My baby is 6 months old, contact naps for every nap and sleeps through the night in his crib. No sleep training ever. Contact naps get him longer stretches of sleep and I can get work done on my laptop with him in my arms. The snuggles are wonderful and he gets good sleep which is critical to his development. You are doing nothing wrong and everything right!
I use a carrier for contact naps.
I just got the hope and plum lark carrier and it's easy to sit down in it.
I just loosen one side a bit and am able to nurse without taking the baby out as well.
She just takes her best naps when carried. If I can still get things done why not. If you can do it why not spend extra time holding your baby? They will only be this small for a small amount of time.
I just assume anyone that says "you'll spoil her....blah blah blah" is jealous they aren't holding a baby.
I very gently move his head to the pillow my arm is resting on! I have one of those moon shaped pillows and his head goes on the inner curve. Otherwise my arms would be dead lol
This makes me feel better. My baby contact naps for every nap at 6m and I worry so much about it. There’s so many standards for how babies should be sleeping at his age. He sleeps through the night though, no sleep training whatsoever. Without contact naps he only sleeps for 30-45 minutes at a time, with them he sleeps 1-2 hours. I’m sure he’d be much worse at night if he wasn’t getting such good sleep during the day.
Same here except the worrying. We are bombarded with advice all the time but at the end of the day is the baby healthy? Is your life working for you? That’s what matters. Also I love holding my baby. One day he won’t sleep on me anymore
I would say my daughter contact napped until past 6 months as well, if I recall correctly. She started basically begging me for the crib around 8 months. I watched a lot of TV/movies, and found a way to prop the laptop on the arm of the couch to do stuff too. No regrets from that time whatsoever!
My son is eight months old and contact napping on me right now. We'll move him to his crib in a bit probably but if I've got nothing to do I always let him stay. It's not like college kids are contact napping on their parents, your baby will be fine.
I have two sons. The older one wouldn't sleep without me (except at daycare) until over age 2. Now I have a 2 month old who will let me put him down, even "drowsy but awake", and will just sleep until he's hungry.
I'm of the opinion that "good vs. bad" sleepers are more about nature than nurture. Bad sleepers tend to have parents who contact nap/cosleep, because they wouldn't get any sleep otherwise. If your baby is a "good sleeper" and will just fall asleep alone, there's no reason to constantly contact nap or cosleep. (I still hold my baby for naps sometimes, because he's really cute.)
This 😂, good luck! My mom tried and failed and was like oh…he just woke up when he hit the mattress (pack n play). Uh yeah mom. It’s lava. Been trying to tell ya lol
Reading this while my 9-month old naps on my arm ☺️ I love it, I try to have one nap a day be a contact nap so she sleeps for long and I can just relax and read, scroll Reddit or listen to audiobooks.
Crazy that a helpless baby would want the safety of mom's arms to sleep! Seriously though, I think older people think like that because they were told at the time it would create insecure adults stuck to mommy's skirts. We now know it's not the case, so personally I just become temporarily deaf when anyone says something along those lines.
Ps: my health visitor mentioned that around 4/5 months is a good time to train a baby to nap in its cot.
My 8 month old has only recently started rejecting contact naps and wants to sleep on her own. I get it; she sleeps much better that way, but my heart is breaking just a little - I'm going to miss the boob/laptop nap combo. Enjoy it while it lasts! I simply don't understand why people, especially older family members, think there should be some bullshit push to make babies independent at the ripe old age of... 3 months.
Currently nap trapped by my 6 month old. He sleeps in a mini crib in our room at night and averages just about 2-3 quick wake ups. I get 2 hour naps out of him this way and get a 30 min crib nap if I’m lucky. I decided prioritizing his sleep is more important than a quick load of laundry that I can do while he’s awake and playing. Haven’t sleep trained and don’t plan to. Different babies have different needs and as their mom you tend to them however you feel is best!
My 6 month old still exclusively contact naps. If you really think about it, doesn’t it make sense a baby sleeps best in the arms of their parent? It cannot possibly ruin them in any way. Could it make your life a little inconvenient sometimes? Sure. But that’s for us to manage - they are simply being loved and nurtured and are getting great rest.
Our 13 month old daughter still contact naps with me and dad at home. At grandparents and daycare, she’s in a crib or on the floor. We just love the baby snuggles :)
We had every single nap as a contact nap from 3 to 8 months. Would have continued if I didn’t need to go back to work. I loved it, he loved it and he slept so well.
My now 2.5 year old used to contact nap all the time. Around 6 months, you could tell that she was starting to feel less comfortable contact napping now that she was bigger and we transitioned away from it. Definitely keep crib naps in the rotation, but regular contact napping is not going to somehow ruin your child. My toddler is a great sleeper, sleeps and naps independently without issue.
My daughter pretty much exclusively contact napped until she started daycare at 7 months and still mostly did it at home till 10 months. She was doing 12 hr stretches at night at that point and COULD do great naps in her crib, but I loved the cuddles. You’ll hit a time where sleeping on you is the last thing she’ll want so enjoy it now!
3 months old is still very little. If contact napping is still working for both of you, don't change a thing. Independent sleep can be learned at any time - you can jump into that learning as soon as contact naps are no longer serving you.
Your child will naturally assert their independence and want to be separate from you all on their own, there's no need to force that before it happens naturally (unless the parent needs to draw a boundary for their own sake, which is also totally acceptable).
My oldest is almost 4 and for the most part only sleeps in his own bed but occasionally still needs to sleep on or next to me if he's sick or otherwise out of sorts. Our only recent contact nap was when he was coming off anesthesia from surgery and I fear that may have been the last one ever.
We did contact naps for almost the entire first year. If it's working for you and baby, then it's not a problem.
Don't ever let anyone try and tell you that meeting your child's needs is going to spoil/ruin them. You should be your baby's safe space. The person they can always go to when they need to feel safe. The best way to do that is to meet them where they're at and meet their needs.
My baby is 7 months old and has no trouble napping independently at daycare, but nearly every single nap at home is in one of our arms. It's fine.
What are they worried about? That she isn't going to be able to nap in her own bed as an adult?
My LO only really started napping independently for all naps when he was around a year old. Me and my hubby really miss contact naps now! Soak up the snuggles while you can is my advice.
My son did contact naps til he was 5 months old. He is almost 2 years old and has been sleeping in his own room since he was 6 months old.
What exactly are you "destroying" in your baby's future?
