Hi, my name is Amy and I'm new to the group.  I have a 4 1/2 month old daughter named Ella.  Does anyone have any suggestions for naps?  She will sleep maybe 30 mins if I'm lucky.  She'll sleep longer if she's in her swaddler or being held but otherwise she wakes herself up.  Also the only way she will sleep at night is if she's in her swaddler but I'd kind of like to break that habit soon before she gets too big.  Any suggestions on how to break these habits?

Thanks,

Amy

I would keep swaddlering her and try to set some kind of schedule if you can and then try to break the swaddle if you think thats nessacary. At some point she won't want to be swaddled and will let you know about it.

Have you tried getting a wedge and sleeping her on her side? Thats the only way my daughter would sleep till she could roll over her self, or maybe try a calming cd while she sleeps just keep it as a back ground noise (I still play the cd when she sleeps).

Good luck. And if you can't find anything that works talk to you baby's dr they might have some ideas to.

I stopped swaddling my daughter when I could't keep her arms from coming out...that's when you know it's time to transition. I then tucked a blanket into the sides if her crib so she wouldn't be able to move around much. When she was able to kick that off I transitioned to a sleep sack and that's what she sleeps in now. It was easier than I thought it would be. I figured she would be in a swaddle until she was two:) They just get older and they grow out of stuff and adjust rather easily. We still us some form of background noise like the air purifier or humidifier....before we had a CD. Naps used to be a real nightware until I realized that she was not sleeping because I had started giving her yogurt and milk. Once I stopped she slept better. Also you could start giving her a small stuffed animal blanket thing as a comfort object. Start off by letting her hold it while you feed her then put it in the crib with her. It helps my daughter sleep. Good luck. Every day I learn something new. It's a challenge I know!!!!

My son slept in this little fisher price seat (very similar to a car seat without all the crazy straps) for the first few months of his life. When it was time to switch him to the crib, I bought a noise machine (plays white noise/waterfalls/etc.) and turned it on while he was napping/sleeping. It really seemed to help him transition to quiet time/naptime in the crib and still does now that he is two. I also think it is really important to get on a schedule and stick to it no matter what. I can predict exactly when my son will want a nap and when he will wake up most days (changes sometimes when they hit milestones) because I have had him on a strict schedule since he was very small. Good luck with the naps.

My son has always taken short naps like that too but also usually would take one long nap during the day too. He always slept better swaddled and we swaddled him until he was about 8 months. We gradually got away from it though by leaving one arm out, then both arms out then no swaddle at all because by last month he couldn't stay wrapped up in it anyways because he moves so much now. I would keep doing it if I were you.

my daughter has always been a not so good napper - sometimes she will still only nap if I hold her.  I swaddled her at night until she was almost 7 months - once she started getting out of it every night I tried leaving it off one night and surprisingly no problems!  so, don't worry about the swaddling - I tried to wean her off swaddling at about 4 months and she just wasn't ready.  i've found that she naps pretty good in the car seat, so you might want to try that.  i just rock her in it for a few minutes and she goes right out for about 45 min to 1 hr.  usually gets about 3 naps a day that way.  getting into a schedule really helps too. good luck.

Thanks for all of the wonderful advice from everyone!  I just wasn't sure when I should get her out of the swaddler.  Now I feel more comfortable knowing that's it's ok that  she can only sleep with that.  I'm just so new at all of this and don't really know when to start and stop things.  Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

Hi Amy...you sound just like I did 6 months ago, lol. My daughter Sienna just turned one year, but at about 4 -6 months old I started wondering when I could stop swaddling her. She would only nap on me on her belly but I couldn't keep her on her belly alone in her crib. It was quite aweful after a while. Her nap time never allowed me to do what I needed to do while she was asleep during the day.

I was anxious to get her out of the swaddle or for her to be able to roll over so that I could put her to sleep on her belly in her crib. If I left her unswaddled she would wake herself up with her arms. Bad reflex she had for a looong time.

When she was about 8 months old she would fight me with swaddling so I just decided to go cold turkey. By that time she had good neck strength and could roll. I was nervous at first because of the SIDS, but she was ready. The first couple of nights were rough. She wasn't used to it, but after a couple of nights she was great. It takes time, but like all the other Moms have said...they will let you know when they are ready.

Wow, that does sound like my situation :)  Your response was very comforting, thank you.  I guess I'm just jumping the gun a little and it's ok to leave her in the swaddler for now. 

I saw a mention of SIDS and being worried about it at 8 months, so I just thought I would comment.  My son started sleeping on his belly at about 4-5 months.  I swaddled him the first month or so, but even at that point I could not keep him arms in.  He started turning over on his belly at 3 months.  His doctor told me that once he was turning himself over at night, it was ok for him to sleep on his belly.  The important thing with SIDS is to make sure that the parent is not the one putting them to sleep on their stomach.  Once they are turning over on their own, it is ok for them to sleep like that.  When DS was little, around 2 months, I started moving him to his crrib from the bassinett.  I used a full size sheet folded in half and then I would tuck it really tight into the sides of his crib over him.  That kept him from moving around to much and gave him that swaddled feeling without having his arms stuck down.