Naps in bouncy = terrible?

[KellyLivi]

Hi! This is my first post! :-)

My DS is 12 weeks old. He's a really calm, happy baby. He sleeps great except for one issue... he will only nap for more than 30-45 minutes in his bouncy (yes, with the vibration on...). If I put him in his crib, he will fall asleep easily but almost ALWAYS wakes after 30-45 minutes. I've tried putting him down earlier, I've tried putting him down later, I've tried letting him CIO (up to approx. 10-15 min.), I've tried rushing in to soothe him through the sleep transition. It just doesn't work. What DOES work, is the bouncy. He'll sleep great there. Is this so terrible? I'm so, so tired of fighting the crib. It's so emotionally exhausting to me. I creating a terrible sleep habit? Or will he grow out of this 45-minute intruder thing one day and easily transition to the crib? I'm guessing the vibration on the bouncy is what is helping him get through his sleep transition at 45 minutes...

Other potentially pertinent details...this is his schedule:
6:30 wake and eat (he's EBF)
7:30/8 nap
9:30 wake and eat
10:30/11 nap
12:30 wake and eat
1:30/2 nap
3:30 wake and eat
4:30/5 nap
6:30 wake and eat
7:30ish in bed (whenever he starts to get sleepy)
8:30 dreamfeed

I am trying to transition him to THIS schedule very soon:
6:30 wake and eat, activity
8ish nap
10 wake and eat, activity
11:30ish nap
1 wake and eat, activity
2:30ish nap
4 wake and eat, activity
6 eat and down to bed at 6:30
8:30 dreamfeed (will drop the dreamfeed soon)

Also want to note that he always goes to sleep easily. When I see signs of tiredness (or at 1.5 hours after he eats at the latest), I turn on the fan, turn down the light, swaddle him, rock him for a minute or two (sometimes with a paci), and then put him down awake (at naps and bedtime). He always goes right to sleep without fussing (no matter where I put him down). It's wonderful. If only he'd STAY asleep in the crib...

Can I just continue to let him nap in his bouncy (in his room) until he's older? Has anyone done this successfully?

Thanks!
Kelly

[weaver]

Hello and welcome to BW!

I want to say sounds like he does a great job self-settling.  That's great. 

As for your main question of the bouncer, it isn't something I've done.  I really can't say much about it other than to suggest that you may be creating a problem in terms of it being a prop, something he can't sleep without.  You can decide when you want to deal with that, it's up to you.  You do sound a bit tired so maybe right now is not the time.  I generally think something is only a problem if it's a problem for the family.  And he is very young, so there's usually an amount of carrying about and so on for naps at that age, if only because they sleep for so long.

You may well be right about the vibration helping him to sleep through the 40 minute window.  It's unlikely, I think, that he'll one day just be able to sleep in the crib.  You never know, but I imagine he'll need some help with it when you get there. 40 minutes naps are a common problem. Here's a great story of how one family was helped with them..
How Tracy Helped Josie and her Family Get Past 45-Min. Naps!

And here's a link to the props board which may give you some food for thought
Props vs Comfort items. Whats the difference?

You also mentioned that you let LO CIO briefly.  BW is firmly opposed to CIO, among other things it is detrimental to the parent-child relationship and can break trust, which is a precious thing that takes a lot of effort to rebuild. I'm not being judgemental, please don't take it that way.  We would love to help you find other ways of dealing with sleep issues.
Cry it out (CIO): 10 reasons why it is not for us
Video on CIO/CC and its effect on brain development

[KellyLivi]

Thanks for the information. I really don't think it's a calories/hunger issue... he's been like this (with the short crib naps) since birth. He's always been a great eater.

I've been reading about wake to sleep and am thinking I'll try that next... the one where you go in at 30 minutes, gently touch them to stir them from the sleep cycle, and then get out of the room. After that, I think we'll be back to the bouncy. I just don't know what else to do!

Kelly

[weaver]

Hi Kelly,
wake to sleep needs to be adapted for the younger baby so rather than going in and stirring him, try to sit with him and when he stirs, you pat (or rub back, or whatever you usually do) and help him to get back down.  It can take a couple of days to get the timing right so stick with it and hopefully it will help you. 

I used to do one nap "working" like this and one nap, if it didn't go well we'd get up when LO woke and put her in the sling or buggy so she would sleep a bit more.  This way, you take the pressure off yourself a bit.

Have a look at wake to sleep option 1 here:
How to address habitual wakings (w2s and other methods)