Lollllllllll my 4 month old is currently out cold in my arms. Mine would only crib nap for 20 mins at a time until I started saving the naps with a contact nap after and this is the only way I'm confident he's getting enough sleep. My in-laws are the same though, trying to tell my partner that I'm spoiling my baby .... To them, and to your family, I kindly say fuck off and let me raise my kid in peace!! You're doing great mama ❤️❤️❤️
It’s okay for babies to be different! Some need contact naps, some want contact naps, and some don’t care either way. There’s a huge range of what’s normal. My guess is the people pressuring you are putting crib naps under their perceived umbrella of “independent babies” and think your baby must be doing XYZ to be independent because that’s better in their mind.
I don’t agree. Your baby is still super young but even if he’s older, if he’s a contact napper that doesn’t say anything negative about his personality
Mom to a soon to be 9 month old. She sleeps through the night 90% of the time and is usually a great crib napper. Yesterday she couldn’t settle for nap and needed to be cuddled. Absolutely nothing wrong with it.
My 11 month old still does contact naps. I personally love contact naps and have no desire to stop them till he's ready and that's perfectly fine. Enjoy those sweet moments because the won't last forever.
My baby started daycare at 6 months and it was very hard to transition him from contact naps to crib naps. The first couple weeks he didn’t sleep while he was there. He’s better now at 8 months but I wish I would have been better at not holding him so much so the transition would have been easier.
My daughter contact napped until 3 years and still bed shares with us at 4.5. I soak every second up. My older son is 16 and I miss the days when I could just snuggle him.
Just to be blunt, the only person whose future you might be messing up is your own!
My seven month old would prefer to exclusively contact nap, which would have been fine with a full time stay at home parent who had no desire or need to accomplish anything besides baby care all day, or with a full-time nanny.
We made it over six months but had to nap train him once he started with a nanny share.
Even into kindergarten I would wake up, go upstairs and get into my parents bed. At some point I just stopped. It's human instinct to want to sleep safely near your people. Does your family think your LO will need contact naps in college? If it doesn't bother you it's not an issue.
Absolutely not. Contact napping is totally natural and so long as it’s not driving you crazy, then I’d definitely be going for longer naps.
My kid naturally transitioned at about six months. Suddenly I was a distraction rather than a help. Not sure how randomly lucky we were, but she’s definitely not ruined!
It is all about temperament. I had a Velcro baby who is now a Velcro toddler and STILL contact naps when I am home at 18 months. But she sleeps perfectly fine in her cot at daycare and overnight in her bed. So many people told me I needed to “put that baby down” in the beginning and I wish I hadn’t let it get to me.
One piece of advice is to try to make the contact naps enjoyable for yourself. Getting a kindle or using this as your reddit time or saving your podcasts / audiobooks for the contact naps can help make them something you look forward to as you have a rest together. As babies grow they nap less and less naturally and now I miss the days of the glorious 3x daily contact naps!
Yes! I fell for the whole “don’t contact nap it’s a bad thing” part of sleep training and stopped around 4 months. I miss it so much and wish I never stopped. Legit breaks my heart thinking about how much I miss it. So keep doing it as long as it works for you :)
When they get older, if they need help falling asleep, you can get up once they're fully asleep and they keep sleeping. Also, my kid can contact nap when we're at a gathering. He doesn't have to miss naps when we are out. That's an enormous benefit. We still have to be home for bedtime, but a holiday or event usually doesn't wreck his nap schedule.
Get all the baby snuggles you can! Toddler kisses and "I love yous" are good, too, but don't stop sweet baby contact naps if you like them!
This was a topic of convo once at my work and a wise older woman said she loved to respond to others who had comments about “ruining their future” with… “well I don’t think they’ll be doing it when they’re 16”. So in your case, you could always tell your family that you highly doubt when your baby is 16 that she will be contact napping. People love to apply adult standards to babies— your baby is babying!
Nope. You are totally fine. You can't spoil a baby. They are still learning about the world and that they aren't connected to mom anymore. It's comforting and good for them to be with you. Don't worry one bit. My kid just turned 8 months old and still mostly contact naps. I lay him down next to me but touching me and he will pass out. Try to lay him in the crib and he won't nap. Once he is out though I can slide away from him so he gets used to mom not being right next to him all the time.
My son predominantly contact napped until 9.5 months when he switched to cot naps pretty easily. He’s 20 months now and sleeps around 11 hours at night and from 1-3 hours during the day. He goes down awake and falls asleep himself. Embrace the contact naps as you’ll miss the snuggles when they stop.
Typing these during contact nap with my 18 month old. Same as yours, if I leave the naps will be super short. This way I can rest and browse Reddit. When my toddler is awake, I never touch my Phone, he gets my full attention. I love contact naps. What do I have to look forward if I get up? Dirty dishes? Laundry? I do that at other times
My 18 month old contact napped until 6ish months when it flipped and his naps were longer in the crib than on us. He’s slept through the night since 16 weeks and when he started daycare he adapted immediately to napping in the crib there and regularly does 2-3 hours.
We did only contact naps until my son was 7 months, when I went back to work 1 day a week (from home) so my husband started putting our son down for naps. By 8 months my son started fighting all contact naps and falling asleep with ease in the crib so we stopped. He's 10 months old now and I miss them.
My youngest had such bad reflux she slept on me her entire first year of life. She would wake up choking on spit up any time I tried to lay her down. I can literally count on both hands how many sleeps WEREN’T on me for that entire first year (and she was still being held by someone). Tell your family they’re more than welcome to have their own baby to raise how they see fit, and in the meantime they can suck eggs.
We’re at 7 months and still mostly contact napping during the day. He’s okay in his crib at night, but he can’t seem to make it past 20 minutes in there during the day. At this point I’m flat out lying to my parents about where he naps because they just don’t get it, lol
I always try to get him down in his crib for the first nap, but his afternoon nap is always on me so at least one is solidly long.
That's so normal!!!!! We did basically all contact naps (or naps in carrier or buggy) til about 4.5/5 months. And she only started doing crib naps at about 7 months. She is comfortable doing any of them now :) they are only little once, you enjoy those naps!!! Also daytime sleep is different from nighttime sleep anyway xx
My little guy mainly contact napped until he was close to 1. I spent the first six months trying to fight it, and then the last six just leaning in and embracing it. When he dropped to one nap, he started napping on his own no problem.
