12 week old day time naps

[Laura1609]

Hi all

My DS is 12 weeks old and isn’t what you’d call a “happy” or “easy” baby and he’s very colicky.

He gets himself so worked up so easily and much of this in the day time is due to being over-tired but he’s the biggest sleep fighter around! Any tips on helping him to go down for naps in the day? I’m currently noticing his sleepy cues once he’s been awake for 60-80 minutes so I’ll take him upstairs to our room with the curtains drawn and some white noise on and pop him in his sleeping bag (if it’s not too warm in the room) and into his crib. He just fights and fights going to sleep but as soon as he’s on me he’s conked out. If he falls asleep on me I’ll try to do the dreaded transfer but he wakes up immediately and I’ll give him a chance to settle himself back to sleep but the loud crying starts pretty quickly! Any tips welcome.

I also have a 12 week old. Can I just ask why you're putting him in a dark room inside a sleeping bag with white noise for daytime naps? This sounds more like a nighttime routine. Daytime sleeping should be done in a light room with hustle and bustle going on. Do you think that perhaps he's resistive to napping because you're confusing his day/ night sleeping?

@toadabode Just been trying different things. He’s such a light sleeper and gets so easily distracted so when I’ve tried getting him to nap in daylight he’s just so alert and then gets ratty being down as he wants to be up and looking at things.

12 week old here too. I let my baby fall asleep wherever. On me, in the car seat or pushchair if out or in her bouncer at home. I don't put her in her room in the dark as that's her night time rountine.
She's usually awake for 1-2 hours before a nap. Could you just let him sleep on you? My baby only every sleeps for a max of 30 minutes anyway.

@Greggers2017 Most of the time I’ll let him snooze on me, I just wanted to get him into the habit of having a sleep in his crib.
There’s so many things to learn, any other FTMs feel like they spend 99% of their day saying “I don’t know”?!! 😂

OK, update...he dozed on me so I lowered him down in the stealthiest way and he’s currently 20 mins in to snoozing in his crib 🙌 Monitor is on and I’ve got a cup of (decaf 😫) tea in my hand!

Advice is to be in same room as you for all sleep for SIDS prevention OP

It is bloody hard, I know, DS didn't like being put down and I had such anxiety over it. He stopped napping on me eventually but it's still easier for DH to get him down than me at 2.2

I actually miss the snuggle time now- we had a brief reappearance of it this weekend as he had a nasty cold.

@Laura1609 this is my 4th child and I still walk around saying "I don't know". My parenting style is winging it 😂

Daytime sleeping should be done in a light room with hustle and bustle going on.

Yeah, up until a certain age - then they start to become more aware of their surroundings and they do stop randomly falling asleep just anywhere. Vast majority of babies eventually will need a bit of piece quiet and cues for sleeping unless you’re in your car or out with the pram - my one year old certainly won’t sleep with any ‘hustle and bustle’ in the house, and hasn’t since he’s been about 4 and a half months old. 12 weeks is still fairly young though, at that age I would have just cuddled up on the sofa with him or rocked him to sleep in his bouncy chair - so maybe he’s still not quite ready to go to sleep alone or in an awkward inbetween phase. If it’s cuddles he wants I would just carry on for now and then put him down carefully without him waking him if you can.

@Greggers2017 that makes me feel better!! Also, 4!! You’re a hero. I can’t even see how people have more than one at the moment! 😂

This could just be a phase of sleeping on you. My DD done this for about 2 weeks, maybe even longer, and i found it very hard - then one day I just put her in her cot when she was so tired in the dark and she fell asleep.
They wont do this until they are ready though im afraid.
I had tried without success for a while. My DD has a dummy for sleep though which helped.
Before the sleeping on me started she would nap in her swing then she just one day stopped that and wouldn't fall asleep. No idea. What works one week might not work the next.

My DD is 14 weeks and does all her home naps in a dark room in her crib with monitor on. Shes goes in awake but she is so tired. If shes not tired she wont drift off.

Yes im aware napping in a separate room is a SIDS risk but people forget that co-sleeping is actually a higher risk than separate room napping. So please nobody come at me about this unless you also go in on co-sleepers.

Yes im aware napping in a separate room is a SIDS risk

I don’t know anyone who has been able to stick to this reccomendation. A nearly 6 month old isn’t going to nap in a bright, noisy room or sleep in the evening with the tv on and you chatting in the background - so are there really people who go up to bed with their kids at half 7 or earlier (I think my DS was asleep upstairs by half 6 at that age) or sit next to them in a quite and dim room when they’re napping 3 or 4 times a day?