12wo started fighting nap, help!

[Sparrowlegs248]

DS did not nap well from the start but would feed to sleep or sleep on me/in car. It didn't bother him however, didn't get upset etc. We worked on and improved napping.

Now though, , well he woke at 7am fed and has played and had a bath. He's now crying/sizzling and I know he's tired. I often put him in the sling and he will sleep but my back is killing and I'd like to get dressed

any tips to encourage him to sleep without the upset first?

I have put him in his Moses basket and am rocking him and he's just dropped off. He'll wake if I stop though.

Or is the crying normal? They keep you on your toes don't they?

And he's awake. 10 minutes of nap and inhad to gently rock him constantly. Not crying though so will carry on.

Have you got a bouncer? Mine has a vibrating motion and the bouncing motion of the bouncer helps my 12 week old to stay asleep when he stirs.

Not uncommon for babies of this age to want to sleep in sling/being rocked etc. All mine slept in sling for first few months. I did whatever it took to get them to nap to avoid overtiredness.

Not sure how long your awake time is for dc in between naps? At 12 weeks it should be fairly short 1 to 1.5 hrs max generally. First awake period of the day is usually the shortest and can be as short as an hour. If your dc is crying it sounds like you have missed the signs of tiredness and they are now overtired. Which means soothing/getting them to stay asleep becomes so much more difficult. Do you think it could be overtiredness?

To start with he would nap maybe two x 30 minutes a day mint without getting upset/crying (i realise this is odd......) but we had got to the stage where he would reliably nap in the car etc. If we are at home and he's been awake for 1.5hrs I tend to put him in the sling or bouncer. The bouncer is just a basic one though that has to be bounced.

I guess what I am saying is that this is a new phase and I'm not sure how to deal with it especially as my back is sore. He could well be overtired but there were really no signs, playing in the bath,.got dried, nearly finished dressing (still playing......) then tears.

I'm not used to a crying baby!

We don't really have a routine, I'm not sure if i should try and introduce one.

Bouncers are great and basic ones are fine. Just sit yourself on the sofa and foot bounce the bouncer until asleep. You can usually stop bouncing (gradually, not a sudden stop) once properly asleep. I tend to stay nearby though so that at the first murmur, gentle bouncers can lull baby back to sleep.

Over time I have found you need to bounce less and less and less. Plus baby learns to sleep for longer when being bounced through one sleep cycle into the next. By around 5-6 months the bouncing is usually not necessary and naps get longer, that's when to move into static sleeping in the cot.

Personally I am not a fan of the vibrate option anyway. The bouncing is more controlled by you so that it can become gradually less relied upon.

When he is crying/grizzling before sleeping is he upset? Some babies like to have a bit of a shout before they sleep and just make a bit of noise rather than properly cry.

I have a fisher price rainforest swing. It's a godsend!

If bouncer or sling works for you I would stick with either of those. If your back is sore you may want to opt for bouncer. (So jealous of those that got their dcs to nap in a bouncer or swing! Mine would not. Would have really saved my back!)

What I would focus on is dc's awake time. Tired signs can be hard to spot in younger babies so you may want to watch the clock instead. You say if dc has been awake for 1.5hrs you then try to put them down for a nap. You may be leaving it too late. At this age my dcs would need to be asleep so it meant wind down would need to start at the 1hr mark.

He's not really upset but probably a bit more than a grizzle. He is starting to sleep more and more during the day - 2.5hrs in the sling this lunchtime (ouch ........) but was previously awake a lot of the time.

I also pit him down (asleep) in the basket again earlier and he stayed asleep for 15-20minutes, no rocking, so that was progress.

Like I said, this crying business is new to me! I think I might try a pram. nap each afternoon - walk for 30minutes then hope he stays asleep for longer. :-)

I do stop the bouncing gradually but he rarely stays asleep for longer than a few minutes during the day, apart from the time he was parked next to the dishwasher......

He did sleep for over an hour tonight though - in the bouncer - its just naps i am struggling with.

My 10wo is the same. Will sleep in a moving buggy or like the dead in the sling (which one do you have? I have a close caboo and can wear him for hours in it) but even if he dozes off in my arms after feeding (which is v rare) he wakes within 10 mins of being put down. But he sleeps like an angel at night (8.39 til 12.30, super quick feed lying down and then until 5 when he was a but grizzly but stayed in bed til 7-ish) so I am inclined to count my blessings.

If he will sleep in a moving buggy, then I'd resign myself to a lunchtime walk every day - I walked miles with my DTs - great for losing the baby weight! And keep trying with cot naps - I try a couple of times a week but it does invoke leaving my 2yobtwins unattended which can be a bit hair raising!!

What has helped my 3 month old DS was a session with a cranial osteopath, plus a chair with a vibrating function has been brilliant!

On Sunday he slept for 2.5hrs in the carrier. I had to take him out as my back was hurting. Yesterday I thought i would go for a walk with. the pram, hoping that he would fall asleep then stay asleep once we got home. Walked 2 miles, he was wide awake, chatting and gurgling. (even though he had been awake 3hrs) Fell asleep 5minutes before home. I carried on so that he'd slept 20-25minutes when i got hone. He woe up the second i opened the front door! Still, it was a lovely day for a walk.