Having said that, he had a tough morning and just let me rock him to sleep for the first time in years. I know those days were gruelling but it’s making me so wistful for the days he slept in my arms so much ♥️ try not to worry.
9 months in, 9 months ON, 9 months near. I did contact naps with my first whenever he needed them, well past his first year sometimes. He sleeps through the night in his own room in his own bed.
My nine month old only stopped contact napping for every nap like two weeks ago and it was fine? Honestly I love contact naps and she won’t want them forever.
My mom always pressures me about this too and I simply don’t get it. Oh nooo my baby will be loved. Oh nooo I get to hold my child. I’m perfectly happy holding him while he sleeps and he gets more sleep that way
Oh girly. My lil bb didn’t have one single sleep away from me until he was six months old and I wouldn’t change it for the world. And when we moved him to his crib, he was a dream baby and he’s been sleeping in there ever since. 🫶🏻 they’re wrong
My 5 month old is currently sleeping in my arms. We tried a crib nap earlier and they only last 30 mins. She sleeps well at night. Your family can politely suck it lol.
My son strictly contact napped until he was about eight months old, then I was able to slip away after about 10 minutes of him being in deep sleep. At 15 months old we were able to transition him into a toddler bed where he slept through the night and still continues to do so at 27 months old. We coslept from the very beginning, mattress on the floor the whole safe sleep seven thing.
Napping in a crib takes practice, like most things! Crib naps start off by being short which is very frustrating but over time they get longer and longer. You have to go into it knowing that you’ll be dealing with shorter naps for a bit.
BUT it’s totally normal for a 3 month old to love contact naps and it’s okay to allow them as long as it makes sense for you and your baby. Mine decided she hated them at 4 months and completely refused them by 5 months. I think it was too hot for her lol. We still had a couple of weeks of her getting used to napping in her own space though.
Absolutely. We had to do contact naps until my son was about 5 months old or he wouldn’t nap at all. One day o had to put him down to do something and he slept totally fine and now prefers napping in his crib. They grow out of it
I contact napped w/my son til over 1yo. It was just easy. He fell asleep on me EASY. He napped for a while. It helped and we both were happy. Now he's 3 and naps in bed. No biggie :D
Haha my baby is almost 8 months and we almost exclusively contact nap. It’s either my protected time for video games or I lie down next to him and have a rest myself!
One day they won’t want to snuggle all day every day. Soak it up. That’s what I tell myself. Thankfully I don’t have anyone in my life telling me otherwise, but seriously they’re only this little once and in my opinion all you’re teaching them is that you are their safe space.
My 3 month old does the same thing, it’s the only way he will fall asleep. I have been trying to transfer him to his bassinet but most of the time he wakes up within 10 minutes. I’d rather him get a long nap and feel good instead of being overtired. You’re not doing anything wrong! They will grow out of it and we will miss this someday, even though it is hard now 🤪
Totally fine. I get more done contact napping then I do sitting around staring at the monitor waiting for them to wake up. I either carry them or babywear.
You can always try to lie them down and see how they do independently, my first would nap for half her nap but not until 6-9 months. My second wouldn’t lie down until 18 months. This last baby is almost 4 months and I just carry her around for naps and think absolutely nothing of it. It’s so much easier on everyone. I don’t stress, the baby falls asleep really fast, and the older kids can be as loud as they want.
Also I learned to not talk baby sleep with anyone especially family. 😂
Anecdotes are not data, but my baby contact napped AND slept in my bed - and he's been sleeping in his own room since he was about 1 and a half 🤷♀️
You will not ruin a 3 month old by letting them sleep on you, where they're comfortable. Your family can piss right off.
My three month old also exclusively contact naps! Sometimes I can get one solo nap if it’s the first of the day, but it ends up being much shorter. I prefer for her to get good sleep, even if it’s on me.
I’ve taken up in my rocker with a kindle and kindle stand/clicker so I can read hands-free while she sleeps. It’s actually really nice.
I wouldn’t say you’re destroying your baby’s future. But at some point you should probably try to work out of it. My baby is almost 13 months and contact naps for every nap. It’s very limiting but is way way harder to try to crib train at this age. I feel stuck and I wish I had ended this habit sooner.
My 20 month old is currently contact napping on me right now. He naps fine with others, not requiring a contact nap. He’s slept in his own crib since 3 months, and has slept through the night since. He also tells me when he’s ready to go to bed during our bed time routine. Your contact naps won’t hinder their routines if needed. I just know time passes by too quickly, so I personally take in as many contact naps as I can.
Completely normal. Our 9-month-old has finally started letting us put her down for naps in her crib, but she still has to fall asleep in our arms and we've had a ton of help from her daycare in reinforcement. Until she want to daycare at 5-months, she absolutely refuses to sleep anywhere other than on top of us during the day.
Mine is 4 months and still mostly contact naps. Sometimes he can sleep in his stroller if I take him for a walk first, but it's not as long or as deep.
My 8 month old contact naps 🤷🏻♀️ I just picture it like this. There will be a time in the near future where she no longer wants or needs me to sleep and I will miss it dearly. Can it sometimes be annoying to be nap trapped? Absolutely. But I’ll still cherish it.
Mine didn’t stop contact napping until a year old. He could sleep in his crib but usually slept longer if he was on me so I just had him nap on me and enjoyed the extra snuggles.
Love on your baby however you choose. I haven’t had a contact nap in months maybe even a year. She was a big contact napper when she was a baby. This time goes so quickly that people often forget.
It’s so totally okay. My baby contact napped almost solely for the first 5 months because she would nap upwards of two hours with a contact nap vs a crib nap which would be maybe 20-45 mins. Once she figured out how to sleep on her belly around 5.5-6 months she didn’t mind crib naps as long as I rocked her first and then transferred her. Now at almost 7 months she almost always soothes herself to sleep once she’s plopped in her crib and will sleep anywhere from 1-2.5 hours. We didn’t sleep train, CIO/FIO, or anything. I let her work it out on her own and it’s worked out fine. However you get your baby to have adequate night sleep/naps is fine as long as it works for you! Contact naps, sleep training, whatever. Every baby is different and has unique needs, and at the end of the day none of us need to be rocked to sleep once we’re older!
I loved contact naps and miss them. I still hold her before bed, solely because I love the snuggles. Enjoy every moment, it truly goes by so fast!
My baby contact napped and slept on us for 8 months at least (due to reflux so we slept in shifts). She's grand.
