Since he was really young (like 3 months old), I’ve knocked Isaac out for his morning nap by taking him for a walk in his stroller. Recently we’ve stopped going outside because there’s so much for him to look at that it doesn’t work and he won’t go to sleep. So we walk around the house (yeah, like I never thought I would).
But soon he will outgrow his infant car seat, and thereby outgrow his Snap-N-Go. He’ll no longer be facing me when we walk, he’ll be facing out. Erin thinks it’s time to transition him to the crib for his nap. Me?
I’m going to (mostly) wait it out. He still fits in the car seat, he still fits in the Snap-N-Go, and, most importantly, it still works.
See? OUT in the Stroller
Today I tried out the crib thing for the nap. I managed to get him to go to sleep on me in the glider after his breakfast of solids (I was shocked I was able to do that). I laid him down and he stayed asleep (again, shocked). 25-30 minutes later? Awake and crying (not shocked).
So what did I do?
Put him in his Snap-N-Go, wrapped a blanket around him and started moving. And guess what, it worked.
I know he associates his morning nap with going for a walk, I know it’s not going to last forever, but I can’t nurse him to sleep and there are only so many ways I can get him down. I found this way, it works, and I’m going to milk it for all it’s worth.
I will, however, keep trying out the crib. But you better believe that as soon as I can’t get him back down and he hasn’t slept long enough, he’s going in the Snap-N-Go. No qualms about that.
If it’s workin’ for you keep at it
I did that with my first. I used to sit on an exercise ball and bounce her in my arms until she fell asleep. I did that until she was 7 months old and pushing 20 lbs. It was exhausting. Now, she’s a 5 year old that never stops moving.
The 2nd time around I avoided that scenario, I didn’t have the time to bounce on a ball with another kid under foot. It’s quite a gift when a baby learns how to put themselves to sleep! When you are ready to go there with Issac he’s old enough to learn.
Yesterday I tried the crib/stroller combo and got about a 2.5-3 hour nap out of it. Only 30 minutes was in the crib.
Today I got an hour in the crib (with a wake up in the middle) and nothing else. I got killed after the hour though because he’d pooped. Nothing kills a nap like that.
Haha – so true! Nothing kills a good nap like a bad poopy diaper.