Naps - bat habit?

[Sunnyx]

My little boy is 4 months and when at home (not car or pram) I feed to sleep then let him just nap on me. I would rather he slept in his cot but when I put him in there, he doesn't settle. If I put him down after he's fallen asleep on me, he either wakes or only naps for up to 45 mins. He can sleep for a few hours if he's on me. Any advice to break this habit?

Any advice to break this habit?

My answer is based on the assumption that you want to stop holding baby for naps.

Transferring an already asleep baby is not a good habit to get into if your aim is for baby sleep in the cot. Baby needs to go to sleep where he falls asleep in the long term (read up on ' environment checks' babies do in their sleep cycles for more info on why this is).

So that could mean baby:

• feeding to sleep in your arms and staying there
• feeding to sleep on floor/bed and staying there
• going from awake to asleep with the movement of the pushchair
• going from awake to asleep with the movement of the car in car seat
• going from awake to asleep with the movement of the bouncy chair (useful at home if baby likes movement)
• going from awake to asleep in the sling and staying there

Or

• going from awake to asleep in the cot

There is no benefit or positive help in sleep habits to try and move baby once already asleep. At best it doesn't teach good sleep hygiene in the long term, at worse it disrupts sleep short term and teaches nothing long term.

So if baby is going to go to sleep in your arms, your arms are the best place for baby to stay asleep. If you want baby sleeping independantly of you then it requires much more work from you to achieve it. How it is achieves depends on your parenting style.

Have you tried baby with a dummy recently Sunnyx? Dummies are amazing tools for no crying sleep.

If baby sleeps with the movement of a pushchair, try a bouncy chair when at home.

It really depends WHY tou want to stop. Are you enjoying the cuddles but you're just worried it will last forever? Or are you actually wanting to get baby to sleep on cot? If the former please don't worry it doesn't last forever! You won't be feeding to sleep when he's at uni!

I did that for about 7 months then started feeding to sleep in bed and sneaking away once they were asleep. I don't see it as a bad habit though, totally natural.

Thanks your all your advice. I do love the cuddles. He's not a very clingy, cuddly baby so it's actually the only cuddle time I get! He prefers to be fidgeting and taking everything around him in.

I guess I'm just worried that he will start to only accept naps on me. I think I should be using his nap tins to get stuff around the house done - at the moment when he's awake, I'll rush around for 15 - 30 mins when I really should be giving him my attention.

Last night he actually settled himself to sleep from wide awake which I'm very happy about. I'll try to carry this on and then start on naps I think.

At this age, DS2 took all his naps in the sling while I got stuff done. He still feeds to sleep (15 months). DS1 was the same - he fed to sleep until 30 months when I wrenched the boob from his mouth for the final time and went cold turkey

It's up to you really but the things round your house can wait and it won't be forever. This is my feeling - and so many people I know with grown up kids say they wish they'd made the most of it while they were little x