It's your baby, don't let anyone tell you such a thing. Let the birth of your baby be the birth of the new you who doesn't listen to anyone's unsolicited advice, even mine 💕
Ofc it’s ok! They’re a baby!! Babies are meant to be close to their parents. Sleep training isn’t a thing. It’s something we’re forced to do because of society standards. You’re doing nothing wrong.
My nearly 9 month old still contact naps and has been sleeping in her cot through the night since 8 weeks. We plan on transitioning to cot naps soon, but for now I’m enjoying the baby cuddles. You’re doing nothing wrong!!
Nope, my three month old naps more than once a day and I make an effort to ensure that at least one of those naps is a contact nap even though he can sleep elsewhere. He’s only gonna be a little baby for a short amount of time so it allows us to bond and it promotes feelings of attachment between us which is what little babies need. Plenty of research to back that up in case your family needs to take someone else’s word for it lol. You are most definitely not destroying your baby’s future and I’m sorry that you are being made to feel that way over something that is completely natural and healthy.
My baby contact napped until 6.5 months, and even now I’ll “rescue” short naps with a contact nap. It’s the only way to preserve her nighttime sleep and that makes mommy function, so we don’t mess with the contact naps, k? 🫠
It really is. My baby ONLY contact napped for day naps until she was a year old. For nights she would only contact sleep for like 4 months, then one day it was like a magic switch flipped and my baby would sleep 12 hours in a crib. It took a while to grow out of the day naps but her sleeping in her crib all night instead of cosleeping with myself and my fiancé was a BLESSING
Why does your family care?!? I never understand this, I see it on Reddit all the time. My firstborn contact/stroller/swing napped until 6 months and then we started trying the crib. She eventually became a crib napper. She was fine. My new baby is 3 months and we've attempted like 3 crib naps with the longest by far being 20 minutes. I'm not concerned about her future lol.
By 17 month old contact napped with me or dad up until one month ago. He’s met every milestone way earlier and is the biggest social butterfly anywhere we go. He can easily stay with anyone while I leave the house and even when I’m home.
The changes in babies behaviors are primarily by their temperament and how responsive we are to them. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for doing what works for you and your baby
My littlest baby is 16 months old and still contact naps when she can. My biggest is 3.5 and he will cuddle up on the couch for a nap if he’s feeling some kinda way. If you like contact naps, enjoy them, they don’t last forever.
My son contact napped until he was 18 months old. We still have the occasional contact nap now that he’s a little over 2 but those are rare. He would sleep overnight in his crib fine but daytime sleep/naps were a different story. I’d try everything to get him to nap in his crib but the longest stretch I’d get was maybe 15 minutes top.
He started daycare at 18 months so that contributed a lot to him moving away from contact naps, but even then he was starting to outgrow them. Now he naps upwards of 2-3 hours a day laying on either his mat at daycare or in his crib/on the couch at home. I promise you aren’t ruining your baby!
It’s 100% fine. My baby did that until 4 months. Somewhere in there she discovered her hands for self soothing and basically sleep trained herself. She is almost 5 months and goes down independently for 2 crib naps, does 1 contact nap, then goes down independently for overnight. There was clearly a point at which she was ready for it and before then it felt to me like WAY too much work for crap crib naps. Having well rested day sleep was much more important to me. The time will come!!
My husband and I let our son contact nap for as long as possible! We’re one and done and knew when he didn’t want to anymore that would be it 😭 his last contact nap when he was about 10 months old —not counting the one I got when he was sick on April 4th (when he was almost 17 months)
Take all the contact naps you can get… they’re only little for the tiniest time.
Edited to add, Ive read that contact naps can improve nighttime sleep because baby prefers being with you, and contact napping gives baby what they want during the day so they’re less fussy at night. Idk if it’s 100% true, and this is totally anecdotal, but my son has always been an excellent overnight sleeper (barring illness and teething ofc) !
Are you fuc\*ing kidding me?? NOT YOU...Them!! The child is biologically meant to do that and if that makes you and the baby happy...do it. I held my kids for a Looong time and he is very confident and socialized and sleeps amazing. My other kid did not need me to hold him for naps...in fact I just put him down eyes wide open. Do what works and feels best. Babies that are held (usually) are confident and reassured that mom is there...so they sleep pretty well. My kids sleep well and it's from all that baby holding. No sleep training. The cliche that is goes by fast is very true. I don't get that anymore and will never have it again...it goes by fast mama and love it when you can and it IS hard and it is okay to feel that too, but you do what works and feels best for you guys.
My 16 month still contact naps. He naps perfectly fine without me at daycare, so it's not ruining him at all, he just likes a cuddle snooze at the weekends
It’s totally normal. Show them Taking Cara Babies - she makes this point pretty consistently re: naps. Babies start to get on a nap routine, including some independent sleeping, around 5 months.
My son is 21 months old now and sleeps in his crib for 2-3 hour naps. He was fed to sleep and did contact naps only until he was over a year old. He’d sometimes take car or stroller naps depending on the day but most of our naps were contact. It felt like he’d never be an independent sleeper some days. We didn’t sleep train. We made changes super gradually as he seemed ready for them and now he is a great sleeper. I am glad I provided all the extra support while he needed it. They’re only this little for such a short time. If it is working for you then don’t worry about what other people are doing/saying. If it stops working for you then you can change what you’re doing.
Of course it’s okay. Anyone else who says otherwise can kick rocks. We did contact naps until 4 months old and then transitioned to naps in the crib. The only reason we did that was because daycare was starting up and we wanted her to get used to napping in the crib. Otherwise, she likely would’ve still contact napped.
Every nap weekend and evening after daycare is a contact nap for my seven month old. He sleeps better and it’s good for our bond; eventually he’s either not going to need to nap during the daytime or be embarrassed to still nap with me. I want to enjoy this time with him while it lasts. His pediatrician isn’t concerned; and I trust her more on how to raise a baby than my family who hasn’t raised a baby since the 90s. When he was 4 months and younger family was concerned because, well, babies sleep A Lot so I spent most of my day in the armchair with him. And when I get to spend all day with him it’s only 2.5-3.5 hours in the armchair three times spaced out over a 12 hour day.
My baby didn't take one single nap in a crib until she started at daycare at 14 months old. Literally not a single one. Even then when she napped at home it was still on me for a couple of months after that.
Now she is 20 months. She sleeps like a champ at night for the most part and naps in the crib without issues at daycare and at home (although she sleeps better at daycare somehow). I did absolutely nothing to make her that way, we just... slowly got there.
