Naps in common room

[SNSmith]

Hi all, first post here! Very excited to have found this forum.
DD is 8 weeks and DH and I live in a 1BR apartment. DD sleeps in her crib in a corner of the common space since 4 weeks. At night the arrangement works well for everyone but during the day it’s becoming less ideal as she is becoming more alert (more light and noise). I want her nap environment to be conducive to sleep but I also need to do housework during the day. Solutions for making this work? Have thought of light blocking curtains but doesn’t solve the issue of me making noise. Could she nap in a PNP in our room during the day or will this be confusing to her to have two different sleeping spaces? Also have thought perhaps as her A time lengthens this will sort itself out as I can work while she plays. Thoughts? TIA!

[becj86]

Hi, welcome

Making noise is not really an issue necessarily. My son slept through all sorts of noises so long as he knew what they were. Have you ever put your head on someone's chest/tummy and heard all the noises - heart beating, breathing, gut gurgling, etc. She's been living in there with that noise constantly for months so noise doesn't necessarily cause problems. What did cause issues for us (and I know, a lot of others also) was when the noise stopped. So DS would fall asleep with the shower running but as soon as I turned it off, he'd be awake. You could try using white noise so she has something constant going.

She can certainly nap in the PNP in your room. Naps and night sleep are quite different, so having two different spaces shouldn't be an issue and having a baby who can sleep in a PNP is invaluable when you go out for an evening or something and you can put LO down whilst you eat with friends or some such.

Also have thought perhaps as her A time lengthens this will sort itself out as I can work while she plays.

You're right. Her feeding will be come more efficient and her A time will increase and give you more time to do things.

FWIW, my son loved sleeping swaddled on the floor of the living room and I'd be able to work in the kitchen while he slept. Sleeping in common spaces can work.

[SNSmith]

Thank you! That’s really encouraging. I’ve noticed exactly what you said about the noise stopping- if she falls asleep with the dishwasher/laundry running and it stops she wakes up. That made me laugh about your son sleeping on the floor, what a wonderful skill for portability! Maybe we will try that. Did he do that naturally or did you have a period of coaching him to do that? Also is there a good post about some of the differences between day sleep/naps and night sleep? I’d love to learn more about that!

[becj86]

Did he do that naturally or did you have a period of coaching him to do that?

He just kicked up such a fuss when I was taking him to his room that I decided to just swaddle him on the floor. I'd then hold my hand on his chest and sing and he'd go to sleep. It took a few goes before he'd sleep like that in other places though.

Have a read of this link:
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64515.0

[SNSmith]

That was really informative- thank you! She goes down drowsy but awake and enters light sleep but more often these days she is having difficulty transitioning to deep sleep. Is this more likely OT? I begin nap routine after 1hr 15min A time but often with her waking after 5-10 mins and shh pat or PU/PD if needed her A time can be up to 2 hrs.

[becj86]

Yeah, most babies of 8 weeks need less A time than that - she may be more 'awake' than her peers and need 1:15 A time but usually that's more around 10-11 weeks. She may be OT, she may just be jolting as she goes into deep sleep and she may need patting or a hand on her through that time while she's learning how to stay asleep.