Daytime napping! Help needed!!

[Gems1783]

My LG is 12 weeks tomorrow and we have been really lucky that she sleeps really well - she's been going 8/9 hours at night for a few weeks now.

My issue is that, although she will nap during the day, this is only if I walk about or rock her until she falls asleep. Once asleep I will then put her down on the couch - she's always slept fine here during the day and think that's why she sleeps well at night as she knows bed is for nighttime sleeps!

She is getting heavier so carrying and rocking her is harder to do and I really want her to get out of this habit and be able to nap without the need for this.

Anyone have experience of this and can provide any tips/advice??

Thanks in advance

How does she go to sleep at night? Is she cosleeping (you mention a bed)? Try to replicate your routine for naps too.

If you are getting good stretches of night sleep, time for more structured daytime sleep. If naps are longer than 1h usually, aim for about 2h awake between naps. Say 9-10am, 12-2/3pm and 4-5pm with a 7pm bedtime.

I think it's pretty normal for that age tbh. My son would only sleep in the pram until he was 6 months but the 6 month point hit and bam he would happily go into his cot for naps. He's nearly 2 now and still happily naps in his cot.

She sleeps in. Next 2 me crib next to our bed at night. I think I just have the fear that she won't settle there during the day then stop sleeping so well at night!! Might just have to try it and see how we go.

It's more likely that if you don't establish good sleep habits in the day, that poor habits will become entrenched and if nights go pear-shaped (as they do naturally - teething, illness, general development) then you'll have a baby who neither sleeps well in the day nor at night

Focus dome attention on daytime naps. It is important.

For context, daytime napping usually continues until around 3 years old. You need to establish it. This isn't dome thing that is part of the newborn months, or even the baby years. It's part if toddlerhood too.

For comparison, I'd never expecting about 9-11h over night sleep plus 3-5h daytime sleep (over several naps) at this age. You are wholly underestimating how much sleep your baby needs.

"For comparison, I'd never be expecting about..."

Sorry for the typing, I have had many gin and tonics as I type this (while watching toddler kids club entertainment on our family hols in the Canaries)

Thank you for your comment FATEdestiny - just to clarify as I maybe wasn't totally clear in my original post - my LG is napping during the day I just have to rock her to sleep to get her to nap, this is the issue not the actual sleeping.

She is sleeping 8/9 hours just now at night and has a long nap after first bottle in the morning - 2 or 3 hours - then 2 or 3 more slightly shorter naps through the day so defiantly getting enough sleep.

It’s totally normal for such a young baby to need help to get to sleep, at anytime of the time but especially naps when the pressure to sleep is lower.

From your post I’m not really sure where you want her to nap? Do you want her to still sleep on the couch next to you or in her crib? Have you tried putting her down awake and seeing what happens? Self soothing is a developmental thing for babies, some do it earlier some take longer. If she’s sleeping well at night and napping for decent lengths of time,I wouldn’t really stress about it to be honest.

My little boy is 7.5 months and up until 2 weeks ago was always rocked to sleep for naps and singing the same song. He was getting so heavy and I was stressing as I was havingg to rock him for 15-20 mins a time 3 times a day and it was getting too much but before I could implement anything he started to resist the rocking and I found I was having to put him down in his cot and pat him to calm him to sleep. So I would say they all change in their own time and you may find she will start resisting soon. I know they do get heavy but enjoy the snuggles as it's only for a tiny bit of their little lives and they become too independent.