Babywearing setting me up for future sleep problems?

marybeth1699

LO is 7 weeks old and doesn't nap during the day well so I find myself wearing him to make sure he sleeps. If I wear him he will sleep for an hour or two but if I dont he only sleeps 30 minutes. I didn't wear DS1 very much because I didn't have to but with DS2 I just can't dedicate the same amount of time to getting him down for naps and I also need to be mobile to play with DS1. Anyhow, I am just wondering if I am setting myself up for future leep problems by wearing DS2 all the time? Anyone have any experience or input?

kimswim26

I have wondered about this as well. Interested in answers...

Tampasomedaybride

I wore ds1 everyday from about a week old. He at 2.5 goes to sleep in his own bed at 8:30 and sttn until 7am. He goes down for a nap at 1:30 daily and sleeps for at least two hours. He doesnt require anything special to be put to sleep at all. He crawls in bed with his pacifier and lovey (blankets) and he's good to go. And I should add that we co-slept (even bedshared) until 9 months and I nursed to sleep until 9 months as well. When he weaned we had to lay with him until he went to sleep. We got away from doing this around a year or so.

With DS2 I have worn him almost daily since a week as well. And he started STTN at 2 weeks old. Granted he will only nurse to sleep and often likes to be held while sleeping. But for goodness sakes he's only 5 weeks old! Honestly the easiest thing to do with parenting is over-analyze. But really in a year or so it will all work itself out and you will be shocked at how seamlessly they grow and change and adapt. We never did ANY kind of sleep training with DS1 at all and he is a model sleeper. I honestly believe it has more to do with the individual child than it does with parenting choices. But that's JMO.  

sadsadie

I wouldn't think so. I'd xp this to the attachment parenting board. 

Remeber, you can't "spoil" a baby by holding or wearing them too much. Also, generally speaking, sleep begets sleep!  

TMNTgirl

During the first few weeks and up until about 2ish months old DS2 would only nap while being worn or held. I did whatever I could to make sure he got good sleep during the day. But I was also kinda stressed about bad habits too.

He just turned 3 months old and its already getting better. He will fall asleep in the swing for anywhere from 30mins to an hour. He definitely sleeps longer when being held, but he also seems to be adjusting pretty well to the swing during the day and his crib at night.

The good thing about him napping while being worn is that we can still go out in the am with our toddler. We went to the zoo this weekend and when the baby got tired I was able to just pop him in the carrier and still enjoy being out with DS1.

anonsouthernbell

Nope @ least that's been my experience w dd.

Hyaline

I can't answer for the long term--DD is only a month old.  While she's not great at naps on her own yet (though she's getting better) I have noticed that when she's worn a lot during the day, she's less fussy and goes down easier at night.  My guess is that she got the sleep she needed and being worn reduced how much stimuli she was exposed to--seems like when she gets overstimulated she fusses a ton in the evening.

bearkatjen

I wore DS for naps almost exclusively for the first three months. Then he started to want more room to stretch, and so we started naps together on my bed, and pretty soon I had him napping in his crib and putting himself down. He has always been a great napper, and I kind of think that's because he got into the routine of nice long naps from an early start.

pixieprincss

It is fine (and very healthy) IMO.  Baby slept being "worn" since conception. And slept perfectly in there, right?  It is perfectly normal that baby wants the rythym of your body as well as the noises, warmth,  touch, etc.