we are working on nighttime sleep training right now. Everyone is exhausted. How should I handle naps today? She usually won't nap alone, so I either lay with her, or I bounce her in the front pack.
Should I try to get her to sleep alone, or just focus on getting her to sleep however she sleeps best so that she isn't a mess tonight when we re-enter sleep training world?
cantaloupe / 6206 posts
We did an Isis consult last week and asked about this. I'd focus first on bedtime sleep, it's too much to ask them to 'learn' naps too. The consultant said naps take a little longer to consolidate than night sleep (5.5-6 months they get better at napping alone). So for now, our nights are much better, but we're still bouncing, etc to sleep for naps.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I had to treat naps the same as nighttime sleep. My son was having trouble with naps and night time sleep when I intervened during the day.
cantaloupe / 6017 posts
@JoJoGirl: Yeah- she is 6 months and sleep has definitely consolidated- if I do naps her way 
I don't want to try to both at the same time, but I was also worried about resorting to nursing to sleep/ cuddling her for her nap messing up her night time? Sounds like that probably isn't the case
cantaloupe / 6017 posts
@looch: oy- bummer. THats what I'm worried about. Poor little bean is so tired today 
GOLD / pineapple / 12662 posts
@Silva: I would focus on just getting better nighttime sleeping for now . . . It has been my experience that sleep begets sleep, so if your LO isn't napping well your nighttime efforts may be for naught. Your (nursing to) naps will likely not impact your sleep training . . . my LO does the same thing (nurses to sleep for naps and sleeps on me), and she doesn't do it at night (after sleep training). Good luck!
cantaloupe / 6206 posts
@MsLipGloss: Same here - I have resorted to nursing to sleep for naps a few times over the weekend when LO has been super hard to put down, and her night sleep has actually improved by leaps and bounds (unrelated). Somehow they are good at separating nap sleep from night sleep.. go figure.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
My experience was totally different...we were sleep training at night and following the procedure, while I was completely sabotoging it during the day by intervening. My husband could not understand why we were having regressions at night until I confessed.
While I agree that sleep begets sleep, I noticed, with my pain in the rear sleeper, that it was the day time naps that helped with the solid blocks of night sleep, not the other way around.
Good luck!!!!
honeydew / 7687 posts
@Silva: we did night first then naps. It worked out well for us. I didn't want him to be totally over tired by the time bed hit.
GOLD / pineapple / 12662 posts
@looch: That is so interesting! I had tried to nap training first, but that didn't work out so well. So I switched my focus to night sleep, and that helped the daytime too. Babies are fascinating!
cantaloupe / 6017 posts
You guys! I nursed her to sleep and then set her in the cosleeper. She's been there for 25 minutes! I cannot believe it. I have never been able to set her down asleep and have her stay that way.
All that work last night might have helped! Or she's totally traumatized and exhausted
GOLD / pineapple / 12662 posts
@Silva: WOOT! And she's not traumatized. Promise! You're doing great mama - enjoy it!
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@MsLipGloss: It's so true, they are fascinating and mind boggling. I realized I didn't have a textbook sleeper and once I looked at what I was reading plus my son's cues, we had success. I am no genius when it comes to sleep by any means, but I had to be open to accepting my son's anti-textbookness.
cantaloupe / 6206 posts
@Silva: Go with the "it helped" story If she were traumatized, she'd be MORE likely to want to sleep on you, no?
GOLD / pineapple / 12662 posts
@looch: LOL! And so so true! Accepting what you see/your reality (as opposed what the books tell you that you *should* have) is a huge parent of learning to trust your instincts (and your 5 senses for that matter!) as a mama.
honeydew / 7687 posts
@looch: same. Getting over what he ought to be doing in regards to sleep changed my attitude for the better!
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