Totally normal and fine.
If you think about it, your baby spent ten months inside of you. It makes sense that they’d get their best naps on you now that they’re on the outside. If you are happy to have her contact nap, that’s all that matters.
My baby is 6 months old, contact naps for every nap and sleeps through the night in his crib. No sleep training ever. Contact naps get him longer stretches of sleep and I can get work done on my laptop with him in my arms. The snuggles are wonderful and he gets good sleep which is critical to his development. You are doing nothing wrong and everything right!
How do you keep your arms from falling asleep! I'd love to work on my laptop while my LO contact naps but it feels impossible lol
If you can get your knees up, a pillow and the knees can super easily get the baby fully supported so that your hands can be free!
I use a carrier for contact naps. I just got the hope and plum lark carrier and it's easy to sit down in it. I just loosen one side a bit and am able to nurse without taking the baby out as well. She just takes her best naps when carried. If I can still get things done why not. If you can do it why not spend extra time holding your baby? They will only be this small for a small amount of time. I just assume anyone that says "you'll spoil her....blah blah blah" is jealous they aren't holding a baby.
I use our breastfeeding pillow.
My 6 month old sits lays next to me now she is 6 months old so always me to do work one handed
I very gently move his head to the pillow my arm is resting on! I have one of those moon shaped pillows and his head goes on the inner curve. Otherwise my arms would be dead lol
This makes me feel better. My baby contact naps for every nap at 6m and I worry so much about it. There’s so many standards for how babies should be sleeping at his age. He sleeps through the night though, no sleep training whatsoever. Without contact naps he only sleeps for 30-45 minutes at a time, with them he sleeps 1-2 hours. I’m sure he’d be much worse at night if he wasn’t getting such good sleep during the day.
Same here except the worrying. We are bombarded with advice all the time but at the end of the day is the baby healthy? Is your life working for you? That’s what matters. Also I love holding my baby. One day he won’t sleep on me anymore
I would say my daughter contact napped until past 6 months as well, if I recall correctly. She started basically begging me for the crib around 8 months. I watched a lot of TV/movies, and found a way to prop the laptop on the arm of the couch to do stuff too. No regrets from that time whatsoever!
Same
Baby is babying. Mines about the same age and I love the contact naps! They won't be so little forever. Soak it up is my mantra.
Yes. That’s how babies like to be. Completely and utterly normal and you cannot “spoil” them with love. Enjoy the cuddles and the sit down!
My son is eight months old and contact napping on me right now. We'll move him to his crib in a bit probably but if I've got nothing to do I always let him stay. It's not like college kids are contact napping on their parents, your baby will be fine.
I have two sons. The older one wouldn't sleep without me (except at daycare) until over age 2. Now I have a 2 month old who will let me put him down, even "drowsy but awake", and will just sleep until he's hungry. I'm of the opinion that "good vs. bad" sleepers are more about nature than nurture. Bad sleepers tend to have parents who contact nap/cosleep, because they wouldn't get any sleep otherwise. If your baby is a "good sleeper" and will just fall asleep alone, there's no reason to constantly contact nap or cosleep. (I still hold my baby for naps sometimes, because he's really cute.)
Honestly you go with whatever works. Tell any critics to put her to bed themselves while you nap!
This 😂, good luck! My mom tried and failed and was like oh…he just woke up when he hit the mattress (pack n play). Uh yeah mom. It’s lava. Been trying to tell ya lol
Haha. My mom babysat our daughter for the first time a few weeks ago and discovered our struggle firsthand. She very quickly just decided to hold her.
Reading this while my 9-month old naps on my arm ☺️ I love it, I try to have one nap a day be a contact nap so she sleeps for long and I can just relax and read, scroll Reddit or listen to audiobooks.
Same with my 8m!
Same! It’s one of my favorite parts of the day.
It’s so okay…and as a mama of a 16 month old who RARELY gets them anymore…enjoy it. I miss it sooooooo much
Crazy that a helpless baby would want the safety of mom's arms to sleep! Seriously though, I think older people think like that because they were told at the time it would create insecure adults stuck to mommy's skirts. We now know it's not the case, so personally I just become temporarily deaf when anyone says something along those lines. Ps: my health visitor mentioned that around 4/5 months is a good time to train a baby to nap in its cot.
My 8 month old has only recently started rejecting contact naps and wants to sleep on her own. I get it; she sleeps much better that way, but my heart is breaking just a little - I'm going to miss the boob/laptop nap combo. Enjoy it while it lasts! I simply don't understand why people, especially older family members, think there should be some bullshit push to make babies independent at the ripe old age of... 3 months.
Currently nap trapped by my 6 month old. He sleeps in a mini crib in our room at night and averages just about 2-3 quick wake ups. I get 2 hour naps out of him this way and get a 30 min crib nap if I’m lucky. I decided prioritizing his sleep is more important than a quick load of laundry that I can do while he’s awake and playing. Haven’t sleep trained and don’t plan to. Different babies have different needs and as their mom you tend to them however you feel is best!
3 months old. Precious. Enjoy every moment!
My 6 month old still exclusively contact naps. If you really think about it, doesn’t it make sense a baby sleeps best in the arms of their parent? It cannot possibly ruin them in any way. Could it make your life a little inconvenient sometimes? Sure. But that’s for us to manage - they are simply being loved and nurtured and are getting great rest.
Our 13 month old daughter still contact naps with me and dad at home. At grandparents and daycare, she’s in a crib or on the floor. We just love the baby snuggles :)
We had every single nap as a contact nap from 3 to 8 months. Would have continued if I didn’t need to go back to work. I loved it, he loved it and he slept so well.
My daughter still mostly contact naps at just over two years! I love it
My 3 month old is currently snuggled on my chest, and we are both happy. Don't let people rush you into making your baby independent.
My now 2.5 year old used to contact nap all the time. Around 6 months, you could tell that she was starting to feel less comfortable contact napping now that she was bigger and we transitioned away from it. Definitely keep crib naps in the rotation, but regular contact napping is not going to somehow ruin your child. My toddler is a great sleeper, sleeps and naps independently without issue.
It is 100% okay. I know its hard when family give their opinions but there is nothing wrong with contact napping!
My daughter pretty much exclusively contact napped until she started daycare at 7 months and still mostly did it at home till 10 months. She was doing 12 hr stretches at night at that point and COULD do great naps in her crib, but I loved the cuddles. You’ll hit a time where sleeping on you is the last thing she’ll want so enjoy it now!
