Transitioning to crib from Moby for naps?

MsPurple24

I have been wearing my very colicky infant for 3 months in the Moby.  While she sleeps well at night in the co-sleeper, she naps on me or DH in the Moby for every single daytime nap.  This has worked fine for us so far and I love wearing her around the house or out and about.  We're now past the colic stage, YAY!!

I have 2 reasons to want her to start napping on her own.  One is the upcoming summer- she is getting heavier and the weather is getting warmer, enough said!

The second reason is that I'll be going back to work full time in mid-August.  I've made it my mission to figure out how to get her to nap before I put her in daycare, otherwise I'm afraid I'm setting up my DCP for a screaming baby (and the anxiety alone for me, wondering if she's screaming because she's tired and I'm not wearing her... I just can't bear it).

Any advice on weaning from wearing to non-wearing for a 3-month-old?  None of our attempts so far have worked- letting her fall into a deep sleep and then removing her, trying to swaddle her and rock her to sleep, nothing has worked yet and as soon as she starts crying hard enough, she just ends up back in the Moby... 

LoriFalce

I wish I had advice for you. Joseph was just like your daughter, a colicky baby who, even when the colic was over, only napped while being held or Moby-ed with me or my husband. He would, post-colic, sleep fine in his crib at night, but if I tried to put him in it during the day, he would scream and cry like I was lowering him into boiling oil. We couldn't even put him down after he'd fallen asleep without problems. His 2-hour naps would become 20 minutes.

sucredee

No advice here either since my 1 y/o still sleeps in the swing/car or ergo for naps and does not want to nap in her crib. She sleeps well in her crib at night and always has. One thing I wanted to say is that I was worried that she would have problems at daycare when she started at 6 months, but she napped in her crib without any problems from day 1 (and so did my friend's 4 month old whbo is a bad crib napper as well). They will do things there they won't do at home. So if you aren't successful in getting her to nap in her crib prior to going back to work I wouldn't worry about that part so much. Good luck with the transition!

MsPurple24

LoriFalce:

I wish I had advice for you. Joseph was just like your daughter, a colicky baby who, even when the colic was over, only napped while being held or Moby-ed with me or my husband. He would, post-colic, sleep fine in his crib at night, but if I tried to put him in it during the day, he would scream and cry like I was lowering him into boiling oil. We couldn't even put him down after he'd fallen asleep without problems. His 2-hour naps would become 20 minutes.

Yep, that's our daughter exactly.

MsPurple24

sucredee:

No advice here either since my 1 y/o still sleeps in the swing/car or ergo for naps and does not want to nap in her crib. She sleeps well in her crib at night and always has. One thing I wanted to say is that I was worried that she would have problems at daycare when she started at 6 months, but she napped in her crib without any problems from day 1 (and so did my friend's 4 month old whbo is a bad crib napper as well). They will do things there they won't do at home. So if you aren't successful in getting her to nap in her crib prior to going back to work I wouldn't worry about that part so much. Good luck with the transition!

That's good to hear- I also believe that the stimulation of being around all those children (toddlers, mainly) will wear her out and she'll sleep easier because of that.  It's the "going down" part I'm worried about.

If anyone has had success with this, please share!  Thanks!

konaboomom

Perhaps you could try lying down with her for her naps? My DD was the same way and at about 4 months I decided I wanted to try and transition her to her crib. She would only nap for 20 min so I started lying down with her in bed. She would take about 2 hour naps! It was glorious! Granted I didn't get that much done, but I did get to rest and read.

MsPurple24

konaboomom:

Perhaps you could try lying down with her for her naps? My DD was the same way and at about 4 months I decided I wanted to try and transition her to her crib. She would only nap for 20 min so I started lying down with her in bed. She would take about 2 hour naps! It was glorious! Granted I didn't get that much done, but I did get to rest and read.

That's a good idea, and someone from my local board just suggested it today, too.  In general, she likes to be upright and bouncing in order to fall asleep... but since we do a lot of co-sleeping, maybe it will work.  I'll give it a shot, thanks!

Oh, and I would be more than happy to lie down with her during the day- I currently spend my whole day bouncing on the exercise ball, and I'm exhausted!! 

catdwg83

Its against the rules, but we started by putting LO on our soft, down pillow (to keep him inclined due to reflux) after we kind of molded it for his body so he couldn't roll anywhere or into the pillow & suffocate. I think the pillow on both sides of his face & our scents made him feel like he was tucked against us. Then put a blanket over his lower half (or sometimes just used the Moby) & tucked it under the pillow so he couldn't pull it over his head. It mimicked the warmth of the wrap. Then he got a paci & some sound machine music, & I'd lay with him & pet his head until he fell asleep.

Yep, its almost as elaborate as it seems. But it really takes <15min to get him asleep & I can sneak out of the bed. Good news: we only had to do it for about a month. My LO is a really really really light sleeper, so we have to start naps where they will occur lol otherwise forget it. We're currently moving to his crib at night, but he still sleeps on the bed for naps. We can just lay him down now though, no blanket or music, & minimal head petting.

I keep the monitor on the pillow so that I hear him breathing & know if he even flinches. I also check on him constantly, but thats because I'm a worrywart & I know pillows are a no-no. 

catdwg83

I forgot about daycare, but no real advice with that since I SAH. I think once you get her used to sleeping alone, even if you start her out sleeping with her, she'll get the idea & get better & better at falling asleep & self-soothing back to sleep. Good luck