DD only naps in the sling. Will she ever outgrow it?

[Marghe87]

My DD is 3 months old ans only ever naps on the sling. We try putting her down in the cot every now and then but we never ever succeed so we always revert to the sling to ensure she gets enough rest during the day.
In the evening she settles fine in her cot (although only of she is swaddled, which is something we are trying to get rid of. But that’s a different story).
I don’t mind carrying her but I am a bit worried this could become an issue in the future. Did any of you have the same problem? How did you solve it?

Same here but DS is 8 months - watching with interest!

My youngest was like this but she wouldn't sleep alone at night either so we had to co-sleep for my sanity!

We did get her to nap in a Fisher Price swing eventually but that was the only place we could put her down without tears.

If it helps any, she's 7 now and takes herself off to bed and sleeps through so it doesn't last forever!

My DS lived in the sling. He's 9 now and sleeps in his bed quite happily.

Just do what works for now. Try other options every now and then and it'll happen.

@ShowOfHands how did your DS settle in the cot eventually?

He never napped in the cot but at night we coslept with the side of the cot taken off and gradually he moved across.

He didn't have chance to nap in the cot though as I had to walk miles and get a bus to take DD to school and pick her up so twice a day he had a good 90mins-2hrs in the sling anyway and he just slept in there.

3 months and still preferring napping on you is normal. They don't even know they're separate beings at that age.

Just keep putting her in the cot every now and then when she's sleepy, clean, warm and full. I really wouldn't worry at 3 months.

Aaaaah.... the Magic Sling of Sleep... fond memories :) DD would only nap in the sling as a baby. I did manage to perfect a technique for slithering out of the sling and lowering her into the rocker chair thing though.

She's a teen now. Loves her bed 😂 It didn't take her til teen years to grow out of it though - I can't remember when but it was certainly before she outgrew the sling.

Sadly my 14 year old DS did not grow out of this and I have to rock him to sleep in a huge sling every evening after he has finished playing online with his friends. He is 5’9” 😞

Fortunately that did not happen and he has been an excellent sleeper in his own bed since aged 2. Same with his brother. Don’t worry OP, this is all completely normal!

Ahahha thank you ladies. I know she won’t be in tbe sling as a teenager :D I just wanted to understand when I should be expecting her to easily nap in the cot instead.

DD2 loved the sling. She's happy in her own bed now at 6. We bedshared until she was 2.

As an aside, DD had a beautifully shaped head as she was never lying down on it!

Mine never once napped in her cot, from about 1yo she would doze on the couch occasionally but that was about it.

My 11yo sleeps in her own bed completely independently 😄

It’s a gradual process. It wasn’t until around 18 months that I was able to get dd to sleep even for a few minutes without touching me. We didn’t know it at the time, but she has some
Sensory issues. I felt near crazed those first couple of years, but I can look back knowing what I know now and I am confident that I gave her exactly what she needed. I’m glad I trusted my instinct to accept her sleep needs, while gradually pushing for more freedom for myself. If I had listened to people with easier babies, I might have done dd real harm.

@SoupDragon

As an aside, DD had a beautifully shaped head as she was never lying down on it!

As did my DS! He napped in the sling from a few days old until 7 months when we did some sleep training. I don’t know what age he would have been to stop with the sling naps if left to his own devices but he took to cot naps pretty easily at 7 months so I think he was ready. 3 months is still so tiny! Many babies still don’t want to sleep alone at that point so just do what you need to do to get them to sleep. It won’t be forever!

@Marghe87 its really wearing isnt it?both my children were the same. My son progressed to the car and then gentle sleep training got him into his cot at 8 months. It changed my life

I know its natural and doesnt last forever but I find it really suffocating - I cant find the jokes about teenagers not doing it funny or helpful.