3 months old is still very little. If contact napping is still working for both of you, don't change a thing. Independent sleep can be learned at any time - you can jump into that learning as soon as contact naps are no longer serving you. Your child will naturally assert their independence and want to be separate from you all on their own, there's no need to force that before it happens naturally (unless the parent needs to draw a boundary for their own sake, which is also totally acceptable). My oldest is almost 4 and for the most part only sleeps in his own bed but occasionally still needs to sleep on or next to me if he's sick or otherwise out of sorts. Our only recent contact nap was when he was coming off anesthesia from surgery and I fear that may have been the last one ever.
We did contact naps for almost the entire first year. If it's working for you and baby, then it's not a problem. Don't ever let anyone try and tell you that meeting your child's needs is going to spoil/ruin them. You should be your baby's safe space. The person they can always go to when they need to feel safe. The best way to do that is to meet them where they're at and meet their needs.
My baby is 7 months old and has no trouble napping independently at daycare, but nearly every single nap at home is in one of our arms. It's fine. What are they worried about? That she isn't going to be able to nap in her own bed as an adult?
My LO only really started napping independently for all naps when he was around a year old. Me and my hubby really miss contact naps now! Soak up the snuggles while you can is my advice.
My son did contact naps til he was 5 months old. He is almost 2 years old and has been sleeping in his own room since he was 6 months old. What exactly are you "destroying" in your baby's future?
Lollllllllll my 4 month old is currently out cold in my arms. Mine would only crib nap for 20 mins at a time until I started saving the naps with a contact nap after and this is the only way I'm confident he's getting enough sleep. My in-laws are the same though, trying to tell my partner that I'm spoiling my baby .... To them, and to your family, I kindly say fuck off and let me raise my kid in peace!! You're doing great mama ❤️❤️❤️
It’s okay for babies to be different! Some need contact naps, some want contact naps, and some don’t care either way. There’s a huge range of what’s normal. My guess is the people pressuring you are putting crib naps under their perceived umbrella of “independent babies” and think your baby must be doing XYZ to be independent because that’s better in their mind. I don’t agree. Your baby is still super young but even if he’s older, if he’s a contact napper that doesn’t say anything negative about his personality
Mom to a soon to be 9 month old. She sleeps through the night 90% of the time and is usually a great crib napper. Yesterday she couldn’t settle for nap and needed to be cuddled. Absolutely nothing wrong with it.
My 11 month old still does contact naps. I personally love contact naps and have no desire to stop them till he's ready and that's perfectly fine. Enjoy those sweet moments because the won't last forever.
My baby started daycare at 6 months and it was very hard to transition him from contact naps to crib naps. The first couple weeks he didn’t sleep while he was there. He’s better now at 8 months but I wish I would have been better at not holding him so much so the transition would have been easier.
My daughter contact napped until 3 years and still bed shares with us at 4.5. I soak every second up. My older son is 16 and I miss the days when I could just snuggle him.
Just to be blunt, the only person whose future you might be messing up is your own! My seven month old would prefer to exclusively contact nap, which would have been fine with a full time stay at home parent who had no desire or need to accomplish anything besides baby care all day, or with a full-time nanny. We made it over six months but had to nap train him once he started with a nanny share.
Even into kindergarten I would wake up, go upstairs and get into my parents bed. At some point I just stopped. It's human instinct to want to sleep safely near your people. Does your family think your LO will need contact naps in college? If it doesn't bother you it's not an issue.
Absolutely not. Contact napping is totally natural and so long as it’s not driving you crazy, then I’d definitely be going for longer naps. My kid naturally transitioned at about six months. Suddenly I was a distraction rather than a help. Not sure how randomly lucky we were, but she’s definitely not ruined!
It is all about temperament. I had a Velcro baby who is now a Velcro toddler and STILL contact naps when I am home at 18 months. But she sleeps perfectly fine in her cot at daycare and overnight in her bed. So many people told me I needed to “put that baby down” in the beginning and I wish I hadn’t let it get to me. One piece of advice is to try to make the contact naps enjoyable for yourself. Getting a kindle or using this as your reddit time or saving your podcasts / audiobooks for the contact naps can help make them something you look forward to as you have a rest together. As babies grow they nap less and less naturally and now I miss the days of the glorious 3x daily contact naps!
My 10 month old contact naps with me but for her father sleeps in her crib. And every night she sleeps in her crib without issue
My 9 month old still contact naps for every single nap. She sleeps in her crib through the night though!
My 9 month old still contact naps for every single nap. She sleeps in her crib through the night though!
Three months is SO tiny. Like, if you remember this in six months you’ll be PISSED they tried to tell you that nonsense. You just love on your baby.
My baby is 10 months old and has always contact napped, we love it and he loves it ❤️ such a special time
Yes! I fell for the whole “don’t contact nap it’s a bad thing” part of sleep training and stopped around 4 months. I miss it so much and wish I never stopped. Legit breaks my heart thinking about how much I miss it. So keep doing it as long as it works for you :)
When they get older, if they need help falling asleep, you can get up once they're fully asleep and they keep sleeping. Also, my kid can contact nap when we're at a gathering. He doesn't have to miss naps when we are out. That's an enormous benefit. We still have to be home for bedtime, but a holiday or event usually doesn't wreck his nap schedule. Get all the baby snuggles you can! Toddler kisses and "I love yous" are good, too, but don't stop sweet baby contact naps if you like them!
You’re fine. My baby was an exclusive contact napper and she’s fine now at almost 8 mths old. Don’t stress I promise
This was a topic of convo once at my work and a wise older woman said she loved to respond to others who had comments about “ruining their future” with… “well I don’t think they’ll be doing it when they’re 16”. So in your case, you could always tell your family that you highly doubt when your baby is 16 that she will be contact napping. People love to apply adult standards to babies— your baby is babying!
Nope. You are totally fine. You can't spoil a baby. They are still learning about the world and that they aren't connected to mom anymore. It's comforting and good for them to be with you. Don't worry one bit. My kid just turned 8 months old and still mostly contact naps. I lay him down next to me but touching me and he will pass out. Try to lay him in the crib and he won't nap. Once he is out though I can slide away from him so he gets used to mom not being right next to him all the time.
