Are we using the carrier as a crutch?

[sharz]

@etant Does she stay pressed up against you on her side? I thought maybe that would work as long as we’re touching but she still doesn’t like it

 

[etant]

@sharz During the first few hours of the night, she will stay on her side and pressed up against me, usually still nursing. She doesn’t like it when I touch her otherwise though. When she was very little I did my best to roll her over to her back once she was finished nursing, now I don’t bother anymore since she can roll back on her own and will usually do that in the middle of the night.
There is definitely a learning curve to side nursing + sleeping, and my sleep is nowhere near perfect, but it’s so much better than when she was sleeping in her crib.

 

[sharz]

@etant I think maybe we should practice during the day when things are less fraught.

 

[hisprincess710]

@sharz You’re not doing anything wrong if your baby doesn’t sleep well independently. Some will, some won’t. Doing something less exhausting, and helping her get a good sleep at the same time sounds like a win to me. Take the wins where you can get them, especially when they’re so young!

 

[grimkinggrim]

@sharz My 6mo baby sucks at naps and always has. He can do contact naps and carrier naps but hates his crib. When I was on mat leave I did only contact naps after nursing and the carrier at least once each day for 5 months. He’s been at daycare for 2 weeks and will nap in his pack n play there. Still on weekends it’s the carrier or contact or car seat only. Babies are crazy. But clearly I didn’t ruin him by doing all those contact and carrier naps. Bonus, I really enjoyed the snuggles lol!

 

[jesusishere]

@sharz I contact napped my first for 6 months and my second for 3. They have both been and become good sleepers anyways. I have a 7.5 week old and she gets worn about half the time. Good sleep begets good sleep around here, so we love carrier naps.

 

[pashapotte]

@sharz You're not forming a habit. The habit has been there for 9 months already. The habit has been darkness, mom's heartbeat, food on demand without any effort, low noises and always the perfect temperature and a constant movement in a curled up position. The world outside is loud and cold.

Skin to skin and carrying fires neurons in both brains, meaning it's building new highways in there. In German, humans are called "tragling". Tragen=carrying, ling=small mammal, so a mammal that needs to be carried. We're not "lay-lings". Cribs, prams, strollers, etc are all unknown to evolution. A baby only knows that it'll die of not being carried or close to another human being. Baby doesn't know that we have a roof above our head, a fridge full of food and no predators around. Baby is still in cave mode.

Babies have always been carried and are still carried around the world. Studies have shown that the practice of leaving babies alone creates humans with bonding issues and humans that don't know how to regulate their feeling. Babies that know that they'll get help and have a safe base to return to will develop better, they'll be stronger when meeting new challenges later in life. Crying is their only way of showing their need for help. They don't stop crying because we train them to stop. They stop crying because they know it won't make a difference because no one is coming. Their stress levels are still elevated if not more. The "baby needs to learn to be on its own when sleeping" comes from the old times where soldiers that just listened to orders and were "hard" were needed. That's outdated.

Also: people that say their babies are sleeping independently at that age are lying almost every time.

So, never miss a chance to hold your baby.

 

[path_finder]

@sharz I think the reason my baby took to the bassinet at night reasonably well is all the contact naps we had during the day.

Exclusively contact (carrier) napped until 6 mo when I went back to work- and even then every nap with me was a carrier nap until 10 mo.

No sleep issues to report now at 13 mo.

 

[mountainpine]

@sharz Nah, it’s what she needs now. Her needs will change. Our girl did 90% of her naps in the wrap for a few months because it was all that worked, then she got older and other stuff worked for her/us.

 

[clarinetscore]

@sharz Mine also contact napped a lot at 7 weeks old. What you can do is gradually transitioning her to bassinet or bed once a day, starting with the easiest nap (for us it’s the first nap of the day) and then working up from there.

 

[marsbars]

@sharz 8 weeks ago ALL of your babies needs were met in the womb. That's where they slept. That's development and not a bad habit. Its not a lot of time at all, 7 weeks.

 

[alexfrankone]

@sharz It's perfectly natural for them to be like that. We are carrying mammals don't fret.

 

[jmh]

@sharz My daughter was in a sling pretty much every day for the first 4-5 months of her life. She needed to be held at all time. She started sleeping through the night and completely on her own at 5 months old and she's still a great sleeper at 14 months. Enjoy the cuddles while it lasts!

 

[jesuskidtommy]

@sharz Nope. My baby did all his naps in the carrier until about 5-6 months when I put him down in the crib and he was suddenly okay with it. At that age, baby sleep is all about individually temperament and development than "habit". Keep doing what works. Make a change if/when it stops working for you all.

 

[mosesson]

@sharz Mine goes in the carrier for all naps still at 3m. Means he gets decent naps so is in a good mood and it gives me freedom to do what I want / go where I want. He sleeps through the night quite regularly so I don’t see the issue

 

[bjn]

@sharz Sounds all normal. My baby is 9 months old and I have used the pram about 6 times at most. I have carried her non stop since she is born, and she now is the best little sleeper. She sleeps anywhere, or on me first then I transfer her. I am not gping to stress for hours to force her to sleep in her bed. As long as a baby sleep, regardless how or where, you are all good. It’s a brand new world for babies, one than they need to trust, and all you are doing is being consistent telling your baby that this is okay and he is safe.