Sleep help, feeling defeated...

mistd78

So I was going to post this on my BMB but everyone there is all about CIO, and I am not a big fan of that.  So DD is 9 months this Saturday, and co-sleeps at night.  The issue we are having right now is that during the day, grandma has her 5 days a week and has been trying to put her down in her crib for naps but she wakes up IMMEDIATELY as soon as she is not right up against you, then having to calm her down from being frantic.  That being said, after several attempts of trying to put her down, she ends up sleeping in her arms for a nap.  During the weekends, we usually nap together as well as I am tired too (I know I should be working on the crib part too :-( I just love the snuggles).  So when DH comes home (he works out of town for 3 weeks at a time) he gets frustrated because he has to hold her during her naps and can't get anything done.  I need some thoughts, feedback, help or something of how to move her naps at least into her crib as smoothly as possible.  I am on the verge of tears because at the end of this month she will be starting with a "daycare" (friend of the family) 2-3 days per week and know that is going to be a huge adjustment for her too.  I am just feeling like I have done her wrong, and now she will have to suffer because of how I chose to do things with her...  Any help???

blu-eyedwife

We did a very slow, gentle transition from being held for naps, to napping on his own.  We did this at 3 months, so he was still swaddled at the time.  Once we broke the swaddle we couldn't just lie him down (he'd just stand right up!) but he would fall asleep almost instantly with either a song or some hand holding and then stay asleep in the crib.  Here's how we did it:

Week 1:  I laid the boppy right beside me on the couch and let LO fall asleep on me.  Then I, ever so slowly, rolled him onto the boppy, its arms supporting him the way mine would.

Week 2: After a week of this, LO appeared to be alright staying asleep on something other than a warm body.  Now it was time to get him to fall asleep on something other than a warm body.  So at nap time, I would lay him in the boppy, lying beside it, holding both his little hands in mine.  And I would sing him a lullaby.  I still had to lie beside him, but by the end of the week, he was falling asleep and staying asleep - not on me!


Week 3: We started the move into the crib.  We swaddled LO at night, when he had no problem sleeping in his crib.  With a very strong morro reflex, moving him into the crib without swaddling guaranteed a wake-up.  So when moving him into the crib for naps, we introduced a daytime swaddle.  I would swaddle him, turn on his white noise Sleep Sheep, and sit in the glider with him, singing a lullaby.  He'd be asleep by the end of the song, and I'd transfer him into the crib.

Weeks 4-5: This was the hardest part of the transition, getting LO to fall asleep on his own in his crib.  Mine was never a "drowsy but awake" kid.  At least for the first 4 months.  But over the course of 2 weeks, he turned into a kid who could go from wide awake to asleep on his own.  First I'd swaddle, then turn on the sleep sheep and lay him in the crib.  Then I'd turn on his Fisher Price Soothe and Glow Seahorse.  It plays music for 7 minutes, and LO would watch the tummy light up, listen to the music, and fall fast asleep

st.augbride

Have you tried wearing LO in a carrier? Both dh and I wear dd for naps, and she sleeps really well this way. She is in daycare during the week and naps in her crib there, though for shorter durations (2 naps each between 30 and 60 min).

cpmich

Also keep in mind that 9 months old is the usual start of separation anxiety. This may have more to do with that than sleep habits.

cpmich

Wearing her is likely the caregiver's best bet for separation anxiety. It may be a rough transition to daycare but you will all get through it. Hang in there!