nap ritural

[wannabeloved4320]

is it ok that when my 6 month almost 7 month old goes down for a nap that we go into his room where it is already dark and quite and i sit in the rocking chair with him and read him a book and he falls asleep then i put him in his bed for sleep?

[oilerbaby]

I think this would depend on whether or not he will go to sleep without you rocking him... if not then you know he has become dependent on this and it is a "prop" so to speak.  Personally, I wouldn't do this because I just don't have the time to rock my lo to sleep every nap and it would lead to him needing this to fall asleep. 

[malialeanne]

Hi there. BW promotes independent sleep, which means that your lo falls asleep in the crib rather than in your arms. This helps most babies stay asleep longer and prevents problems associated with them becoming dependent on you to get them to sleep.

It's OK to use the rocking chair as part of your wind down ritual. We do, we just don't rock to sleep. Some families do rock to sleep, and don't have problems with it--it's just not what BW recommends or what we promote on this board.

I rocked dd to sleep for the first 5-6 weeks of her life. To begin working on independent sleep I began putting her down more and more awake, beginning by putting her down when she was just barely asleep, then almost asleep then drowsy, etc. When we first started she would generally startle and cry when put down, so we used the pat/shush method. With an older baby, pat/shush may not be enough; if he gets worked up you may need to do pick up/put down (but you may not).

[wannabeloved4320]

i an sorry for not menting it but i dont rock him to sleep i just sit there and read him a book

[oilerbaby]

I would still try to put him in his crib before he falls asleep... or do what malialeanne suggested to slowly get him going on independent sleep.  Will he go to sleep if you don't read him a story in the rocking chair? 

[wannabeloved4320]

yes he will go to sleep even if i dont read him a story in the rocking chair. i use to have to lay down in my bed with him and rock him to sleep everynight and that would be the only way he would go to sleep then one night he said (scraming and crying until i let him do it on his own) he was ready to do it on his own. so from that day on he was doing it on his own. but then i wanted to read him a book before he goes to bed even for a nap and thats why i read to him. so i guess i wil just lay him back to bed without me reading to him for his naps.

[oilerbaby]

That's good then!  I wouldn't worry about it as long as he will still go to sleep independently on his own - but putting him down for naps without a book and reading him a book as part of the night time ritual is a great idea. 

[jadeborn]

I say read to him!  If he isn't having any difficulty staying asleep for his naps, then falling asleep while you read to him must not be a problem!