Did you do anything to get baby to napping in cot or did it just happen when they were ready?

[wishing3]

My 5 month old naps in a sling, on the move for daytime naps ( she’ll sometimes have her first nap in moving pushchair but after that won’t). When we get the timings right she goes to sleep peacefully though we often struggle to get her to link cycles. At some point she will need to start napping in a cot ( for childminder) and it would ideally be good to give my back a rest. Just wondering if people did anything in particular to get their baby to nap in a cot or if it’s developmental and at some point they just started to do this. I don’t won’t to do anything that upsets my baby’s peaceful naps if it’s likely at some point she’ll just be ready for cot naps without me doing anything. Thanks and sorry for rambling!

Have you actually tried putting baby down in a cot for the nap? Try it and see what happens. Maybe I was lucky but my baby has always napped at home in a Moses or cot from birth.

I hadn’t for a while but tried to replicate how I do it at night ( feeding to sleep in dark room) and it failed miserably!

We kept trying and from about 5 months he would do maybe 20-30 mins in his cot then around 7months his naps lengthened and by 10 months he’d nap for 1.5-2hrs in his cot. For us, we used a black out blind and white noise and he was put down in a sleeping bag after stories and rocking to sleep. I know some people don’t bother with all of that for day time naps but it worked for us. He would still nap in a pushchair if we were out, though his naps weren’t always as long.

When he started the childminders he would nap in the pushchair and once he was older, he’d happily nap on her sofa. He also attended a nursery and would nap in the cot or on the roll out mats. He was never bothered by the other children playing etc and didn’t need it dark there. They seem very adaptable at childcare!

She used to months ago but stopped. Maybe she got out of the habit. 😬

Thanks for your replies. She would just cry at the moment though and not even do a short nap.

I agree with just trying to put your baby down in a cot to nap, or something else downstairs that doesn't give movement, so she gets used to it. My DS often napped in the baby bouncer thing we had downstairs, so I could gently touch it to provide a bit of movement, but he also napped fine in the baby box.

Thanks. She is zipped onto my coat in the sling for sensory deprivation so I guess it would need to be a dark room? Was your baby used to napping without this before you tried the cot?

Is there anyone who’s baby wouldn’t originally nap in a cot who then got used to it. Did you need to do anything to achieve this?

Hiya. My baby never used to. Would wake up the second I put her down. But now she will transfer although it's only a 30 minute nap. So I tend to just hold her anyway. But she made this progression without me doing anything. If I was you I would continue once a week attempting it to see if she can do it.

I started trying putting my DD down for naps in the cot around 4.5 months (she’d only sleep on me previously). She protested at first but I done pick up put down and she responded well to it. I started with doing 1 nap a day in the cot (rest on me) and built it up. Granted she’d only sleep for 30 minutes in the cot but 30 minutes free hands was better than 2 hours being pinned to the sofa 😂

Mine used to nap in cot.... and I never closed curtains. I read that baby should know difference between night and day. They always slept fine

DD went from napping mainly on me but could be put down (0-3 months), in the sling while moving during a hellish 4 month sleep regression (4-6m), then come seven months we sleep trained and she also just naturally would be put down for day naps which at some point linked up with one another. At 3.5 years she’s now the last child in her cohort who still naps! Did 2.5 hours today. It does get better

@wishing3

Is there anyone who’s baby wouldn’t originally nap in a cot who then got used to it. Did you need to do anything to achieve this?

Hi OP! My DS never ever slept in his cot until he was 12m. He contact napped until 10 months, then gradually started napping laying next to me in my bed. At 14m we have now reached the stage when he naps twice a day (anywhere between 1-2hrs / nap) all alone, by himself in his cot (which we were about to dismantle haha!!) and I can leave him for the entire duration. I never encouraged him or trained him, just followed his lead. He started wriggle himself out of my arms before falling asleep. That was my cue. We are still in the same room for the night and he just comes to our bed whenever he wakes up, normally around 3-4am. Hope this helps somewhat in answering your question?

Thanks guys!

Consider each nap in the cot as a "practice" - dont worry if it doesn't work and she wakes and has to finish the nap in the sling or whatever. And only try with the first nap of the day as this is usually the most reliable, and if she does wake you have plenty of
Time left in the day to make up the sleep. Once that is nailed, move to the next nap!

I had a sling napper, I used to head out the door 15 mins before she was due a sleep as this was how long it took for her to drop off. When it started getting too cold to be comfortably out for 3 naps a day I fed her to sleep in my arms in bed and just stayed there for the nap, if I put her down on the bed she would normally wake either immediately after 5-10 mins. At 8.5 months I put her down and she didn't wake up, she woke at 30 mins and now slowly this increased. If she wakes after 30 mins now I go up to the cot and resettle her and she can normally do another hour. It has completely changed my day! *night sleep is still atrocious though ha!

Great advice and insight/ thank you!

Roughly followed the method set out in the No Cry Sleep Solution.

With my DD (16 months now) we started to put her down for naps in her cot around 4/5 months. Her naps became cat naps (10-15 mins when they would've been an hour when napping on me!) so we stopped and started again after a few weeks and she just magically napped for an hour in her cot!

We have black out blinds and curtains which help eliminate most of the light in her room (but she will also happily fall asleep in the car when tired so doesn't need it to be put h black) we've also always put her in sleepsuit/pjs and sleeping bag for her nap (the same as bedtime) so she associates it all with going to sleep.
She's always had her bottle on one of us, in the chair in her room, then she falls asleep on us and is transferred to her cot.
We still do this now... it's worked for us but she starts nursery in June so that might rejig our nap/sleep situation.

Thank you both.