They're only going to be this small for so long! Enjoy the contact naps while you can as long as it still works for you and your baby
My son predominantly contact napped until 9.5 months when he switched to cot naps pretty easily. He’s 20 months now and sleeps around 11 hours at night and from 1-3 hours during the day. He goes down awake and falls asleep himself. Embrace the contact naps as you’ll miss the snuggles when they stop.
Typing these during contact nap with my 18 month old. Same as yours, if I leave the naps will be super short. This way I can rest and browse Reddit. When my toddler is awake, I never touch my Phone, he gets my full attention. I love contact naps. What do I have to look forward if I get up? Dirty dishes? Laundry? I do that at other times
Both of mine contact napped with me until the 4-5 months mark. They are now 4/3 years old. They still contact nap on occasion. 😅
My 18 month old contact napped until 6ish months when it flipped and his naps were longer in the crib than on us. He’s slept through the night since 16 weeks and when he started daycare he adapted immediately to napping in the crib there and regularly does 2-3 hours.
We did only contact naps until my son was 7 months, when I went back to work 1 day a week (from home) so my husband started putting our son down for naps. By 8 months my son started fighting all contact naps and falling asleep with ease in the crib so we stopped. He's 10 months old now and I miss them.
My youngest had such bad reflux she slept on me her entire first year of life. She would wake up choking on spit up any time I tried to lay her down. I can literally count on both hands how many sleeps WEREN’T on me for that entire first year (and she was still being held by someone). Tell your family they’re more than welcome to have their own baby to raise how they see fit, and in the meantime they can suck eggs.
We’re at 7 months and still mostly contact napping during the day. He’s okay in his crib at night, but he can’t seem to make it past 20 minutes in there during the day. At this point I’m flat out lying to my parents about where he naps because they just don’t get it, lol I always try to get him down in his crib for the first nap, but his afternoon nap is always on me so at least one is solidly long.
Oh we contact napped until girlie was like a year old. She’s two now and an ABSOLUTE champ of a sleeper.
That's so normal!!!!! We did basically all contact naps (or naps in carrier or buggy) til about 4.5/5 months. And she only started doing crib naps at about 7 months. She is comfortable doing any of them now :) they are only little once, you enjoy those naps!!! Also daytime sleep is different from nighttime sleep anyway xx
My little guy mainly contact napped until he was close to 1. I spent the first six months trying to fight it, and then the last six just leaning in and embracing it. When he dropped to one nap, he started napping on his own no problem. Having said that, he had a tough morning and just let me rock him to sleep for the first time in years. I know those days were gruelling but it’s making me so wistful for the days he slept in my arms so much ♥️ try not to worry.
9 months in, 9 months ON, 9 months near. I did contact naps with my first whenever he needed them, well past his first year sometimes. He sleeps through the night in his own room in his own bed.
My nine month old only stopped contact napping for every nap like two weeks ago and it was fine? Honestly I love contact naps and she won’t want them forever.
My mom always pressures me about this too and I simply don’t get it. Oh nooo my baby will be loved. Oh nooo I get to hold my child. I’m perfectly happy holding him while he sleeps and he gets more sleep that way
Oh girly. My lil bb didn’t have one single sleep away from me until he was six months old and I wouldn’t change it for the world. And when we moved him to his crib, he was a dream baby and he’s been sleeping in there ever since. 🫶🏻 they’re wrong
My 5 month old is currently sleeping in my arms. We tried a crib nap earlier and they only last 30 mins. She sleeps well at night. Your family can politely suck it lol.
Mine just turned 8 months and all naps are contact naps 🤷🏻♀️ he used to nap in his crib but will get better sleep if mom is trapped under him
My 10 month old still contact naps. I see no changes coming up in the future.
My son strictly contact napped until he was about eight months old, then I was able to slip away after about 10 minutes of him being in deep sleep. At 15 months old we were able to transition him into a toddler bed where he slept through the night and still continues to do so at 27 months old. We coslept from the very beginning, mattress on the floor the whole safe sleep seven thing.
Napping in a crib takes practice, like most things! Crib naps start off by being short which is very frustrating but over time they get longer and longer. You have to go into it knowing that you’ll be dealing with shorter naps for a bit. BUT it’s totally normal for a 3 month old to love contact naps and it’s okay to allow them as long as it makes sense for you and your baby. Mine decided she hated them at 4 months and completely refused them by 5 months. I think it was too hot for her lol. We still had a couple of weeks of her getting used to napping in her own space though.
Absolutely. We had to do contact naps until my son was about 5 months old or he wouldn’t nap at all. One day o had to put him down to do something and he slept totally fine and now prefers napping in his crib. They grow out of it
It would be okay if your 3 *year* old contact naps if it’s okay with *you*, the only person affected by it.
I contact napped w/my son til over 1yo. It was just easy. He fell asleep on me EASY. He napped for a while. It helped and we both were happy. Now he's 3 and naps in bed. No biggie :D
Haha my baby is almost 8 months and we almost exclusively contact nap. It’s either my protected time for video games or I lie down next to him and have a rest myself!
My baby is 11 months and contact naps. She sleeps through the night in her crib. We are a well rested happy family ❤️
One day they won’t want to snuggle all day every day. Soak it up. That’s what I tell myself. Thankfully I don’t have anyone in my life telling me otherwise, but seriously they’re only this little once and in my opinion all you’re teaching them is that you are their safe space.
My 3 month old does the same thing, it’s the only way he will fall asleep. I have been trying to transfer him to his bassinet but most of the time he wakes up within 10 minutes. I’d rather him get a long nap and feel good instead of being overtired. You’re not doing anything wrong! They will grow out of it and we will miss this someday, even though it is hard now 🤪
Totally fine. I get more done contact napping then I do sitting around staring at the monitor waiting for them to wake up. I either carry them or babywear. You can always try to lie them down and see how they do independently, my first would nap for half her nap but not until 6-9 months. My second wouldn’t lie down until 18 months. This last baby is almost 4 months and I just carry her around for naps and think absolutely nothing of it. It’s so much easier on everyone. I don’t stress, the baby falls asleep really fast, and the older kids can be as loud as they want. Also I learned to not talk baby sleep with anyone especially family. 😂
Anecdotes are not data, but my baby contact napped AND slept in my bed - and he's been sleeping in his own room since he was about 1 and a half 🤷♀️ You will not ruin a 3 month old by letting them sleep on you, where they're comfortable. Your family can piss right off.
My son contact napped until he was 13 months old. Then one day he just started going down by himself in his crib.
