how do you get your LO to nap?

yty0205 · April 2014

Swing? Rocking? Does he/she fall asleep on his/her own? Nap in crib?

LO is in the fight the nap phase so DH requested that I ask "the internet moms" for some ideas.

azmama20 · April 2014

I typically will rock or hold her until she goes to sleep. Occasionally she will nap on her own.

fauxvegan · April 2014

I think I got lucky. LO falls asleep on her own in RnP for the first nap, then the swing for the next nap, then the next nap at the breast, and her last nap I rock her. She went through a couple weeks when she fought sleep and it does end.

frankierokx · April 2014

I let M give me the signs he is tired. We cuddle and he falls asleep. He has about 3 20 minute naps a day.

KMKaiser07 · April 2014

I swaddle and then nurse him. I make sure I put him down the instant he shows signs of being tired. That way I have no struggle getting him to sleep as I would if he were over tired.

FutureMrsCaesar · April 2014

Boob or run an errand (grocery store, preschool pickup/drop off, other sibling activity). Car seat puts him to sleep every time.

margaerytyrell · April 2014

DS is 4.5 months and takes real short naps. MIL says he will nap for about 20 minutes in his PnP at her house. He has been fighting naps but we may be turning a corner. Today he was fussy while I rocked him to sleep then I set him in his crib. For the next nap he fell asleep sitting in my lap while I ate lunch lol. Usually I take him for an errand or a walk around the neighborhood and that does the trick

yty0205 · April 2014

I'm having to hold LO cradle style and bounce him. If I do it in the dark laundry room with the vent on, he'll go to sleep faster. But DH says I'm creating a bad habit.... I say whatever works right now. Oh and if I put him down, he wakes up. My mom and our nanny are able to transfer him to the swing (no crib yet - he freaks) but for some reason he wants all the momma cuddles.

KFED103 · April 2014

FutureMrsCaesar said:
Boob or run an errand (grocery store, preschool pickup/drop off, other sibling activity). Car seat puts him to sleep every time.

This exactly for us

BootsOrHearts · April 2014

Feed him then hold him until he gets drowsy. Must have his binky too.

Cbowl · April 2014

Sound machine, blinds closed, sometimes nursing, and definitely a million paci replacements but she goes down in her crib eventually for about 30-40 mins on average 4x a day. This is new though I used to have to prop her on her side or have her sleep in her swing.

shelbygirrrrl · April 2014

He usually needs some help falling asleep. As soon as I see signs of him being tired I swaddle him and then rock him with his paci. Once he starts nodding off, I lay him down in the crib with the sleep sheep on. He usually stays asleep for an hour or 2.

stacers33 · April 2014

In the middle of sleep training - Sleep sense style - and naps are going well. Swaddle arms out, no pacifier, and she will swat the rainforest soother herself. Fusses for about 1-2 minutes and then out for 90 +\-. Usually naps twice and home and 1 on the go with her big brother. She goes to DC in a few weeks so needs to be able to go to sleep on her own.

BoothBaby · April 2014

I have struggled with this, and tried a lot of things. For the past couple weeks I will give him a kiss and just lay him in his crib. If he fusses, I leave him be. If he screams, I go in, rock him until he calms down, then lay him down again (awake). I might do that twice, but if I have to go back a third time then I go ahead and rock him to sleep.

I want him to learn to put himself to sleep, but right now if he needs me I will be there. When I first started doing this he cried a lot (I had previously been rocking him to sleep every time), so I had to do a lot of soothing, but lately he typically just fusses for 5-10 mins and then falls asleep.

ETA: He virtually never just falls asleep spontaneously, he is the kind of baby that fights to stay awake. All naps are in his crib (unless I have to be out for something, but I try not to purposely use the car for soothing).

juliagulia38 · April 2014

She will eat a bottle and then usually take a nap. I rock her during day naps and will pat her back. At night after the last bottle I just lay her in her crib and she will fall asleep on her own. When she was littler I put her in the swing and it worked like a charm. She likes go sleep on her side or belly so the swing and RnP don't work anymore. Maybe try singing or have some kind of background noise going. If she is really fighting sleep I rock very fast, patting her back and will sing. Always works! Good luck!

synergy_gd · April 2014

Food then into the stroller with it in the flat sleep position and a bit of back and forth over the start of the rug so it's bumpy. it's the only way during the day. He has an inbuilt sensor that tells him he is being lowered into the cot and some alarm that goes off, he hates it

excitedjen1 · April 2014

DS gets put in his crib wide awake for naps, we have a consistent routine that we do each time so he knows sleep time is coming....diaper, nurse, story, song then crib. Sometimes he fusses for a few minutes, but usually falls asleep quite quickly. He used to have to be rocked, paci etc, but since we've introduced the routine he's done so well

playball13 · April 2014

Usually I can get him down by rocking him while playing the lullaby channel on pandora. Today it didn't work at all, he only wanted to sleep snuggled into me. Luckily I don't have anything to do for the next hour or so.

penelopemaria · April 2014

I stick a nipple in his mouth until he passes out

linzy2202 · April 2014

I rock her while singing and patting. She's been fighting it more lately so I've been walking around instead of rocking. She sleeps on our bed or on pallet on couch during the day. But I need to get her back in co sleeper so we can transition her into her crib. The morning she sleeps better like 1.5-2 hours in the afternoon and evenings it's more like 30-1 hour. We are still struggling establishes a bedtime routine, it's hard.

Danicali · April 2014

Soother always. Sound machine. In his bedroom with the black out curtains. In a sleep sack. Usually have to rock him to sleep but if he's not overtired this usually only takes a couple minutes. He has about 4 1 hour naps a day. Basically the same as his nighttime routine except at nighttime we always feed first, diaper, massage and then sleep sack, soother, lights out and rock. I don't feed him before naps. I feed him when he wakes up from his nap. It seems to be working. Some days are better than others. Often he will just do a shorter nap around 430/5 before we put him down for bed at around 7-8

lynngotts · April 2014

Snuggling with me or DH or in the car seat when we are out and about.

KFiori1 · April 2014

LO naps in her crib. She typically naps after being awake for no more than 2 hours. She usually takes a bottle beforehand and I stick her in the crib and she puts herself to sleep.

notkateanymore · April 2014

If we're in the car, he falls asleep in the carseat and will take his morning nap usually running errands. In the afternoons, I feed him then rock him to sleep.

SusanC111 · April 2014

My first would fall asleep anywhere, anytime. Gabe is HIGH MAINTENANCE. he has to be held just so, paci, blankie covering his face, and the right combination of shushing, bouncing, swaying, rocking. I just got a crib a couple days ago, so I'm trying to set him down when he's asleep and that's going just ok. MOTN is no problem. It's just naps he fights. Oh and screams in the car and the swing so those are no help.

natleilynn · April 2014

Since I'm back to work, we don't have much nap time together - so I usually nurse her until she falls asleep and then we nap together. I'm probably making the sitter insane since she's mentioned she refuses to nap in the PNP. But I won't have these days much longer so I want to enjoy my cuddle naps as long as I can! We took three today

August & After · April 2014

Swaddle, paci, cradled in my arms, walk/bounce. If he really fights and won't stop crying, I go to the dryer and let that run. It stops him from crying and then we walk back to his room while drowsy.

Kermode61581 · April 2014

Bouncing to bob Marley, 3 songs and she's out.

Marchmellow2 · April 2014

River will fall right to sleep with no fuss if I take a small blankie and cover his face.. Weird but he started that. I used to give him his taggies blankie for naps and he would cover his own face since he was 2 months old. So now I just help him cover his face and he falls right to sleep.

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