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Help! 13mo will only nap in my arms

2 replies

Happyhousewife2020 · 08/02/2022 13:55

Hi all,

My 13 month old boy has never been a good napper but since he was 11 months old he will only nap in my arms. Best case scenario is when he sleeps for 20 minutes in his cot then wakes up hysterical. When I pick him up he immediately falls back to sleep but wakes up as soon as I try to put him down. He is on one nap a day and has been since 11 months old.

I sleep trained him at 8 months old. At bedtime he falls asleep by himself, peacefully and sleeps for whooping 12 hours. Falling asleep by himself doesn't seem to have the desired effect at naptime tho :(

I'm really struggling with this as I don't get any time to myself and housework always takes me so much longer when I have to get it done when my son is awake.

I know - I've created a bad habit by holding him for his nap. Being an exhausted mama I just can't bear listening to any more crying and need quiet time! I've reached a point when I'm really resenting this so would do whatever I need to do to get him to nap in his cot, however, I don't know what that is. Please help :(

OP posts:
babysleephelp · 08/02/2022 14:00

Hey. I would do the same training as you did for nighttime. It's always harder for nap time as you don't have melatonin working in your favour but with some practice and perseverance it will work. Don't worry about bad habits, it's not bad to have cuddle naps, but if it's not working for you anymore then decide on a good time to start (maybe not when teething for example) and go for it. Good luck

Happyhousewife2020 · 08/02/2022 15:54

Thank you for the encouraging words!

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