My baby ONLY naps in the Moby. Help!

acia

So my baby is generally a pretty good napper (with the exception of a couple bad weeks here and there). She is getting pretty predictable as she grows, with a morning, early afternoon, and then a late afternoon/evening nap (and then sometimes a shorter catnap later in the evening). She usually sleeps anywhere from 1-3 hours at each nap. However, she ONLY sleeps in the Moby, which means I'm carrying her around 6-8 hours a day. I didn't mind at first, because I was just happy she was sleeping, but it's getting exhausting, physically and mentally.

Whenever I try to put her down, she wakes up. Even if she's in a deep sleep. And it doesn't help that I can't seem to find a non-awkward way to get her out of the Moby (I either pull her out the top or undo it and let her slip out the bottom - both of which wake her up immediately). Even if I manage to get her out and she's still sleepy, she wakes up when I lay her down.

At night she sleeps well, but I swaddle her and nurse her to sleep (which usually takes at least an hour), and I'm worried that if I start doing this during the day she'll start to get her days/nights mixed up (plus it's so time consuming that it would cut into the day quite a bit).

Anyone else faced this problem? Any advice?

lkstor

This was the case when I was home with DS. I was worried that he couldn't sleep any other way. Turns out he'll fall asleep for DH and the nanny without being worn. I think he was just used to that pattern with me.

moroccojade

This is the only way DD would nap for over a year.  (But in an Ergo.)   We experimented, but I swear she wouldn' t have napped at all otherwise.  We took what we could get.  Was it fun?  No.  How would I prevent it next time?  No idea other than pray...  a lot. 

So I'm obviously no help.  But I can *definitely* sympathise.  The only place she'd nap after that year and a bit was in the car seat. (Got a lot of reading done.  And I often had my laptop in my car.)  In the end, she'd nap in bed with me.  But ONLY if I stayed right with her.  She stopped napping altogether right after her second b-day.

I hope you have better luck with your LO.

mrs.mkd

This was my DD exactly, until about 5ish months. Only she would also nap in the swing, stroller, or car. But never the crib or our bed. Around 4 or 5 months I started trying to get her used to napping in her crib so I would nurse and rock her to sleep with a modified bedtime routine - just trading the bath, massage, pj's part for a diaper change. Most days she only slept in her crib for 15 min. max and then I'd have to moby her or hold her. Eventually (and very gradually) the crib time got longer. Now she still seems to sleep best with motion, but she'll do on average an hour in her crib, and I try to have her in there for all naps unless we're out and about or whatever. Don't worry - it will get better. At your LO's age, it's just natural for them to want to be close and snuggly all the time! It is exhausting at times, for sure, but it will pass.

WiggleBaby

at least you can wear the moby... i couldn't even do that, somehow she KNEW i wasnt holding her with my arms.  i had to rock her in the dark bathroom with the exhaust fan on till she was asleep then try to sneak into the living room and watch tv or use the computer for HOURS.  she's always had bad gas problems and would thrash in her sleep so the wrap didn't work, she needed to be able to re-adjust... ugh.  so i feel your pain too!

around 4ish months, i started putting her in the crib when she would fall asleep.  sometimes i had to re-put her down a bunch of times till she stayed.  then the nap would only be about 20 mins, but it was enough for me to grab some food or something.  it was important to me that she was able to nap in her crib for my own sanity, even though it took a few months to get to a good point.  then she started getting longer in her naps around 7ish months, but they still aren't super long.  and the same deal here that she would sleep in the crib okay at night for some reason.

and btw - i eventually began nursing DD to sleep for all naps around 8 months because she was too heavy to rock anymore, and she has no confusion with night sleep.  at night we do bath and stuff before bed so she knows it is different. 

you'll find what works... it's so hard when they are so tiny.  good luck!

eml569

This may or may not help, but it could be worth a try. Have your tried untying the knot of the moby and laying down next to her on your bed, then slipping the wrap off? Then you could try to arrange the wrap around her so that it wasn't around her face and see what she does. It may take some practice runs but it may keep her from waking when you get her out.

I've found it a lot easier to do it that way in a front wrap cross carry, as opposed to the hug/kangaroo hold. That way once you untie the knot you can unwrap the legs and get that part of the wrap off your shoulder. Then you only have the "cummerbund" part still holding the LO in. Does that make sense at all? 

acia

Thanks for your replies, ladies.... I'm glad I'm not alone! My MIL was sort of shocked (and maybe a bit appalled?) when she came to visit last weekend - apparently babies "should" be sleeping in their cribs by now.

I might try purchasing a 2nd hand swing and see if that works. It seems to be the motion that she really likes, because I can't even sit down in the Moby without her waking up. Which is why it's so exhausting to wear her for 6-8 hours a day - I'm on my feet the entire time, pacing, rocking, walking, etc.

The truth is, I really don't mind her sleeping on me that much (I actually look forward to the cuddle time), but it would be nice to have at least one nap a day that she did on her own so I could put my feet up...

july31firsttimer

jumping in late - i hope this helps, at least mentally. my LO is the same way, although he would also nap in our arms without the moby, for hours. but try putting him down and he'd wake up within 2-3 seconds. when he turned 3 months, I was determined to get him to nap on his own. we started putting him in a secondhand swing with a pacifier (he loves to suck) and that has worked about 3 times, but only for about 30 min max. And it still doesn't work regularly. We have also tried putting him down after he fall asleep and again, about 3 times we've managed to get him to stay asleep for about 30 mins max. THe ritual to get him to sleep is much easier now too - we used to have to take a walk outside or bounce on the yoga ball forever for him to fall asleep, now we just swaddle him (for naps too) and sway a few times and he falls asleep. This is enough to tell me that progress is being made. He is growing and his little body is maturing. It is not as fast as other babies and sometimes I really wish I could be doing something else (you know, like peeing or eating), but mostly I have just adjusted my attitude: I'm taking advantage of every minute I get to hold him now because every day he gets a little bigger. Anyway, I totally empathize with you. Good luck!!

Hippinski

This is the only way K would nap for over 6 months.  Some days it was hard and I felt like I could get nothing done but I just reminded myself that pretty soon she'd be moving and then running and wouldn't want me to hold her anymore.  It seems like it's forever...but I promise in a very short time it will feel like time flew by.