S/O 1nap=Bliss thread-What(if anything) do you put in DC crib?

[kaharris83]

I noticed in the 1nap=Bliss! thread that a few people mentioned their DC play quietly in their crib before/after sleeping. Do you have anything in the crib with your DC to keep them entertained, or do they just entertain themselves? DS is 10.5 months and we don't have anything in his crib and I'm wondering if there's something we could put in there so he entertains himself a bit when he wakes. As it is now he immediately wants out when he wakes up and screams to let you know.

Thanks!!

[liz]

The only thing my DC ever had in their crib was their special lovey which happened to be a stuffed animal. They would entertain themselves before/after their nap.

[BabyBearsMom]

DD doesn't have anything in her crib except her sleep sack and her paci. Usually, she plays with the paci though. She finds it HILARIOUS if she flips it around and chews on the ring side of the pacifier, so when she wakes up from her nap, I usually hear her giggling.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

my DS usually has several stuffed animals (one of which is his lovey). Maybe a little teething toy or something, plus a few blankets stuffed into the crib corners. He mostly just plays with his lovey (a stuffed monkey) though. a lot of the time he'll just be lying there staring at the ceiling for 10 minutes.

i think being able to play quietly in the crib could partially be a function of age/maturity (i know the 1 nap schedule did help a lot though). i think around 15mos my DS finally was mature enough to entertain himself better. I know at 10mos it was a lot harder for him to do that, so he would often yell for us to come get him when we woke up

[twowhat?]

We had to limit crib items to 1) pillow, 2) lovey, 3) blanket and 4) water. We don't allow anything else in the crib because it caused limit-setting problems at bedtime (DD2 would ask for this or that, no this stuffed animal, no, that one, I need a different blanket, another sip of water, etc).

But even when we used to let them have whatever they wanted in their cribs, they never woke up and played on their own. Waking up is always either calling for Mommy or crying in our house. So jealous of those of you with DC that will play in their cribs after waking up!!

The only time ours will play in their cribs is when being put down for naps, which causes all kinds of other aggravation:)

[♥ms.pacman♥]

i should add that the only way i know that DS plays quietly in his crib for so long is because we have a camera in his room, so while he naps i can watch him from my ipod or from the computer. i check it periodically to see how he is doing, and to see if he is asleep or just awake. one time we put him in his crib to nap, and i noticed that for the first 1.5 hours he didn't sleep at all...just quietly played. he finally fell asleep, then slept for an hour before walking up (quietly, again i only knew this bc of the camera). he played for another half hour before making any noise. if not for the camera, i would have assumed he slept 3 hours, but he didn't..he only actually slept for 1 hour. so..you may think your child does not play quietly in the crib during naptime but they could totally be doing it, you just would never know unless you have a camera spying on them. :)

this is sort of OT, but i think it does help to have a camera, if only to determine how much a baby REALLY sleeps and factor that in to the sleeping schedule. once our sitter took DS on a walk and he was so tired he fell alseep in the stroller on the walk back home. it was at most 10 mins. so immediately the sitter put him down for a nap, and although he woke up a little bit when placed in the crib i assumed all was well and he would immediately fall back asleep. however on the camera i saw that he was still totally awake. an HOUR passed by and he still was not asleep (no noise coming from monitor though). i went in and saw he had pooped in his diaper, which might have been why he was awake still (in addition to the fact that he slept 10 mins in the stroller which probably took the edge off and prevented him from falling asleep again). so i changed him, let him play for a good hour to get really tired, then put him back in his crib . within minutes he was asleep and slept an hour. i was glad i was able to see that he was still awake and correct the situation rather than letting him play around for a few hours with a poopy diaper and not getting any actual sleep (i would have never known he was not actually sleeping).

[SnuggleBuggles]

Lots of things. We have 3 FP musical crib toys (2 gifts, one we purchased). So, you'd hear a medley of ocean and rainforest sounds. I also have a Sassy brand crib activity toy that hangs from the rails. 2 plush musical pull toys are hanging high on the rails too. By 10m they might have had a small toy in there too.

