Naps and bedtime routine

[Reecex]

My lb is 13wks, he's FF and currently sleeps from 10/11pm til 6/7am. He's a bad cat napper through the day and will only sleep either in the mamaroo or car/pram with movement. This however is a huge step from only sleeping cuddled in to either my partner or I. I can't seem to get a routine at bedtime and also would like advice on getting my lb to sleep laying flat without movement. The problem is only during the day cos as I said at night time he sleeps great. I would like to do bath feed and bed around 7.30 but he's always talking away at that time of night and I think it's maybe cos he sleeps so much through the day, either long with movement or short and sweet 10 min naps a lot through the day. I would like him to nap in his crib through the day in my bedroom but he lasts a few minutes then he's up again. So you can imagine he sometimes gets very over tired and that makes a grumpy baby. All help welcome and encouraged please x

13 weeks is a little young to put him in the bedroom for all naps (SIDs prevention advice is that they should sleep wherever you are for the first 6 months; people don't follow this religiously but at less than 4 months I'd keep him with you).

At that age I tended to put DD in the pram in the house for naps so that I could get on with stuff downstairs. I found that putting the pram by the window (or even in the garden) gave her something to look at which meant that if she was fighting sleep at least she was lying there being entertained by birds, trees, washing blowing around.

Around 5 months I had huge battles with DD re daytime napping and at this point I mentioned it to my GP who said they need absolute consistency and to put her down for a nap same time every day and that within ten days most babies will get used to the idea and have a nap! I chose to focus on the lunchtime nap and to have her sleeping in the cot for naps. It was a tough few days but on day 5 she napped properly! You need to find a ten day stint where you'll be at home every day for consistency while you're establishing it. Please note I'm not talking about controlled crying or anything like that, just creating the routine of going for a nap in the same place at the same time. If he cries go to him, quick cuddle, wind and put down again. Do this 2 or 3 times before stopping that day's attempt.

It's great that he sleeps so well at night!

No advice about the naps really as I am basically in the same boat. My lg is 21 weeks and will only nap on me, in the sling, or in moving pram/car during the day. She sleeps pretty well at night from about 7.30-6 with one or two feeds in the night, but will usually go back into the next to me bed during the night. There is no way she would do that in the day!

Personally I am reluctant to get too much of a solid routine going in the daytime anyway as I want to be flexible. The HV said its fine, just go with it and follow her cues - some days she will want to nap more than others. However I know others like to have a routine.

So really I am just enjoying the baby snuggles! She worked out the night time thing in the end so I'm hoping it will happen in the day too at some point. She is only small and the snuggles won't last forever!

Let us know if you find the magical solution!

I say my bedroom for a nap as I live in a very small flat it's not like I'm leaving him on his own, I'm literally the other side of the wall doing housework.
Anyway thanks for the advice regarding the nap situation ill give it a go.
It's amazing he sleeps so well, we have all just woken up and it's almost 9am!!

Oh and I'm really enjoying the cuddles but I do need to get stuff done around the house and would like to get a routine ASAP as at 5.5months I'm going to college so he needs routine.
Any ideas on how to get him to sleep around 7pm? (not suggesting all the way through) he sleeps from like 9 til 10/11 when I dream feed him and then right through the night but 9 is a bit late I would like the 7.30 bedtime in place but he's wide awake at this time...

My baby is almost 6mths and she naturally adjusted her bedtime from 9 to 7ish a few weeks ago. We tried to force it when she was about 4mths and we were all miserable. So we let’s things happen naturally and we found bedtime gradually getting earlier. We have a consistent bedtime routine but it’s nothing fancy - bath, baby lotion, story and geo-bag.

For daytime naps again it happened naturally. She started properly going for them in her crib when she was around 5mths. She now has at least one a day there, usually for 1.5hrs.