Is it horrible that I allow my lo to take his catnap in his swing everyday?

[gena]

Is it horrible that I allow my lo to take his catnap in his swing everyday? He is 7 weeks old and boy are we sorting through some stuff.  we are on a 3 hour EASY routine and were doing fabulous.  We have hit a speed bump which would be that his naps have gone from 2 hours to 45 min at the most. Some day he will revert back and take one 2 hour nap.  So i figured that i would keep track of my days on paper and see if it were some inconsistency on my part.  I have not yet found something that stands out between when he takes 45 minute naps or 2 hour naps.  I just don't get it.  So now he goes down really easy in his swing and seems to enjoy it.  For the first three naps and bedtime we always do the same wind down and he goes to sleep in his crib.  of course sometimes easier than others.  For his catnap before his bath i let him sleep in his swing.  IS this a bad thing?  Should i stop this?  Oh and why i am asking questions i was aiming for a 7-7:30 bedtime however this has not come to fruition.  It seems no matter what time we start he does not go to sleep until 8:30 or nine.  is this normal?

thanks for all advice.

[estherofi20]

hi gena, well IMHO, i would make sure he can sleep in his crib, not only on the swing, 'cause as he gets older it would complicate things, but if he can sleep in his crib, i don't think its HORRIBLE to let him take the catnap in the swing... i would preferrably not do it, but the catnap is evenually going to disappear in a few months... so i guess there is no harm in that...

but perhaps you can post your routine so we can see what's happening?

[Lana]

Your catnap is really a "cheater" nap so it doesn't matter where or how it happens.  Its your Freebie .

Also once you get to 2 naps and a catnap your bedtime will move up.  Just try to extend awake time by a bit each day and you will get there

[andibig]

we used to let DD sleep in her swing for her catnap. i never had a problem with it as she would settle in her cot for the other naps and b/time. as pp said its a freebie and the 1st nap they drop so i wouldn't worry about.

[gena]

Let me start with a thank you ladies.

Our schedule or what we shoot for at our house is this.

7:00 am wake and feed(he usually wakes at 6:00-6:30 so i spend the rest of the time as quiet time and trying to get him down)

Activity time until 8:15

Nap until 10:00 and then feed and so on until 4:00

4:00 feed

5:15-6:00 nap

6:30 bath

7:00 feed

7:30 down for bed

Remembering this is ideal what it really looks like is his naps only last an hour at most.  If i am lucky he will take a 1:30.  However he used to take 3 1.5 hour naps a day however that stopped about 2 weeks ago.  My goal bedtime is 7-7:30 but what it currently looks like is 8:30-8:45.  The reason being is it takes that whole time to get him down.  I do pu/pd and pat shhhhh as needed.  Maybe i am doing something wrong.  oh and i do swaddle him as well which he fights until you can settle him down but this is a continuous cycle as i am sure you know as well.  The funny thing is sometimes all it takes is doing his routine and he goes right down other times (which is the most of the time) it takes at least an hour. 

Any suggestions?

[estherofi20]

Nap until 10:00 and then feed and so on until 4:00

i can imagine he gets a nap in between, rigth?

also i would suggest not to do PU/PD 'cause he is only 7WO and this is way to stimulating for any baby under 3MO, so stick with the pat-shush. I think your goal to do a 7-7:30pm bedtime sounds great!! My DS used to take ages to settle with pat-shush, he was at his worts probably from 6WO to 9WO, and then his need to settle with pat-shush decreased until out of no where he stopped needing it at 12WO. HTH

[gena]

yes, he does take a nap in between i was in a rush to type it and get a reply.  Thank you for asking.  Thanks for the advice on not pu/pd.  i had never thought that could be over stimulating.  hence the escalation in the crying.  wow, i just love this board.  i have learned and am still learning so much.  I will continue you pat shh.  have you found it to be more effective for your lo to be on his side and pat his back as the book suggest or did you pat his chest?  thoughts?  I did pat/shh for 30 minutes last night and he finally drifted off.  i get kind of scared to stop immediately after his eyes close because he has woken up on numerous occasions within 5 min.  i continue to pat/shh for a good 5-7 minutes to ensure that he is asleep.  thoughts?

[estherofi20]

I used a sleep positioner and the swaddle to keep him on his side, and i didn't pat him on the back, i patted him on his bottom, i guess he felt comnforted by this. For my DS at his worst moment he could take up to 45min to an hr of pat-shushing him, and i did continue to pat-shushing a bit more after his eyes were closed, just when you see his eyes closing start to decrease the volume of the sushing and the intensity of the patting, until you stop deffinetly and wait a few minutes before you leave the room, cause his he jolts you'll have to do it all over again (this happened to me several times ). You are doing a great job!!!!

This is really a great place!!! i keep learning and learning too!!!!

HTH

[GKirk]

Hi- my lo is 8wo and i am going through the same thing! It is great to know that i am not the only one and im sure that you feel the same way! Although its not great that our lo's arent taking good naps! Its really hard not to get stressed out but I try! Just take it one day at a time!

[estherofi20]

GKirk, i know it can be REALLY frustrating those first few months, but hang in there it does get better, and they DO learn to sleep independantly, for my DS now i just place him in the crib, tuck his blanket and leave the room now, but it was a lot of hard work on the beggining!! HANG IN THERE!!!!

[GKirk]

Thanks so much this site is great, it is a big help!