Our 7 month old Baby won't nap anywhere except
in our arms. I know, we must have spoiled her early on.
We love her!
She'll sleep in her crib at night no problem, a few cries,
then she's out. But during the day, forget it! Me and Wife
are getting kinda weathered having to nap her on our shoulder
three times a day in our dark bedroom for an hour at a time, just
so she'll get some sleep...
We've tried to let her cry it out for naps, but she will literally cry for
an hour if we let her.
This tends to be an area where parenting opinions are dearly-held so you may hear a wide range of views, but for what it's worth coming from a dad with 8 kids, I say let them cry (sounds mean, doesn't it). In fairly short order though, they'll learn to put themselves to sleep with little or no crying (like she's already done at night).
Besides, you guys need a break; naptime is for you almost as much as it is for the baby.
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Posts: 98
My first babe got to be like that, only wanted mommy to sleep on. At first it was cute, then well like you i wanted him to sleep on his own. I know it sounds terrible and you guys have already tried it, but you must let them cry it out. Try to make a routine out of it, prior to bed tell a story something calm and relaxing, get them a silky blanky and a bottle of warm milk. Talk quietly, make sure they are getting relaxed. Then take them in and lay them down in a quiet room and walk away. It took nearly a week before he started to go down by himself. And i cried a few different times, but it truely is whats best. Now my 3rd kids begs to be in his bed when he wants to nap and i am happy to lay him down and walk away. As parents we need that nap time as much as they do to rejuvinate ourselves and to get the house work done.
I hope that you get this worked out! Just remember a routine really works!
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To not understand is to not take the time to care....
have you tried laying her down to nap, and keeping a hand on her belly or back and just rubbing or lightly patting her? also if you speak softly while you do this it helps too.
i used to do that with my kids i babysat, and it would help comfort them.
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The hands down best advice I ever received while I was pregnant:
Let the baby cry.
I wished many many times I would have followed it.
My daughter would not nap for me so she walked around miserable the second half of the day.
Later, that translated to not going to sleep unless I was beside her.
Didn't solve the problem until she was 5 years old. I let her cry and didn't give in. TRUST me - they can cry a lot longer and harder, plus beat on doors and throws things when they are 5. Do it now.
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We do the ritual book read and Wife feeds her milk, gets her
relaxed, we set her down in the crib and that's when Baby freaks out!
Cries, Cries, Cries. Even if we get her to fall asleep on our shoulder,
THEN set her down in her crib, she'll wake up immediately and cry! She
won't let up too, she's a screamer.
Thanks for the advice, i know every parent is different, i'm open to all
the suggestions. I know we need to just let her cry it out, but when she
can go on for a Whole Hour, it breaks our hearts...
I know we need to just let her cry it out, but when she can go on for a Whole Hour, it breaks our hearts...
Yes you do but only to a point.. our little one went almost 7 hours crying during the reflux era..
He also won't cry himself out..although the older he has gotten he will occasionally cry before a nap and then go right out..
If your child continues to cry you go in there.. comfort them but don't pick them up..just let them know you are there for them and then see if they will calm down.
Well I am not a cry-it-out parent. I dislike the Ferber method and I have read some negative literature regarding emotional development and crying it out. My S/O actually feels like he retained some hostility towards his parents because he has some memories of being left to cry it out in a crib and hiding his face under a blanket. Also, my parents never did this method with me, either.
I just can't handle it. When my son cries, it makes me feel crazy. I feel this intense urgent need to help him. If I had to let him CIO I would cry myself.
I nurse him to sleep, mostly. We have the crib side-carred to the bed for ease of nursing. I can nurse him to sleep, slide him over into his crib and I just put a pillow next to him now, since he can get out of bed and open the door and come and find me when he wakes up now.
Anyways, basically what I've learned thusfar is that you baby will constantly change. She may get into a good routine for a while but as soon as she starts working on some new developmental challenge, be it sitting, crawling, the pincher grasp, or walking, their sleep will become more disturbed as they concentrate on obtaining this new skill.
The best advice I ever got was - go with the flow. Don't worry so much, as long as they are healthy and happy.
Maybe she's ready for the transition to two longer naps per day. As well, sleeping on shoulders or your body, means she can hear your heartbeat. How about some form of heartbeat music?
Another way that might help, is to go for a walk everyday, around the afternoon nap time. Not only do strollers help quite a number of babies sleep due to the rocking motion, the long hour or two hour walk absolutely helps the mother get into shape.
Keep her awake as much as possible during the morning and try to offer her lot's of stimulation with toys and such. I had good luck this way with all 3 when they were babies. Good luck.
Mea
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Please note: The suggestions and advice offered on this web site are opinions only and are not to be used in the place of professional psychological counseling or medical advice. If you or someone close to you is currently in crisis or in an emergency situation, contact your local law enforcement agency or emergency number.
"Always keep an open mind and a compassionate heart"
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