Napping advice needed!

[hannah]

I am hoping someone out there can offer advice on how best to get a 12 week old to take a nap. My DD sleeps very well at night, just not during the day. Today she woke up at 8 and took a little nap from 10-10:30. We went to the mall this afternoon - I thought she would fall asleep in the car and stay asleep at the mall but no luck. So after we nursed at 3:30, I put her in her crib for a nap and she finally fell asleep at 5. In between 3:30 and 5 I tried the swing and the bouncy chair but had no luck - lots of crying and screaming. I don't want to rely on the swing and chair to put her to sleep since eventually she will outgrow them. Is this normal? Should I be concerned that she doesn't like to nap? Or just chalk it up to a bad day and try again tomorrow?
TIA!

[shishamo]

Hi,

As long as your DD is not overtired and cranky, I wouldn't do anything. On the other hand, if she is in fact tired (and she sounds like she is), I would do *anything* to let her fall asleep, including the bouncy seat and the swing (and holding her, letting her nap in the sling, stroller, etc., etc.) I wouldn't worry about the method or even where she sleeps at this stage, she's still so young. You can worry about that when she outgrows whatever she is used to.

My DD#2 (who's around 10 weeks old, I think) will fall asleep in my sling, while being held and jiggled up/down, while I walk her around, while nursing, etc. After she is asleep, I put her in a bassinet or a swing, and she stays asleep, but she won't go to sleep in the swing by herself (or in the bassinet, for that matter).

[TraciG]

At that age Sydney would only nap in the swing, good luck

[amp]

This may not be helpful to you, but at that age, my DS was really only falling asleep in my arms during the day. He didn't really get himself on a napping schedule, where I could put him in his crib at a set time (rather than gently laying him in the PNP when he finally fell asleep in my arms) until about 5 mths old. Honestly, at that age, he did sleep a lot more than you are indicating your daughter does, but I didn't try to establish a schedule until I knew he was ready to sleep without me. And it worked out fine. I would venture to guess that your daughter's sleeping habits, like most, will evolve greatly over the next year and just when you think you have a handle on it, it'll change.

[KrisM]

At 12 weeks, DS mostly napped in my arms and would wake up if I put him down. My mom kept telling what a bad habit that was and that I needed to put him in the crib. Well, at 7.5 months, he naps wonderfully in the crib. I'd say that at about 4-5 months, he switched over to sleeping better in the crib than in my arms. It also got to be when he got more interested in things around him and needed a more boring place to sleep.