Sleeping in cot

[Faye2016]

I'm trying to get my 6 month old to sleep in her cot for naps. I was holding her for naps and then at night we co sleep- not what I wanted originally but we couldn't get her to go down in the crib. I quite liked co sleeping to start with but now she wakes very frequently and is hard to get back to sleep and I think it is us waking us up - so I thought I'd try getting her in the cot in the day to start with as I'll be less tired.

We have a routine: into sleeping bag, lullaby music on and I rock her to sleep, hold for 10 minutes then I put her down in the sleep pod in her cot.

The first day she woke every time I put her down, but for 3 days now she stays asleep whilst I put her down and for another 5 minutes then her eyes just pop open wide awake! I've tried holding her for longer but she still wakes after 5 minutes!

I was wondering if anyone has any tips? Would it be better to do night times first? Or all at once? I wonder if small things wake her up (twitch movement etc) and she can't get back to sleep on her own- 8in which case how to you teach them to self soothe. Or will it just take time for her to get used to being away from me. I breast feed and I know she isn't waking because of hunger!

Thanks

No real advice about naps in the cot but it's normal for BF babies to go through phases of waking car more frequently at night. It's to do with regulating your supply. Does she not go back to sleep when you're feeding her at night?

Do you mind holding her for naps? If it doesn't bother you, then I would carry on. You could spend weeks of hard work trying to get her to sleep in her cot and even then she might keep waking up after a short sleep.

At night-they do go through phases of waking more frequently through the night. I always found it easier to feed back to sleep lying down rather than going in and out to them in a cot through the night. Everyone is different though, you need to find a way that works for you at this particular phase as they change so quickly and just when you think you've sorted it they start with something else!

The self soothing-some people believe it's something you can teach, others believe it's a developmental thing like learning to walk. Have a read about it. Personally, I fed to sleep until mine were ready to self soothe.

This thread is good
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/sleep/2848823-has-anyone-breastfed-their-child-to-sleep-and-they-ve-self-settled-eventually-without-sleep-training

She does go back to sleep most of the time when I feed her to sleep although recently she wakes Around 2 and won't feed back to sleep and it can take 2 hours to rock her to sleep! I don't mind holding her in the day but a bit worried about when she starts nursery at the end of April. Also I thought if I could get her in the cot at least for the first part of the evening I could have a tiny bit of an evening! At the moment I go to bed with her between 7 and 8!! Thanks for your comments

I never bothered with the cot for naps really. I was lazy, and DS ended up napping on the sofa or a mat on the floor . He'd fall asleep on me and then I'd put him down and cuddle him for a few mins and he'd be fine.

I had a hell of a time trying to get DD1 to nap in the cot and ended up getting really stressed by it all. She wasn't interested and although she would eventually go down, she would only sleep for half an hour at a time andit really wasn't worth the aggravation.

(Disclaimer - ours is a very firm, wide sofa, and perfectly safe for a baby to sleep on)

Could she be going to bed too early if she's waking up at 2 for a couple of hours? That might be wrong but just a suggestion. It could just be a little phase though that will pass.

Would she not transfer into cot for first part of evening if you feed her to sleep first? Or could you get bed rails and a video monitor and then she can sleep in your bed safely while you come downstairs?

I wouldn't worry about naps at nursery, it'll be so different there anyway and they will be used to getting babies to sleep for them.

I went through the phase of having to go to bed with DD as well. It was rubbish at the time but it didn't last forever. I've got no advice though, I just decided to go with it for an easy life.

I really wouldn't worry about nursery. They're absolute miracle workers! DD had only BF or been in the car/pram/sling for a nap when she started and she slept without any problems for them from the first day! They didn't put her in a cot though, they had little beds on the floor as well which may have helped.

Change the way you're doing things if you want to but I really wouldn't bother for nursery or anyone else!

Also I got my evenings back by feeding to sleep in our bed with foam bed guards and sneaking away. Much easier than a cot transfer!

The only thing that worked for us for naps was white noise, played constantly all the way through the nap routine and the nap itself. For some reason it just helps him stay asleep!

Thanks for the advice- she currently wakes up if i try and sneak away once I've fed her to sleep but I'll keep trying!