My kid will only sleep in my arms

LHC2011 · July 2011

I have been trying to transition Ethan into the crib for naps all week. Seriously, the kid will only sleep in my arms or on my chest. He is going to daycare in 2 weeks and I don't know what to do. I want to prepare him for a day that doesn't consist of being held all day...but it isn't working. I really don't know what to do with the kid. He is in for a rude awakening in a couple of weeks. Advice please!

(At home he won't sleep in his Rock N Play or swing (I don't think the babysitter has either). He would sleep in the Moby but I know that the sitter won't be wearing him while watching other kiddos.)

sarahice · July 2011

I had the same problem. My LO started DC on Monday and didn't take a nap at all b/c she woke up everytime they put her down. Tuesday I sent the RnP and that worked, she has been napping in it at the babysitters all week (thank God), but she has to rock it til she's totally out.

Athena0809 · July 2011

I had the same problem. What I did was starting a bedtime routine, at the end I would not let him sleep on me but rather put him in his pnp when he seemed sleepy enough he would fuss and protest, I would try again. Eventually he started getting the hint that bath/massage/pj's/eat/swaddle meant night time and time to fall asleep on his own, now, most nights I can put him down awake and walk away, he'll fall asleep on his own. Now, nap time is a different story, I'm still working on it. He just doesn't sleep much during the day to begin with but what I've been trying is pretty much same method, feed, once he shows signs of being tired I put him down, sometimes he'll only sleep a few min the wake up. It looks like the swing is what's doing the trick for nap time. All this said, I've been told my my mom, aunt, and DH (the only three that have watched him so far) that it has not been a problem at all when I'm not here! go figure!

2BlackCats · July 2011

Definately try swaddling tightly for naps. Start the nap on you and slowly put the baby down after they fall asleep. With each nap, put the baby down earlier and earlier.

DD sleeps fine in her crib at night, but needs to be swaddled (either one or both arms out) for a nap. She is now to the point where if I catch her at the right time, she will stop fussing before I am done with the swaddle and fall right to sleep.

Good luck! I started working on getting her ready for daycare by week 5. I even started her in daycare 2 weeks before i went back to work so that I could ease her into it. I started out leaving her there for 2 hours and worked our way up to 6 hours the day before I went back. She is used to them and they are used to her now. Her teachers can't believe how laid back and easy going she is with being able to entertain herself and naps!!! (minor aww, sorry!)

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