How much time and effort do you put into getting your baby to nap?

[Pompomparty]

I know my 9 week old will only sleep in the sling yet every day I attempt some other method, it's fucking futile, I then get stressed, why do I bother? I just want to be able to nap too!! And I can't do that with the sling on. She was up every 2 hours last night, I look like shit.
Thank god it's Friday and hopefully DH can give her a bottle of ebm in the morning and I can have a lie in.
Sorry this post is pretty aimless, this too shall pass I know.

DS only naps on me so I dont get many naps either! Not much help, sorry... But I feel your pain!

How old is your ds likwelshyears? It's good to have some solidarity anyway thanks!

When mine was that age I only tried when dp was at home as I would get stressed out by solo failure. We kept trying and first managed to transfer her from sling to basket at 13 weeks. She's nearly 13 months now and a decent sleeper if that gives you hope

Can you feed lying on your side in bed? After a feed you can both dose happily. It was only when I cracked feeding on my side that I started to recover some sleep.

He's 8 weeks, 9 weeks on Monday... So very similar age to your DD!
I just think we should enjoy it and then when our DHs can help, ebm is soooo helpful :)

None at all. She sleeps when she sleeps. If she wanted to nap on me, well then we'll both lie down, if its practicable.
Why get stressed about it?

If it's your first baby then just go with it, 9 weeks is tiny! It won't be like that forever.

Even feeding on my side seems to have stopped working! I tried this morning and her eyes would get heavy but she wouldn't properly drift off and would just keep sucking me like a dummy. She's asleep in the sling now I think I'll just get the tidying and stuff done and try and snooze together again later.

I started about 6weeks old putting him down regularly for a nap roughly going by the amount of awake time expected for their age which I got off a website. Sometimes he would nap better in his bouncy chair. At the beginning I had to rock him in his pram or bounce him in his chair but I gradually reduced this. Then would do a loose night time routine- bath, pjs on and milk. As he got older I planned my day around his naps, so I would make sure most of the time I was at home and at the same time every day he would go in the cot for a nap. I was quite firm about it and tried to confidently put him down, if he whinged a bit I left him, but if he really cried I would get him out and try again in 15 mins. I used to wake him after the recommended amount of time. He reliably goes to bed starting at 6, but now is 7. I give him a kiss say night night then put him in his cot, say I love you see you in the morning!then I leave the room. No messing about, in and out so he knows there's so playing. Often he will sing or chat to himself while he settles off. If he misses a nap, or is late to bed he generally fights sleep and wakes in the night.

Maybe he would have been a good napper if I hadn't done this, but even now I prioritise naps and bed time is at 7. Now at 2 he naps for 2 hours after lunch but I don't let him sleep past 2 else he doesn't want to go to bed.

I felt I had to give loose routine a good try since dc1 was an awful sleeper and I suffered with pnd. I have a more responsible job now and needed a break in the day to work and to be fairly straight headed when I was in work. I read the baby whisperer book and used this as a starting point, especially the parts about cues for tiredness in little babies.

Best of luck!Although I do think it largely does depend on your dc s temperament!

Have you tried co sleeping for naps? That way you can both sleep at same time

I didn't try hard either time till past 6 months when a loose routine starts to show itself. It's too stressful. Just do whatever is the least hassle with a little baby

When my DS falls asleep on me, sometimes I dare to move him to his moses basket... And for a blissful moment, he stays sound asleep and then he suddenly wakes up, wide eyed and just lies there gurgling and singing away!
He'll nap in his bouncer but that'll only last about 10mins haha.

My friend's 1yo doesn't want cuddles anymore. So treasure this time :)

The reason I was trying to get her to nap elsewhere this morning initially was so I can express some milk so I can catch up on some sleep tomorrow.

I do cherish it, honestly I do and am mostly loving this stage and her cuddles etc, I'm just very tired after having about 4 hours sleep last night.

I tried this morning and her eyes would get heavy but she wouldn't properly drift off and would just keep sucking me like a dummy.

Gently take her off and pop a dummy in quickly. This works for my DD.

My DD is six months and still doesn't nap in her cot!! Apart from the occasional time. It's so much stress, effort and time wasted that I've just given in. Naps are either on me, in the pram or in the sling. I'm probably being lazy about it but because she doesn't sleep well at night, I'm way too exhausted to keep trying! She needs sleep and so do I. Although I've never been able to easily nap during the day.

