ds (14 weeks) won't nap easily in day... is rocking, pushing in pram to get him to nap sooo terrible?

[chunkypudding]

only my hv basically said that by 12 weeks we should have 45 min nap morning and afternoon with a 2 hr one over lunchtime... and these MUST be in his cot as otherwise i'm setting us all up for some kind of horrific future - why?

if i push him to hard to do this all the 'right' way we end up with little to no naps at all and a very grumpy little fella who doesn't appreciate being moulded into this routine...

if i drive him around downstairs in his pram, or park it next to the washing machine he'll go off without too much fuss.

and he is pretty good at going down still awake at night and settling himself, goes from 8ish to 1 or 2.30 usually (tho 11 last night) and then wakes up again at 5 or 6 (that bit isn't ideal, but surely thats not a nap issue?)

i always put him back down afer 5/6am feed and he'll chat for a bit then resttle til 7/7.30

sorry long post but can someone pleeease tell me i'm not a crap mum? hv was so bossy and made it sound like this should be easy???

ta xx

resettle

Your HV is an idiot.

Seriously, when people say "you have to put the baby down awake" I say "Are you mad??" Everyone Iknow who's followed this advice has a child who HAS to be in cot to sleep. So now, you have to leave whatever it was you were doing and go home twice a day just to give your kiddo a nap until they deign to grow out of it.

His sleeping habits sound very very good and I wouldn't try to fix something that ain't broke.

I can only agree with mrsgboring. My DS is 14 months now and would only nap in the way you describe at 12 weeks - in fact he was like this for a long time. Whilst he will nap in his cot now, some of his friends the same age will still only nap in their prams but so what? It's the actual nap that counts, not where/how it's taken if you ask me! The fact you don't have to push him round that whole time is a big bonus - I used to have to keep moving in order to keep mine asleep.

Anjelika

I hate all all this 'they should be self settling by X weeks' nonsense. Most babies need cuddles, soothing, rocking, patting, ssshhhhing. It really isn't a crime. Smile, nod, say 'hmmmm, OK, I see' when in the company of your HV. But take what they say with a pinch of salt.

i also agree with the other posters. I am a total routine junkie, but really, you are doing great. If he can settle himself at night, you're laughing. Few kids that small can settle easily in the cot in the daytime. Also, there is a drawback to always sleeping in a cot - it's very restricting for you. At least thins way you can get out and about if yo uwant, while he naps.

Btw, is your hv Gina Ford?

At 14 weeks dd2 would only sleep (during the day) in my arms while I sat on the sofa/walked her around in a sling. She also needed to be helped at night. They grow out of that when they're ready.
Now she will fall asleep anywhere.

If it is working for you and your family then its not a problem.

It sounds like she has been reading Gina Ford.

Hi,

another napper in the buggy with my DS. Still does and he's coming up for 3 in June. He never, ever had a daytime nap in his cot unless he was ill. If we popped in his cot (to try to see if he would drop off)he thought it was a game and chortled away to himself and then made a fuss until we came to get him. Not spooked or anything - just didn't want to be in his cot at that time of the day.

I wore out shoe leather walking and pushing the pram around town twice a day so that he would get a nap. It helped the baby weight drop off! He also liked to be rocked to sleep in his buggy - so the washing machine ruse sounds great to me!

BTW never any probs with him settling in his cot or bed at night. And that's the reason why I never made day time naps in his cot a battleground. Also you say that he's settling himself at the start of his night time sleep so that's another big plus. You've got it sussed! Hope the reassurance helps.

thanks everyone. you have backed up my instincts and made me feel lots better!

with the pram-pushing round the kitchen he's napped really well today. gotta be a good thing!

and i always thought that getting him hooked on naps always being in his cot was kind of impractical. glad you guys do too!

you are all very lovely xx