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April 2015 Moms
yellowdaisies84
member
Naps during the day- am I doing this right? :s
yellowdaisies84
member
Hi all,
The last couple of days I have noticed she is getting pretty big (she's a tall baby) to sleep in my arms and I think I disturbed her sleep a little bit from little sounds or movements I would make- even a sigh or an itch could wake her a bit. Anyway, I decided yesterday it was time to train her to nap in her crib. The first nap of the day was a long one in my arms. Then, for the rest of the day I tried to keep putting her in her crib.
My 2 1/2 month old is a good sleeper at night (although wakes frequently to nurse) and I was able to successfully transition her to sleeping in her crib at night really easily. The only thing is that naps during the day have always been in my arms. She is different during the day- she falls asleep often especially after nursing and has nice long naps in your arms. I've tried off and on to put her down for naps but she always wakes up as soon as you put her down. So I just held her. I didn't mind too much- I would get a "break" and watch TV and she would get some good sleep.
The last couple of days I have noticed she is getting pretty big (she's a tall baby) to sleep in my arms and I think I disturbed her sleep a little bit from little sounds or movements I would make- even a sigh or an itch could wake her a bit. Anyway, I decided yesterday it was time to train her to nap in her crib. The first nap of the day was a long one in my arms. Then, for the rest of the day I tried to keep putting her in her crib.
It was not super successful. She hardly napped at all yesterday! At one point I did get her down in her crib and it felt amazing! But it only lasted 15 minutes (usually she naps for hours) And most of the time she fell asleep for a few minutes and then when I put her down she would wake up.
If I nurse her and she falls asleep (common) I am waiting 3 minutes then putting her in the crib. This is what worked once yesterday (but only for 15 mins). If she falls asleep in my arms I am walking around with her for 5 mins and then putting her down (this did not work yet.) If she seems sleepy, like this morning, I am putting her down right away to let her fall asleep on her own like she does at night. (This did not work this am.)
She is just skipping so much sleep! Last night her sleep was fairly normal, she woke often so skipping naps didn't give her a better quality sleep or a longer sleep. Should I just keep going and try again today? Will she eventually get it/get tired enough that she will go down in her crib? Am I doing this right?
My MIL thought it was really bad that I was still holding her for naps so I'm a little sensitive about it. I know this is somewhat common- my friend with an older baby still holds their baby for naps and I think at night too. I just want to know how to get her to sleep in her crib during the day! At night it was really simple for me. I just fed her and put her down and she was agreeable but she's in a different mood during the day.
-K
"It's always better when we're together."
-Jack Johnson
Re: Naps during the day- am I doing this right? :s
Sorry that was a long rant I hope it helps I do know how you feel!
Although I don't know the cause, I'm suspicious that I screwed up her rhythm by "keeping her up" so much during the days when she fell asleep putting her in the crib and waking her. She is having the longest nap ever now- she's been sleeping since before 1pm and it's 6:30 now. She only woke to nurse.
I seriously hope and pray that she's going to do so much better tonight after having this sleep she obviously needs but it's kind of scary- what if this is a sign of her rhythm being wonky and she'll be wide awake in the middle of the night? She was such a great sleeper, I kind of wish I didn't muck around with that.
Before I had her I was very "by the book" with my pregnancy and I actually worked with babies and preschoolers and was very "by the book" with them. Being a parent is so different. I feel like its best to use my best judgment based on what I observe in my baby, and there's no one-size-fits-all approach. The only problem is that sometimes the answers seem so mysterious! And she keeps changing!