Nap and play
Another new piece of baby furniture:
I’ve been avoiding setting up the pack n’ play because I thought it would be a pain to assemble (even though it’s a pack n’ play and made for travel…I know) and I wasn’t sure if Livi would like it, since she sleeps at night in the bassinet and hasn’t ventured into the crib yet.
While mom and nana were over earlier today, I was telling them that even though Liv has become a napping pro, she only takes really good naps if I’m holding her, or if she’s in the Moby. I love holding her all day (and smell her perfect baby skin and hair), but when I go back to work in a little over 4 weeks, even though it’s only 3 days (and one day she’ll be with her daddy all day), I want her to be able to nap in her crib, or in the pack n’ play. Naptime is also really the only time I have to get things done around the house, and while I can do most of it with her in the Moby, some things are impossible (like pump, pre-make dinner, or do a workout DVD).
Mom and nana told me it isn’t realistic to hold her for the entirety of every nap, and that they thought she was old enough to give the pack n’ play a try. Madre and I set it up (which took about 5 minutes, haha), and they sent me on a Trader Joe’s run to get groceries for the week.
Here’s the text I got while I was there:
Definitely a fan!
When I got home, she was awake, kicking, gurgling and staring at the owls… she absolutely loves it, and I’m glad to have a safe place when I need to put her down for a second when we’re downstairs. We’ve been using the Boppy lounger (another amazing creation) but she’s getting to the point where she’s kicking a ton and trying to roll, so I don’t trust it. The pack n’ play is perfect, especially since we can take it with us to California this summer 🙂
Livi’s naps remind me of the naptime shenanigans I used to get into. My mom would put me down for a “nap,” I’d close my eyes so she thought I was sleeping, and then when she left the room, I’d wake up and quietly play with my dolls or color. I did get in trouble when I snuck into the kitchen, took the scissors out of the drawer, cut a chunk of my hair off and hid it in my toy box. I have no idea how I thought my mom, a stylist, wouldn’t notice the handful of hair that was missing 😉
Moms out there, what’s your naptime strategy? How old was your baby when he/she started sleeping in a crib at night?
We’re waiting until she outgrows the Orbit bassinet, but she’s getting close.
Friends sans kids: did you fight naptime as a child, or embrace it? I think most kids fight naptime, until we get older and realize that naps.are.awesome.
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I am a firm believer of putting baby in the crib in their own room as soon as possible.
Both mine were 2 weeks old in their own cribs at night.
Also for naps.
But, my house isn’t very big and I don’t have to walk up or down stairs to get to them.
PLUS, I could never sleep good with my babies in the room. I was always worried about them, checking on them, heard every little movement, etc.
Both my boys have been great sleepers though.
When my 4 month old whines in the middle of the night I just get up, go pop the paci back in his mouth and he’s good again.
I did the cry it out method with my first (who is an AMAZING sleeper) but with my second I’m afraid he’ll wake up my 2 year old, so I’m quicker to get up this time.
Anyway, just do what works best for you and baby!
You are doing a wonderful job!
We sleep-trained our twins around 5.5 months. We tried two times before but they just wouldn’t stop crying and they were finally ready at 5.5 months. We co-slept before and I loved every moment of it, as they are so used to their own rooms/beds now, they won’t even sleep with us when they are sick. I am very glad we sleep-trained, though. It definitely frees up time do get things done around the house. They are 4 now and still take a 2-hour nap during the day.
We just managed to put our baby into a crib (next to our bed) few days before 1 st b day. It was impossible before (because of frequent night nursing). Even now (almost two months after) he never stays there till morning. He usually starts crying in the middle of the night and then ends up in our bed, between us :))Day naps- he’s in bed/crib, but untill 3 months old he only wanted to sleep in baby carrier or on us.we watched a lot of movies like that. I know it’s difficult because you have to do something while he sleeps but it passes soon-that’s the only thing I can say about that :))
I did the exact same thing when I was 3 – I chopped off most of the hair on one side of my head and hid the evidence in my crayon box, assuming my mom wouldn’t notice. Ha! I sported the pixie cut until kindergarten 🙂
I think it was easier for her than me. At first we did the bassinet in the pack in play and then moved to just the pack in play and then moved it into her room next to her crib and then around 8-10 weeks we just put her in there and she didn’t mind, in the swaddle though, without the swaddle she’d freak out!
Oh Napping….such an stressful topic. As a first time mom – I naturally feared I would ‘ruin’ my daughter’s chance at sleeping through the night at an early age. I struggled with trying to plan vs just going with the flow and hesitated to jump into any method. The only thing I was completely sure of is I wanted to hold my daughter, snuggle her, and enjoy the little time I had as I had to go back to work within 6 weeks of her birth. So I eventually stopped worrying about wearing her too much or nursing her to sleep. I simply did what felt natural and gave me enjoyment. She loved to sleep but would jump awake more often than not when I attempted to lay her in her crib. She took naps in the car seat, moby, RS, couch/bed (surrounded by pillows and me), and her crib – sometimes they were short – othertimes they were long. As it stands now -She is 7 months old – co-sleeps with us from 7pm to 7 am (with 1-2 nursings)- and we get plenty of sleep. I always found it easier as a working mom to have her in the same space in order to nurse and fall back to sleep quickly and safely.
However, all of my snuggling, nursing to sleep, babywearing, etc hasn’t inhibited her ability to fall asleep when Nana or Dee Dee are watching her or when the Nanny (or her back up) watch her, or when Daddy is putting her to bed. She easily goes down with all of them without me around. (In the beginning – I did sleep with one of her swaddles and that went everywhere with her).
Sorry for the ramble – I just feel confident now on how she is turning out and quite frankly – I love that she still wants to snuggle with me. I know for a fact that when we hit the teenage years … that might not be the same sentiment 😉