how to take naps in someone elses cot?

[Khalam's Mama]

My DS is 9 months old and only recently taught him to self soothe this past month. He is very good at it in his cot and can sleep in 2 minutes mostly with little or no crying. I spend lots of time at either of my 2 sisters' houses (both have babies and hence have cots) and so my DS oftten has to take his nap there. The problem is he takes ages to sleep in the other cots as he plays for ages with anything he can get his hands on even though I remove the toys and then he cries for ages but mainly mantra cries. My question is how do I get him to settle like he does at home? I know it is tempting to say try to take naps at home but this means I am stuck home alone all day and also when I go back to work in a couple months my mum and sisters will be doing the childcare for me so he will need to be able to nap at both their places. At the moment it is taking me around 30 to 45 minutes each time to get him down. It is like he just doesn't get that it is time to sleep even though I use the same routine with the same lullaby and dark room etc. Also sometimes i am ready to go out shortly after the start of a nap and would like him to take his nap in the car seat or buggy at home so I can take him without having to distrurb him when I go, but again he doesn't soothe easily in there, only his cot. I avoid doing this if possible but sometimes if I have appointments etc I can't help it. I waseasier to do this when he frd to sleep but he doesn't do that anymore.

[~Sara~]

Hi there!  I totally understand how you feel.  We go over to DH's parents' house twice a week and DS always takes one nap there on those days.  He acts exactly like your LO does.  He will kick and scratch on the crib bedding and hoot and holler for what seems like forever.  I just consider it part of the nature of unfamiliar territory.  I think that your LO will settle down much faster once he's taken a few naps/spent a few days at the other homes.  If need be, trying putting him down in the crib ~5-10 minutes earlier than you would at home, just so he'll have a better chance of falling asleep.

If it's been, oh, 20 minutes and he's still not gone to sleep, you might try doing the wind down routine again.  Or, at least pick him up, say the key phrase, and put him back down.  I also ask my MIL to darken the room where his crib is, and that helped a lot, too.

HTH a bit!

[anna*]

It is hard, but once you are back at work he will be sleeping in the 'other' cots more regularly so they will become more familiar. In the meantime... room as dark as it can be; sometimes smelling like home, like a muslin cloth to put under his head on top of the sheet; a lovey; a slightly longer wind-down; start nap earlier to allow for more fussing and mantra crying.

As for sleeping in the carseat or pushchair, my LO has gone through phases when he will, phases when he won't, and there's not much I can do about it. The best chance for having him sleep in the carseat or pushchair is to go out about 30 mins BEFORE his scheduled sleep time, so he can effectively do a bit of A time (watching the world go by, exciting), then chill and wind down, then get him off to sleep. If I set out too close to sleep time he would be too interested to sleep and then miss his sleep window.

[lpperry]

Is he sleeping in another babies crib?  Or is it a portable crib, like a pack n play?

I would have him sleep in a pack n play in his own room at home a few times and see if he can nap in it at his own house.  Then use that same pack n play when you go to your sister's.

[Khalam's Mama]

It is someone else's crib. We have a travel cot but i don't have a car in the day when DH at work so not very practical to transport to my sister's with the buggy. It alternates between the two siters and mym mum's where he has to sleep so would have to move it daily. May well use travel cot at my mum's as can leave it there so I will let him sleep in it at home before he needs it at Mum's. Good idea thanks.