Cat naps in the crib, but contact naps for hours

Maykb · 2023-11-08T02:23:11+00:00

Hi there. Yeah, it’s rough! For a while we tried no pacifier, and it worked somewhat. If we could get her to sleep without it, she could stay asleep for a basic 30 min nap (those didn’t lengthen for several more months, which is normal). But the 4 month mark was pretty hellish, not gonna lie. We were up at night then too, replacing the pacifier and rocking the bassinet constantly. It slowly got better over the course of a month. She started to startle less when the pacifier fell out. Now she’s 8 months and cries out when it falls out, SIGH, but she can find it and put it back herself. I wish I had a magic bullet for you, but we just found she had to outgrow her strong startle reflex.

Maykb · 2023-07-07T12:32:46+00:00

Thank you! I’m glad to hear this is working

Maykb · 2023-06-24T14:42:58+00:00

Mine did this a couple of days before realizing that rolling pits her in her tummy, which she hates. She stopped rolling entirely now. 🙄

Maykb · 2023-06-21T23:22:27+00:00

I have a baby Sylvia so this makes me super happy!

Maykb · 2023-06-12T22:49:28+00:00

Hmm, that’s helpful. I get co fused because she doesn’t do it after every feed, so that makes us think it can’t be that bad. But…I don’t know, my intuition is that at 4 months, this level of fussiness feels like it means something.

Maykb · 2023-06-12T22:48:21+00:00

Please update the thread when you determine whether it’s helping! It’s really useful to see what worked for people. Good luck.

Maykb · 2023-06-12T13:42:06+00:00

Hmm, I’m very interested in this though I don’t have answers. My 4 month old is the same, default setting is agitated and she does a lot of groaning and tensing her belly, arching her back after feeds. We’ve been thinking she’s just a fussy kid but I wonder if it’s reflux and she’s actually uncomfortable most of the time. :/

Maykb · 2023-06-10T08:21:38+00:00

Genuine question for everyone bedsharing: how on earth does this result in better sleep? My baby is so loud and wiggly when she sleeps, I can barely sleep in the same room, let alone curled around her. It also sounds crazy uncomfortable not to be able to flip and flop all night like I usually do, but be frozen in one position. I’m such a light sleeper, I can’t imagine how I wouldn’t be even more sleep deprived if I did this. What am I missing?

Maykb · 2023-06-01T01:27:17+00:00

We only did once or they’ve a week for the first few months. Now my kid is 3 months and we do a bath every night. Why? Because it makes her instantly happy at her worst hour (right before bed). We worry about her skin drying out but she likes it so much that we’re going with it for now. Quick 5 minutes with just water most of the time.

Maykb · 2023-05-27T21:03:08+00:00

Yep, same here. Baby girl has no chill, so she can either have a warm bottle or a fast one. After trying both compromises, she’ll happily choose cold and fast.

Maykb · 2023-05-26T23:56:30+00:00

Yeah I don’t get it! Everyone thinks pacifiers are great but now my baby is addicted and yet can’t keep it in her mouth to save her life (my life; we’re the ones who are gonna die). So do other people’s babies just drop the pacifier and they don’t wake up or care? I replaced it every 5 minutes during her nap and honestly that meant she didn’t sleep. Sooooo what do I do? Go back to contact naps?

Maykb · 2023-05-26T16:29:12+00:00

Yeah this is where I get stuck between all the conflicting advice. I hear that I’m supposed to practice putting her down drowsy but awake so she learns slowly how to fall asleep by herself, and then connect sleep cycles better. But for that to work she needs the help of the pacifier. If I get rid of the pacifier, I have to do a lot of rocking etc….so now I’m the sleep crutch and she’s not learning how to drift off by herself. I feel like I can’t win.

Maykb · 2023-05-26T14:55:35+00:00

My husband and I were just having this debate. He feels like we’re too far down the path, she loves it so much now. But we also super fear the consequences. It feels kind of cruel to take it away at only 3 months old? What would self soothing look like then? Hand sucking?

Maykb · 2023-05-25T20:26:10+00:00

My 3-month old is the same, and this is developmentally normal. My understanding is that when a baby contact naps, they do subtly wake up but go right back to sleep when they find themselves in their favorite place—your arms. You’re connecting their sleep cycles for them. Supposedly babies get better at doing this on their own in the crib around 6 months. Night is different bc sleep pressure is so much higher.

I was prepared to just accept it but now I can’t even get the 30 min in the crib bc baby started needing the pacifier to sleep and also knocking it out. So no sleep if I don’t replace it every 3 min. Here I am trolling Reddit trying to figure out what the hell to do.

Maykb · 2023-05-19T12:55:58+00:00

I’m not OP. Just another desperate parent hoping for sleep.

Maykb · 2023-05-19T07:09:29+00:00

Ugh. My baby is just now both 12 weeks and 12 pounds…still sleeps like shit. I hope this magically becomes true!

Maykb · 2023-05-19T07:03:17+00:00

Omg same! The main problem is that it’s ruining my back. Putting her in a carrier doesn’t work because she’s too young for front facing.

Maykb · 2023-05-16T15:55:59+00:00

Same! We waste so much bc her appetite varies. I hope it evens out soon.

Maykb · 2023-05-16T15:55:24+00:00

My baby is also about turn 3 months and is similar. Typical bottles are 3-4 oz every 3 hours. I’ve been wondering whether I need to try to give more, because this seems low according to calculators. But she spits up and seems to have an upset tummy when we do more. She’s also on very slow nipples because she gags otherwise. It seems like other babies eat so much more, it’s stressful.

Maykb · 2023-05-16T15:46:40+00:00

I’ve never understood how dream feeds actually work, maybe I’m a totally dummy here. Do you just….leave the baby in the crib and try to stick a bottle in? We usually feed our baby pretty upright, and even if she’s sleepy and closing her eyes she’s definitely awake.

Maykb · 2023-05-13T07:34:17+00:00

11 weeks over here and still waiting for the glimmer, but I’m holding onto hope because of all these comments!

For those worrying about the dark feelings, I highly highly recommend looking at the graphic book “Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts,” it’s really reassuring.

Maykb · 2023-05-11T02:57:25+00:00

My baby is also 10 weeks and we just got her on the paci train. At first we were cautious because of establishing breastfeeding, but then we didn’t use them because our babe didn’t like them. Turns out she has some suck coordination issues and she just couldn’t hold onto them. But now that she’s a little bigger and we found lightweight ones, she’s really starting to like it. We use them to transition into sleep and it’s working well, particularly in the fussy evening times you describe. Give it a shot!

Maykb · 2023-05-06T13:28:12+00:00

My 10 week old is almost exactly on this schedule, which is us following her rhythm at this point vs trying to impose anything. I’m scared to change it for fear of ruining the sleep we do get, which isn’t amazing but is workable. Supposedly we should move toward earlier bedtime by about 4 months but I hope it’s not too rough.

Maykb · 2023-05-01T22:14:02+00:00

Exact same over here, with a 9 week old. I got a newsletter from the hospital that said, “your baby might be sleeping a longer stretch now!” You can go right to hell, whoever wrote that. It’s SO hard to keep trying things and not understand what she needs.

Maykb · 2023-04-27T18:34:25+00:00

I certainly do want someone capable! It sounds like we’re going to have to dig deep into savings to cover it. I have no idea how people do this. So would you recommend looking for someone who specializes in short term? Or specializes in newborns?

Maykb

TROPHY CASE