16 week old - help to nap in cot

[Ehc1989]

Hi all, my DS is 16 weeks old (in 2 days time). Naps recently have gone to pot - presuming part of sleep regression. He also has in the last few days refused to take his dummy which helped him nap in his next to me. Now I have no idea how to settle him in his cot. I enjoyed one nap a day in there so I could spend time with my daughter/prep dinner etc. Without him taking the dummy I feel a bit stumped. Also not sure I’m using correct wake windows so advice on those would be great too please!

Hi EHC,

My son is 3.5 months old. Congratulations on the safe arrival of your son.

I feel that wake windows really do depend on your baby. I wouldn’t try to force something that isn’t working. My son currently does 90 mins first thing in the morning and last thing at night, and around 105 mins in the middle. I adjust this depending on how he’s looking.

I do a lot of pram naps with my son, but when I put him down in his bed, I use an abridged version of his bedtime routine. I make sure that he’s sleepy, sing him lullabies, pop him in his swaddle and gently rock him. He does still take a pacifier, which definitely helps him to relax.

I would suggest keep offering it to him. They change so much at this stage.

Will he sleep in the pram? I found it was loads easier to get them to sleep in the pram, then you can just park it somewhere quiet in the house and you have the time to do whatever you want. Easy when you’re out for the day too if you have a baby that’s used to pram naps and doesn’t need a dark, quiet room.