Beth

[twowhat?]

i should add that the only way i know that DS plays quietly in his crib for so long is because we have a camera in his room, so while he naps i can watch him from my ipod or from the computer. i check it periodically to see how he is doing, and to see if he is asleep or just awake. one time we put him in his crib to nap, and i noticed that for the first 1.5 hours he didn't sleep at all...just quietly played. he finally fell asleep, then slept for an hour before walking up (quietly, again i only knew this bc of the camera). he played for another half hour before making any noise. if not for the camera, i would have assumed he slept 3 hours, but he didn't..he only actually slept for 1 hour. so..you may think your child does not play quietly in the crib during naptime but they could totally be doing it, you just would never know unless you have a camera spying on them. :)


I've totally thought about this but too bad that isn't the case for us - I used to peek into their room every few minutes to see if this was the case (especially during that time that I was charting their sleep according to the Ferber book and really wanted to know the amount of time they were actually asleep). I also turn our baby monitor WAY up so that I can hear the rustling from them moving around. In the mornings, I am up before they get up so I peek into their room every few minutes while I'm cleaning up the kitchen. No luck:( They wake and within a minute or so are calling for me or (worse) crying. I shouldn't complain though - they go to bed without fussing and sleep for 9.5-10 hours straight...there really isn't anything to complain about LOL!

[SnuggleBuggles]

I've totally thought about this but too bad that isn't the case for us - I used to peek into their room every few minutes to see if this was the case (especially during that time that I was charting their sleep according to the Ferber book and really wanted to know the amount of time they were actually asleep). I also turn our baby monitor WAY up so that I can hear the rustling from them moving around. In the mornings, I am up before they get up so I peek into their room every few minutes while I'm cleaning up the kitchen. No luck:( They wake and within a minute or so are calling for me or (worse) crying. I shouldn't complain though - they go to bed without fussing and sleep for 9.5-10 hours straight...there really isn't anything to complain about LOL!

Stop peeking. :) If they know you are around and checking then odds are they will expect immediate attention. They'll let you know when they need you and it might not be right away. Of course, we always ignored the initial fussing (not crying, just fussing) and the 1st calling outs and both of my boys always just moved on top playing then. Ds1 used to play himself back to sleep if he woke up early!

Beth

[twowhat?]

Stop peeking. :) If they know you are around and checking then odds are they will expect immediate attention. They'll let you know when they need you and it might not be right away. Of course, we always ignored the initial fussing (not crying, just fussing) and the 1st calling outs and both of my boys always just moved on top playing then. Ds1 used to play himself back to sleep if he woke up early!

Beth

LOL!! Probably true. On weekends I don't peek. And they are screaming MOMMY or crying (not just fussing - real crying) at the same time that they wake up on weekdays. Blah. This could be related to them sharing a room, maybe?

[♥ms.pacman♥]

If they know you are around and checking then odds are they will expect immediate attention.

:yeahthat:

this is my DS exactly. we have to totally leave his door closed during naptime. if i open the door even while he is asleep, he wakes up immediately and wants to interact...even if he as only slept a little bit. and he is not a light sleeper..DD could be screaming her head off in the next room and he is not bothered at all. but if i open the door to his room at all, he springs right up. i don't understand how he "knows" its me but i guess he does. it sucks when i accidentally leave something (like my glasses or my phone or whatever) in there bc then that means i can't have it for a few hours..i dare not risk going in there while he is napping!

[twowhat?]

:yeahthat:

this is my DS exactly. we have to totally leave his door closed during naptime. if i open the door even while he is asleep, he wakes up immediately and wants to interact...even if he as only slept a little bit. and he is not a light sleeper..DD could be screaming her head off in the next room and he is not bothered at all. but if i open the door to his room at all, he springs right up. i don't understand how he "knows" its me but i guess he does. it sucks when i accidentally leave something (like my glasses or my phone or whatever) in there bc then that means i can't have it for a few hours..i dare not risk going in there while he is napping!

