Baby Won't Nap Without Being Held

[ADTB]

I'm hoping someone can help me with my 3 month old who fights his daytime naps.

He is suffering from colic and so is generally quite an unsettled baby. For the last three weeks, we have managed to get him in his Moses basket at nightime (around 8pm) and this is no longer an issue as he happily sleeps in here through the night, wakes for feeds and then goes back down in there.

However, he absolutely will not go in his basket or cot for naps in the day.

I've tried to come up with a schedule the last few weeks and he needs a nap every 1.5-2hours to avoid the crazy overtired meltdowns. When I pick him up for a nap, he spends a good ten minutes crying, throwing his fists about and kicking. I rock him and shush him and give him his dummy and eventually he will go to sleep. However if I then put him down once he's asleep, he immediately wakes up. I've also tried putting him in his basket while he's still awake but drowsy with his mobile on and white noise, but he just lies there staring for 20-30 minutes before crying again.

I feel like I spend all day pinned to the sofa which is getting me down. And it's frustrating me that I know he can do it in the night and I'm not sure why he won't do it in the day.

Has anyone got any ideas or advice? Thank you

Had the same problem. In the end I put the Lo in the pram and rocked him to sleep in there some days would take an hour to get him off to sleep or a walk out in the pram. Still rocking him to sleep now at 5 months. He too refuses to sleep.

Have you got a sling? He might nap in one while you get on with your day?

Second the sling suggestion! My 16-week-old does all her naps in the sling or carrier (except right now she's in the pram because she pooed on the sling) and I can shop/prep food/read Mumsnet/eat biscuits/chuck a wash on, etc, with her koalaed to my front

Mine is the same!! Sleeps like an angel all night but nigh impossible to get her to nap during day. Mornings are ok but if we miss her window by a minute she's be up for hours and sometimes wont even sleep when we nail the window. On us or in cot or anywhere! I'm freaking out this will be a long term issue. It's painful to watch an overtired baby and it's damaging to their health. I'm really annoyed that advice from professionals has to be sought privately as this is a health issue. We have tried absolutely everything and it's starting to make me insane. I feel like a failure at this 😭

Thank you ladies. What kind of sling is best? A soft one or one of the more structured ones?

@HJ82 it's so hard isn't it?! I'm constantly feeling like I'm making the issue so much worse by rocking him to sleep and that he will never be able to sleep by himself but when they are in such a state what else are you supposed to do? I feel exactly the same. It's exhausting! I feel you x

If you can find a sling library near you you could try out some different ones. My Dd loved the Baby Bjorn mini carrier when she was tiny but other people prefer the softer "origami" slings that are more like a scarf.

Same here too... I have resorted to what is basically co sleeping for naps (lo sleeps in a cot at night so it took me a while to try this). I feed her to sleep in bed and stay in with her. It's an absolute pain but better than no naps at all!

Not ideal when out and about but can you lay down and cuddle to get them to sleep? Putting them down sets of the internal startle reflex apparently but if you can do lay down and then move means you don't need to put them down. I breastfeed though so if bottle fed I'm not sure it would work and obviously won't work at all if you don't ever feed to sleep!

I had to rock dd to sleep in her pram, or wear her on my back in a wrap sling which was a body nightmare to get her into when I was on my own! But she screamed if she was on my front for some reason.

She finally progressed to the crib if I wiggled it gently when I put her in and I lessened that until she would go down with no help.

My third baby is like this. Not sure it's what you want to hear but 3 months is still so young. I just embrace it now, hugs on the couch catching up on some Netflix. If I wasn't doing that then I would probably just be doing housework anyway while he slept.

My DS2 was exactly the same until he was 6 months or so. I watched a lot of box sets! 😄

Rock in the Pram, they get used to going asleep without you.

My 3 month old is the same right now. As PP have said, a sling is the only way to get her to nap in the day.

Personal choice really about type of sling. I found a wrap sling good earlier on but my structured carrier (ergobaby 360) is quicker to put on and better for my back.

Definitely try and find a sling library near you to test them out (try fb for local groups).

I seem to remember my first DC doing this until around 4/5 months, then she was happier to go in the pram.