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no naps :(

jmcgra06jmcgra06 member
in Attachment Parenting
Hi everyone!

I posted a while back, but to reintroduce myself, my name is Jess, I'm from DC and we have a 6 month old baby girl named Anna. We are bfing, bed-sharing and wearing her as much as we can. Lately, though, it's been hard to get her to sleep or nap. When she was little/unaware, I just put her in the carrier and she napped while I worked. Now, though, she needs dark and white noise, which is fine, but she also needs me to lay with her. The while time. And sometimes it takes an hour to get her to sleep, so I feel like this is all we do.

Typical day is wake at 6, get dressed, eat, nanny at 8, I come home at 1 to nurse, come home for the day at 4, play, walk outside, etc. Bath/story/nurse at 7. Naps at 8 & 11 or just 10:30 and 2:30. We have a nanny two days, DH one day, and me the other 4.

Please help. I can't let her cry out out, and I know "babies don't keep" but I can't spend 16 hours a day laying with her...
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Re: no naps :(

  • musicalmama5musicalmama5 member
    Around this age, my DS stopped needing as many naps. My strategy became to just nurse him whenever he got fussy, and if he needed a nap he would fall asleep, otherwise, I just let him stay up. Then the next time he got fussy, I nursed him and he'd fall asleep. 

    Another thing you can try is getting LO drowsy by wearing her in the carrier and bouncing/walking around, but then once she's asleep, transfer her to the bed or crib where it's dark and you have white noise.

    Sometimes my DH resorts to sticking DS in the car and driving around while he sleeps if all else fails.

    Good luck!
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  • PhoenixBrittPhoenixBritt member
    I feel for you as my 8 month old DD will only nap longer than twenty mins if i hold her. I don't get much done but i keep telling myself it will get better! My pediatrician suggested The No Cry Nap Solution so maybe that is worth trying.
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  • =Lee=B=Lee=B member

    Naps here got a lot better shortly after 6months.  She went from only sleeping 45min naps to having two 2hr naps and one 45min nap a day.

    Oddly it happened one day when I was in the bath and she woke and I sent my husband in to keep her calm until I got out.  When I got out my husband was sitting in the office with no baby.  I was like 'huh' he said he gave the soother and left, she went back to sleep.

    A little light went off and sure enough the next nap instead of going in and getting her up when she woke up I popped her soother in and left.  She passed back out!  Seemed that all those 45min naps were just her waking at the end of a sleep cycle and my not realizing she would sleep more if I encouraged it.

    Some days she won't go back down...I can usually tell by how she wakes at that 45min...she just acts/sounds different.  But, for the most part she just needs a soother and to see me to drift back to sleep.  Over the last 2 months she has stopped needing me to go in.  I watch her on the video monitor, she wakes looks around, stretches, plays with her blanket and falls back asleep without making a sound.

    Anyways, point being.  It gets better.  Try reading the 'no cry sleep solution' it has some good info and tips.  Keep gently trying to get her to sleep, in time she will get better and better at it (with lots of regressions of course).

     

    Also, on the days you have to lie with her...have a cell phone, lap top, book or something handy to keep yourself entertained.  Use it as a 'you time'.  My daughter quickly learned to tune out my phone and laptop.  She uses it as a way to sooth herself to sleep as she stares at the light from it and drifts off.  No need to be bored and silent and still. 

     

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  • PhillyRNPhillyRN member
    My son was the same way and would only nap if being held. I used the carrier when he was little and then just held him for naps. I would DVR movies, play on the iPad, and read books. At around 14 months, we hired a sleep consultant and did some gentle sleep training. He now sleeps like a rock star! I really cherish all that time I got to spend holding him.  During that time, my house wasn't very clean and I didn't always get to shower, but it was worth it!  Nothing lasts forever and he is now a very busy almost 2 year old.
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