You know, I think we've created this habit now that I think about it. Since they share a room, we've always hurried to get to the baby that woke up first in hopes that we can get her out of the room before it wakes her sister, especially since they frequently wake up cranky. Ah, well!!!

[KrystalS]

Could someone link the original thread about one nap? DS is 8 months and I can't wait for him to outgrow the morning nap!

[vonfirmath]

I've totally thought about this but too bad that isn't the case for us - I used to peek into their room every few minutes to see if this was the case (especially during that time that I was charting their sleep according to the Ferber book and really wanted to know the amount of time they were actually asleep). I also turn our baby monitor WAY up so that I can hear the rustling from them moving around. In the mornings, I am up before they get up so I peek into their room every few minutes while I'm cleaning up the kitchen. No luck:( They wake and within a minute or so are calling for me or (worse) crying. I shouldn't complain though - they go to bed without fussing and sleep for 9.5-10 hours straight...there really isn't anything to complain about LOL!

I do the peek thing too (Its why I prefer to keep my son's door open. And he really is asleep or making noise. He doesn't do the play quietly thing. We're trying to teach it now for when he drops officially sleeping at naptime... but its difficult.

[twowhat?]

I do the peek thing too (Its why I prefer to keep my son's door open. And he really is asleep or making noise. He doesn't do the play quietly thing. We're trying to teach it now for when he drops officially sleeping at naptime... but its difficult.

Yeah, same here - we leave their door cracked open so we can peek in without them knowing. Now off to find some tips on training them to play on their own a little in the mornings! It might be harder since DD1 is nighttime potty-trained so first thing in the morning, she really does have to go pee.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

here is the thread i started in the sleep section
https://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=400076

i should also mention that i think my DS is on the lazy side when it comes to sleeping. :) I read that toddlers from age 1 to 2 need 10-13 hrs of sleep a day. Well, i think DS sleeps 13-14 hrs a day (and that's actual sleeping..if you count just lying there or playing quietly in the crib, it's more like 14-16 hrs). when i go in to get him sometimes after a nap (once i see that he is awake), he often times doesn't want to get out of his crib, he still wants to lie and play there. :| honestly i would be somewhat concerned about him sleeping that much if not for the fact that my DH is the exact same way. used to get so upset bc my DH would be so groggy in the night or in the morning, and a lot of times it was just easier to deal with the baby thru the night all by myself than ask him to help at all. then after a full night of 9 hrs of continuous sleep he would say *he* was tired. :S frustrating, but at least my toddler seems to be the same way, which is great for me (for now!). i don't look forward to when he has to start school!

eta: ah, i really don't look forward to the nighttime PTing! i may be one of those parents that after PT just slaps a diaper on for night until they're ready to go to school! my DS pees up a storm all night. we use huggies overnights and put on a diaper just before he goes to sleep and he still soaks it completely..sometimes it even leaks onto his pjs. i know that he pees a lot right when he wakes up bc back when i used to do EC with him he would pee in a potty almost every time after he woke up. but it's just so much easier to let him lie in his crib for another hour!

[twowhat?]

here is the thread i started in the sleep section
https://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=400076

i should also mention that i think my DS is on the lazy side when it comes to sleeping. :) I read that toddlers from age 1 to 2 need 10-13 hrs of sleep a day. Well, i think DS sleeps 13-14 hrs a day (and that's actual sleeping..if you count just lying there or playing quietly in the crib, it's more like 14-16 hrs). when i go in to get him sometimes after a nap (once i see that he is awake), he often times doesn't want to get out of his crib, he still wants to lie and play there. :| honestly i would be somewhat concerned about him sleeping that much if not for the fact that my DH is the exact same way. used to get so upset bc my DH would be so groggy in the night or in the morning, and a lot of times it was just easier to deal with the baby thru the night all by myself than ask him to help at all. then after a full night of 9 hrs of continuous sleep he would say *he* was tired. :S frustrating, but at least my toddler seems to be the same way, which is great for me (for now!). i don't look forward to when he has to start school!

LOL. Wanna trade? I'll give him back when he starts school:D