# Need a gentle AP method for naps - help!



## dettcat (Aug 17, 2017)

Hello, 
I really need an advice for teaching the baby how to nap on her own!
We've been nursing to nap while sidelying or I was babywearing her through the nap, or jumping on the birth ball while she's in the sling to put her to sleep, white noise on. Well, 20 minutes later, if I get away from her or put her down in a sling, she'll wake up.

I wouldn't mind sleeping with her - this is all I want, really! - but I'm afraid that letting her sleep on me in a sling is dangerous - plus, she gets all hot and sweaty and wakes up tired and pissed. She needs to stay vertical (and ideally moving as she transitions from one sleep cycle to another one) to stay asleep.

As for nursing, at 3 months old my supply tanked up :-( Don't ask me why or how, nobody knows. I've seen all sort of doctors, LC's, done the bloodwork, even tried acupuncture and hypnosis, but I'm no longer able to breastfeed exclusively, so I feed her formula with a supplementer. She won't take a bottle, and I can't use a supplementer in a side-lying position (danger of suffocation if I doze off, plus I don't see very well there, plus it leaks everywhere).
The docs say that the only possible reason for low supply at this point is that I'm stressed and tired and I need rest. I am literally in the mother burnout situation, but we're expats away from friends and family, and my husband has to work to provide for us, so really, I can't get external help.

Long story short, any ideas how to make my daughter nap without hanging on me during entire nap? 
I ordered a swing online that has to arrive soon. I hope it will work, but she never sleeps in a pram or in the car seat in the car, so I'm not keeping my hopes too high. She's like this... very attached, snuggly :-(
She's 15 weeks old and started her sleep regression on top of everything, so I really could use as much daytime nap as I can.

I hate the idea of sleep training her, but seems like I don't have much choice... Any ideas are welcome.


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## blessedwithboys (Dec 8, 2004)

Nonsense about stress and your supply. I was a 17yo single mother, lost my own mother 3 mos pp, raised my 2 little sisters, and I nursed without bottles until CLW at 24 mos and grew a big fat baby. DS2 was the same, no bottles, big and fat, but that time I was abandoned by my dh while pg and with an older kid to support. Talk about stress both times! No supply problems, though.

This nap situation is something you just have to wait for the baby to outgrow. My kids couldn't nap alone until around 9 mos. It just magically happened one day. Same thing with STTN. It just magically happened at 24 mos. CIO is cruel. Motherwork is hard and demands sacrifice. You can do it! No phase lasts forever but while you are in it it is hard to see the light at the other end. Hang in there and be what your baby NEEDS you to be. Right now, your baby needs you to be a bed. Happy napping!


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## katelove (Apr 28, 2009)

At 15 weeks I would either sleep with her or wear her in the carrier. It is not dangerous for her to sleep in the carrier. You need to follow the TICKS rules whether she is asleep or awake and, if you are, then it is not dangerous. 

However, if you are tired and need a rest then I would say definitely take advantage of the opportunity to sleep yourself. When you're ready to start getting up while she sleeps then settle her to sleep in your bed then quietly creep away once she's asleep. If she wakes up early then leave it for a while then try again. Also, know that you may need to go back to staying with her during growth spurts, illness, random phases etc  It's not always a forward, linear progression. 

All the best. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## KarenLove (Nov 14, 2017)

I nurse my 7 mo old baby and had her in bed at night with me, but we started needing her to sleep in her crib. Mostly to keep me and my husbands sanity! It's been really tough,  we would give in every time. But then I found this app and have used it only 3 times, the progress is amazing. Each time we put her to bed it get's easier for her to fall asleep and stay asleep, it's WORKING LIKE A CHARM! The app is called "Sleep in You Own Bed, Baby" in the Google Store.  I just wish I new of this 3 months ago! Hopefully, this will help you out!


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