 30 mins, the next day he stayed in it for an hou, now he easily has 1 - 1.5 hours. Pushchair was easier, just put him in it with a blanket over the hood, he naps really well in there. It was a bloody relief not to have a sling on. If they can sleep at night not in sling, they can do it in the day. Go for it.

juniorcakeoff - how did you get him to sleep initially - do you use a dummy? i have not used dummy at all yet and she has gone off in pram this week with rocking/walking (grandma helping) but only 30/40 mins whereas in sling she did 2/3 hours sometimes.
i am loathe to use dummy at this age but she does suckle on boob (we coo sleep) at night and at 5am (her usual wake up) she suckles to stay asleep but it is not feeding, just comfort. this makes me think she would benefit from a dummy. so difficult to know what to do for the best.

Yes at the start now he chews his hands. Also for some weird reason he needs a blanket pulled right up to his chin. Know what you mean about introducing a dummy at 6 months, could you try a comfort object that she could have next to her face that means sleep? I did this with one of my others and it became a sleep signal to him. Don't worry about 30/40 mins, it will increase with time, once they realise that this is a place that they sleep now.