What works for me is getting her to fall asleep in the sling, then lying on the bed or sofa with cushions as support. It isn't the most comfortable but it means I can relax and sometimes sleep. Alrhough I probably wouldn't have done that at your stage - only feel comfortable doing it now she's bigger. But even closing your eyes and relaxing helps (she says, playing with her phone when she should be resting oops!)

We also put her in her pram in the house for naps. Starting doing this when the weather started getting colder and wetter. Just push her bsck and forth a bit and she goes off - although she has to be ready for it! That has been a huge help and will give me time to rest...or more often catch up on chores!

One thing I did try (and need to start doing again) is trying to time a cot nap for when she's super tired. So for us that's after her swimming lesson. I once got a two hour nap out of her in the cot! Might be a good place to start?

Hope this helps. I personally cannot wait for the day when my biggest concern isn't getting a human being to sleep...

I have a 5 month old and I decided naps would not be a battle after a nightmare day at 6 weeks where she fought naps like a crazy beast while rubbing her eyes and crying hysterically.

She's not great - has a good nap day once every 3 and no routine times. Basically she hated napping in the moses basket but will nap out and about on a walk - sling or lie flat pushchair and will drop off under the baby gym - I basically trick her into napping - ninja transfers from lap to basket failed miserably.

I'm also mean and let her grumble or moan but any crying and I give up and go for a walk or bung her in the sling and do suitable chores that way. Usually a nap then happens.. usually when I least expect / want!

Also got quite a few nap laps at baby groups!

Thanks for all your advice, I just tried to feed her to sleep on the bed again so we could have a nap together but again she's fighting it and fighting it, rubbing her ear and eyes furiously while feeding but not actually falling asleep, coming on and off the nipple. Ugh what happened to my magic boobs?! It's only in the past week she's been like this.

Try a dummy.

I struggle with naps with my 5 month old as I want to stick to the guidelines of having my baby in the same room as me for naps. He grew out of the Moses and didn't like sleeping in the bouncer, so we ended up with him napping on us as there was nowhere for him to sleep!

I'll try the cot upstairs at 6 months but to be honest I cant see it being easy!

She has a dummy.

I don't know I guess I'm still trying to get to know her, some days other things will work (rocking, pram naps, leaving her on a blanket on the floor??!), but whenever I repeat them they no longer work at all!
But the sling ALWAYS works, so I guess I'll just go with that mostly as I know "sleep breeds sleep" apparently

I'm mostly worried about my breastmilk no longer having that knockout effect though, I loved watching her fall asleep, come off the nipple and using my boob as a pillow

Started shh pat at about 9 weeks. It was hard but he calmed, cried, calmed cried and then slept. Try it, it teaches them other ways to self sooth such as blankly sucking etc. ..so creates a good foundation for independent sleep. It Sometimes took 40 mins but perservered as figured it always took me that time anyway to get him to sleep in a sling or pram. regressed at three months so fed to sleep for a while( that one is the quickest way). Now I can leave him be sometimes and he will take between 10 and 40 mins by himself. 50 percent of the time though he may cry and I do sort of shhh stroke but only on intervals. I have sort of built up slowly an understanding of independent sleep for him. He may regress again, but am just trying to teach him. Just see what happens.

But really, on average it takes 30 mins regardless of method. So, my little one never goes to sleep without a certain amount of time to get there. But, do you know what, neither do I? Takes me over an hour sometimes, especially when sleep deprived.

Ds2 I ended up teaching to self settle from 8 weeks as otherwise he got no sleep with his big brother (who has ASD) around (even sling stopped working at that point as I'd be sitting on the ground with ds1, playing, and the baby was a big baby so would get bumped etc and wake). I'd put him in his cot, swaddled in 'SwaddleUp' zip up swaddle, and leave the room, then do shush-pat if he didn't go quiet within two minutes. He only did 40 minute naps until around six months. Now at 11 months he does 1.5 hours twice a day, self settling. Ds1 I just fed to sleep and then transferred into cot until he was four months and then he figured out how to self settle with no input from me. In your situation I'd stick with sling for now and then slowly teach your baby to settle when they're more like 12 weeks. May not work then either but you can only try. White noise helped my ds1 if he didn't want to feed to sleep while tiny.