Calling all Velcro baby mamas

[ismail]

@handlotion Exactly the same here. Contact naps and baby wearing all day and then nipple has to be in her mouth to sleep at night. Any time I try to move her into her basinette she wakes immediately. Im concerned how I will return to work in a few months. I teach and need the evenings to prep. I can’t be doing what we are doing now and yet I know I’m doing what she needs me to do at the moment.

 

[laurenalexylee]

@handlotion Mine is 10 months and we are still contact napping and co sleeping

 

[dougalqc]

@handlotion This entire post speaks to my soul, I’m right there with you, baby is almost 4 months now and contact naps and sleeps on my chest through the night. Every day and every night I tell myself this is going to be the day I try to get LO to sleep without me and then I’m so tired that I don’t have the energy to try it out and would rather her just get her sleep and me get my downtime on my phone then spend an entire nap trying to get her to stay asleep in the bassinet. The longest she’ll stay sleep in the bassinet is maybe 15 mins.

 

[dougalqc]

Other things that are hard because of co sleeping and contact napping: I’ve lost weight really fast because I don’t have time to eat, I have to do household chores when she’s awake, husband and I never get to snuggle and I’m always shushing him

 

[handlotion]

@dougalqc I feel this! A friend of mine decided to do a meal service for a month because she just didn’t have time to cook or clean. I am going to look into that and see if it’s budget friendly for me for a little bit. If I can quickly pop something in the microwave and eat before he needs to sleep, it might be better than nothing.

 

[watersports007]

@handlotion I keep Larabars and other snacks by the bed for this and do meals in the instant pot while she's awake

 

[pastorthomas]

@handlotion 9 months in and still there. It’s what he needs to sleep so I’m just honoring that still. I listen to a lot of audiobooks and lately been even watching tv on my phone with AirPods as the light hasn’t been waking him lately. But still can’t roll away for longer than 5-15 minutes. I’m not going to force it but I’m definitely hoping he starts to get longer stretches soon!

 

[kaccy]

@handlotion Mom of a 14 month old typing this with a toddler sleeping on me because if I leave she will wake up. I started eating dinner early and watching stuff on my phone alone in bed under a sheet to not wake her. I basically never see my husband. Everyone says it will get better but it definitely hasn’t for us. It’s gotten worse because we are burned out.

I vividly remember rolling away and eating a protein bar while peeing and drinking water because all
I had was 3 mins before she would wake up a few months ago.

Perfect that ninja roll, put pillows around him and watch him like a hawk on the monitor while you eat.

 

[darwinsixsixsix]

@handlotion My LO is also a velcro baby. I read the book Precious Little Sleep to help learn some different techniques.

The main thing that helped me was moving my LO to her own room and having my husband take over for bedtime. After a week of sleep training, my LO is sleeping better and longer! (Last night she slept from 8:15pm to 8:30am!)

It was very emotional for my LO and I for the sleep training. But it's nice that she can get uninterrupted sleep and I can have some "me" time. We still contact nap throughout the day, though. Eventually, we'll work on that, too..

 

[dominga]

@handlotion What about babywearing for contact naps? Such a game changer for velcro babies!

Sidelying position is great for nursing to sleep bc it’s easier to either safely take a nap with them or sneak out after they’re down.

 

[handlotion]

I found some good advice on this post from a while back https://www.reddit.com/r/AttachmentParenting/s/ALZR01HN63

Anyone tried any of this to transition baby to crib? I would be fine with baby in crib for first stretch and then in our bed from 10 pm.