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Original poster

Contact naps

12 replies

Kaylina · 08/11/2023 11:43

Anyone has any recommendations on how to progressively stop contact naps?

I have a 12 weeks old, she sleeps amazingly well at night in her crib. She now does 7pm to 5/6am!

But during the day.. she only wants to sleep on me. If I put her in her crib it takes me forever to put her to sleep (IF I manage to) and she would only sleep for 20 min max 40 min. By this time she's super cranky cause she's tired.

If I let her sleep on me she would sleep 2 hours at a time sometimes even more if she's having a growth spurts!

I'm just desperate to get some sort of life back, instead of just literally seating on the rocking chair all day. I'm starting to go insane...

And yes I do have a sling, but it doesn't solve the issue really... I also have a prolapse so having her in a sling all day is not really an option.

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Olika · 08/11/2023 11:46

Have you tried lying down and rolling her next to you on bed? Then stay next to her for a moment and then move away if you have other stuff to do.

Original poster
Kaylina · 08/11/2023 12:00

Olika · 08/11/2023 11:46

Have you tried lying down and rolling her next to you on bed? Then stay next to her for a moment and then move away if you have other stuff to do.

She doesn't care about me being next to her, she wants to be ON me haha!

So yeah I tried, but it doesn't work :(

OP posts:
GinnyBee · 08/11/2023 12:00

Mine was 9 months when he stopped contact napping. It just wasn't working so well anymore and we had transitioned him into a floor bed so I could lie down next to him until he was asleep and then roll away. I used a baby carrier a lot and took the dog for walks or did some chores while he slept. Occasionally I could get him to sleep in his pram and then parked it outside in our garden, I have a cry alarm that can be clipped onto the pram hood so I could go and do stuff around the house.

I get the feeling of wanting to be able to do stuff, but this is a short season in the end! It doesn't feel like it now, but it will. If your baby doesn't nap well away from you then try to find ways to enjoy the rest and snuggles.

Original poster
Kaylina · 08/11/2023 16:47

GinnyBee · 08/11/2023 12:00

Mine was 9 months when he stopped contact napping. It just wasn't working so well anymore and we had transitioned him into a floor bed so I could lie down next to him until he was asleep and then roll away. I used a baby carrier a lot and took the dog for walks or did some chores while he slept. Occasionally I could get him to sleep in his pram and then parked it outside in our garden, I have a cry alarm that can be clipped onto the pram hood so I could go and do stuff around the house.

I get the feeling of wanting to be able to do stuff, but this is a short season in the end! It doesn't feel like it now, but it will. If your baby doesn't nap well away from you then try to find ways to enjoy the rest and snuggles.

Somehow telling people to enjoy something they're clearly struggling with is not helpful. I don't enjoy being stuck on the sofa all day, everyday for the past 3 months and I don't plan on doing it for another 6 months. I hated the newborn phase, and I'm glad she's getting out of it. And I will still hate it looking back on it in a few months/years time. It's not because you enjoy something that everyone does. Newborn phase is extremely hard for some, and not always enjoyable.

I enjoy a few snuggles here and there but being stuck all day is something else.

I'm looking for actual advice on how to manage to make her sleep in her crib during the day.

OP posts:
raindayrain · 08/11/2023 22:01

I have a 5 months old and I remember really clearly they only wanted to sleep on me when they were a newborn. I also tried all sorts of ways to get baby to sleep in their bassinet but failed. This contact napping era lasted about a month and one day, my DC didn’t need to sleep on me anymore and that was that. Babies go through phases and contact napping seems to be one of many!

GinnyBee · 09/11/2023 10:12

Sorry my intention wasn’t to minimise but to offer advice and perspective. I too hated it until I changed my expectations. Do you have a baby carrier or a sling? That way baby can nap snuggled into you while you do things.

tramjagged · 29/12/2023 07:29

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Rosiiee · 29/12/2023 07:59

Aw I miss my contact naps. They were my favourite and now he’ll only sleep on me if he’s sick 😭

Actual advice, white noise. Used it for both my boys and still using it for my DS 23 months. Also try make the bed more ‘welcoming’. Hot water bottle to warm the bed before transfer, try putting one of your shirt in there for the smell, make room a ‘sleep only’ zone. I fed to sleep for well over a year! But really it’s just persistance- settle, resettle etc… hopefully as she gets older she’ll take to the sling a bit more.

Just to add, do you swaddle? We used the love to dream suits with the arms up. He hated having arms down and wouldn’t sleep.

mikasa23 · 24/02/2024 01:41

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2mummies1baby · 01/03/2024 19:49

We started doing cot naps at 4.5 months and my baby was like yours- would usually only nap for half an hour, sometimes only 20 mins- she was on 4 naps per day for a while. When she hit 6 months, she suddenly started sleeping for longer stretches in her cot. I would persevere for now, OP- I remember I was so fed up of being 'nap trapped' that even 20 minutes without her on me was wonderful!

Alexa35331 · 16/09/2024 08:15

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Mumofoneandone · 16/09/2024 08:41

It's really hard, I think my daughter was very like that for a long time. Don't think it's unusual though - so if it's any comfort, you are not alone.
Just reflecting, think we use to use the pram or moses near to us downstairs, so they could be rocked during the day for sleeping/non contact time. Remember it working quite well.
I know at about 8 months, I popped my daughter in her pushchair so that my Dad could take her for a walk to get her to sleep. By the time he went out to her, she was asleep!
It continued for a long time with both her and her younger brother that they would only really sleep in the pushchair during the day. We rolled with it and it worked well.
It isn't easy and hopefully will improve soon.

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