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Upstate NY Babies
Nighttime=Great, Naptime=FAIL (long)
I am so excited about how O has been sleeping at night - He's been giving me 5-6 hour stretches of sleep each night - and waking up in the AM between 6 and 7.
However, during the daytime, I get so frustrated, because it is such a chore to get him to nap! He likes being held vertically, and walked around. It will put him to sleep, but once I lay him in his RNP (which he sleeps in at night) or his PNP bassinet or his crib, he seems to wake up the minute I leave the room! I can even watch him sleep for 15 min to make sure hes entered a deep sleep, but once I leave - BAM - awake.
Im getting frustrated, because Id like to eat, clean my house, etc, but I feel like Im tethered to LO.... dont get me wrong, I love the snuggling, but sometimes I need a break!
To top it off, I am supposed to go back to work on Monday the 25th, and For the next 4-5 weeks work PT from home... but Owen isnt starting DC until Aug 22, and so I am REALLY scared that I wont be abl to get him into a nap routine, because at this point, there is NO way that I can get work done here with him....
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Re: Nighttime=Great, Naptime=FAIL (long)
Evan didn't nap in his crib till he was almost 6 months.... he always napped in his swing. He would sleep fine at night in his crib or bassinet, but not for naps. When I did transition him to the crib, he would only sleep if I rocked him to sleep for a good 20 minutes first... so I felt like I hardly got anything done because by the time he was in his crib, he'd be up 30 minutes later. So, I totally get needing some time to yourself. Eventually I had to do some CIO w/ him for naps (when he was about 8 months, obviously not suggesting you do that w/ your LO!)
Since he's still so young there might not be much you can do. Have you tried to lay him down in the RNP or PNP while he's awake and rubbing his belly or back till he falls asleep? Is he swaddled? That always helped Evan sleep.
If all else fails you can always wear him to get things done. I would wear Evan and he would fall asleep most times. I could vacuum, clean-up, make lunch, prep dinner etc, all while he napped or hung out in the Bjorn.
Just remember it gets easier... before you know it he'll be too big to rock to sleep, and believe me you'll miss it! Cherish those snuggles and let him nap on your shoulder while you rest too! Then let DH know you need a break at some point when he gets home so you can shower, clean up etc.
Lorenzo napped on me for the first 6 months- he was fine at night in the bed but during the day it was me or basically a 20-40 minute nap.
I agree with NikCole- try the swing.
And its true, once you get a "routine"- they change it on you...
DD would only nap in her swing also at that age. In fact, we had her do all naps in the swing until she was 1 yr old. The only reason we stopped was bc we went on vacation and did consider bringing it, but ended up not.
We lived by the 5s for naps....she was in the swing, with white noise, swaddled, placed on her side, and had the binky. And she was a great napper unless one of those stopped (like when the batteries would die).
Try reading the Baby Whisperer. We realized some things we were doing "wrong" with Parker that weren't helping him to nap well and sleep well.
One thing she does talk about in the book though, is that at one month old they should't be sleeping that long at night because they aren't getting the nourishment they need, which could be leading to your daytime problems. Just a thought!
Also, since we have been in a routine with Parker (not a schedule per se) he is so much happier and eats and sleeps consistently, can fall asleep on his own too without a binky. It was work though, i won't lie to start at 2 months, but so worth it in the long run. At least you are only one month in, so you might be in a better position to start!
Good luck!
Ehh...My plan for #2 is to do whatever it takes for sleep. So I really don't care if we create a hundred bad habits. They really are not that bad to break them of. Once they are older, you just have a couple nights of crying at the most. Getting her out of the swing actually went super smooth and I had it really built up in my head that it would be horrible. Same thing with the swaddle, nursing to sleep, and only putting her in the crib already asleep. The binky was about 1.5 bad days when we stopped around 14 months old, but was such a life saver those first several months that it was well worth it.