I Need Some Advice On How To Get My Baby To Nap Without Depending On Me To Fall Asleep.
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Hi! I am new this site as of today. My sweet little girl is 7 1/2 months old and I am a first time mommy who stays at home and breastfeeds. I am with my little girl 24/7 and there is nothing better than being a mom. I am however extremely frustrated when it comes to getting my baby to sleep. I feel like she is extremely dependent on nursing to fall asleep, both for napping and bedtime. I normally don't mind this but, I'm concerned that I'm creating a problem.
For night time, we have a routine that we follow every night. It ends with me nursing her to sleep. I can usually put her in her crib and she will sleep 5-7 hours before she wakes. She then nurses and falls right back to sleep. This really is fine with me, except I am concern for when I am not available to put her to sleep. There have been a few occasions where I have had dinner with a friend and my husband has to do the bedtime routine by himself. He follows our same routine but It is a true fight and she will not fall asleep until I nurse her. This leaves us feeling like we will never be able to have an overnight away from her. We have tried the CIO method and it is awful. She will cry FOREVER and it's not just a fussy cry, it's screaming and frantic!! We have talked to our pediatrician, and he has reassured us that letting her cry is fine but my question is, for how long? He said 20 minutes and we have but she never goes to sleep. we've gone in to reassure her that we are still here. Talking to her and rubbing her back but that only makes her scream more.
Napping is my real frustration. The only way I can get her to nap is if i hold her and she nurses or if we lay in my bed and I nurse her to sleep. This morning, I decided I would once again try her crib. She was showing me that she was ready for a nap. Fussy and rubbing her eyes. I put her in her crib, drowsy, and the minute I laid her down she started screaming. I let her cry for 30 minutes and finally went to get her. She is now asleep in my arms as I sit her typing this.
I don't necessarily mind holding her while she naps but I am concerned that I am making her dependent on me or creating a bad habit. I want her to be a healthy sleeper but I am so confused as to what the right thing to do is. There are SO many opinions out there and I know every baby is different. Sorry for the book. I'm just so stressed when it comes to napping/bedtime and would appreciate some advice. Thanks so much!
check out sleepsense.net their sleep system tells u what to do for all ages and its works very well. if u become a member u can watch her videos aswell i like those the best very helpful.
Pros and cons of BFing baby to sleep.