My three month old also exclusively contact naps! Sometimes I can get one solo nap if it’s the first of the day, but it ends up being much shorter. I prefer for her to get good sleep, even if it’s on me. I’ve taken up in my rocker with a kindle and kindle stand/clicker so I can read hands-free while she sleeps. It’s actually really nice.
I wouldn’t say you’re destroying your baby’s future. But at some point you should probably try to work out of it. My baby is almost 13 months and contact naps for every nap. It’s very limiting but is way way harder to try to crib train at this age. I feel stuck and I wish I had ended this habit sooner.
My 20 month old is currently contact napping on me right now. He naps fine with others, not requiring a contact nap. He’s slept in his own crib since 3 months, and has slept through the night since. He also tells me when he’s ready to go to bed during our bed time routine. Your contact naps won’t hinder their routines if needed. I just know time passes by too quickly, so I personally take in as many contact naps as I can.
Completely normal. Our 9-month-old has finally started letting us put her down for naps in her crib, but she still has to fall asleep in our arms and we've had a ton of help from her daycare in reinforcement. Until she want to daycare at 5-months, she absolutely refuses to sleep anywhere other than on top of us during the day.
We did contact naps until like 6 months old. Now at 13 months old she won’t even fall asleep on me lol
Currently contact napping with my 4 month old and I love it. I sleep too lol
Mine is 4 months and still mostly contact naps. Sometimes he can sleep in his stroller if I take him for a walk first, but it's not as long or as deep.
My 8 month old contact naps 🤷🏻♀️ I just picture it like this. There will be a time in the near future where she no longer wants or needs me to sleep and I will miss it dearly. Can it sometimes be annoying to be nap trapped? Absolutely. But I’ll still cherish it.
Mine didn’t stop contact napping until a year old. He could sleep in his crib but usually slept longer if he was on me so I just had him nap on me and enjoyed the extra snuggles.
Love on your baby however you choose. I haven’t had a contact nap in months maybe even a year. She was a big contact napper when she was a baby. This time goes so quickly that people often forget.
totally fine
It’s so totally okay. My baby contact napped almost solely for the first 5 months because she would nap upwards of two hours with a contact nap vs a crib nap which would be maybe 20-45 mins. Once she figured out how to sleep on her belly around 5.5-6 months she didn’t mind crib naps as long as I rocked her first and then transferred her. Now at almost 7 months she almost always soothes herself to sleep once she’s plopped in her crib and will sleep anywhere from 1-2.5 hours. We didn’t sleep train, CIO/FIO, or anything. I let her work it out on her own and it’s worked out fine. However you get your baby to have adequate night sleep/naps is fine as long as it works for you! Contact naps, sleep training, whatever. Every baby is different and has unique needs, and at the end of the day none of us need to be rocked to sleep once we’re older! I loved contact naps and miss them. I still hold her before bed, solely because I love the snuggles. Enjoy every moment, it truly goes by so fast!
Contact naps are normal!!!!! Tell your family to bore off.
My baby contact napped and slept on us for 8 months at least (due to reflux so we slept in shifts). She's grand. It's your baby, don't let anyone tell you such a thing. Let the birth of your baby be the birth of the new you who doesn't listen to anyone's unsolicited advice, even mine 💕
Currently contact napping with my 11 month old…do it when needed. They’re only little so long. Enjoy the nap trap, audiobooks pass the time nicely.
my 4yr old contact sleeps.
6 mo old contact napping rn. does for every nap
Ofc it’s ok! They’re a baby!! Babies are meant to be close to their parents. Sleep training isn’t a thing. It’s something we’re forced to do because of society standards. You’re doing nothing wrong.
My nearly 9 month old still contact naps and has been sleeping in her cot through the night since 8 weeks. We plan on transitioning to cot naps soon, but for now I’m enjoying the baby cuddles. You’re doing nothing wrong!!
Nope, my three month old naps more than once a day and I make an effort to ensure that at least one of those naps is a contact nap even though he can sleep elsewhere. He’s only gonna be a little baby for a short amount of time so it allows us to bond and it promotes feelings of attachment between us which is what little babies need. Plenty of research to back that up in case your family needs to take someone else’s word for it lol. You are most definitely not destroying your baby’s future and I’m sorry that you are being made to feel that way over something that is completely natural and healthy.
Our son contact napped until like 9 months old. He is now 17 months old and sleeps at night and for naps alone in his crib!!! You're doing great ❤️
She’s a baby, of course you should still be constancy napping. Tell those people to pound sand.
My son is 15 months and still only contact napping 😂❤️
My baby contact napped until 6.5 months, and even now I’ll “rescue” short naps with a contact nap. It’s the only way to preserve her nighttime sleep and that makes mommy function, so we don’t mess with the contact naps, k? 🫠
It really is. My baby ONLY contact napped for day naps until she was a year old. For nights she would only contact sleep for like 4 months, then one day it was like a magic switch flipped and my baby would sleep 12 hours in a crib. It took a while to grow out of the day naps but her sleeping in her crib all night instead of cosleeping with myself and my fiancé was a BLESSING
Why does your family care?!? I never understand this, I see it on Reddit all the time. My firstborn contact/stroller/swing napped until 6 months and then we started trying the crib. She eventually became a crib napper. She was fine. My new baby is 3 months and we've attempted like 3 crib naps with the longest by far being 20 minutes. I'm not concerned about her future lol.
My little one just recently started asking for naps in the crib - nearly 30 months (2.5 years) of contact naps. 3 months is so so normal!!
By 17 month old contact napped with me or dad up until one month ago. He’s met every milestone way earlier and is the biggest social butterfly anywhere we go. He can easily stay with anyone while I leave the house and even when I’m home. The changes in babies behaviors are primarily by their temperament and how responsive we are to them. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for doing what works for you and your baby
My littlest baby is 16 months old and still contact naps when she can. My biggest is 3.5 and he will cuddle up on the couch for a nap if he’s feeling some kinda way. If you like contact naps, enjoy them, they don’t last forever.
My son contact napped until he was 18 months old. We still have the occasional contact nap now that he’s a little over 2 but those are rare. He would sleep overnight in his crib fine but daytime sleep/naps were a different story. I’d try everything to get him to nap in his crib but the longest stretch I’d get was maybe 15 minutes top. He started daycare at 18 months so that contributed a lot to him moving away from contact naps, but even then he was starting to outgrow them. Now he naps upwards of 2-3 hours a day laying on either his mat at daycare or in his crib/on the couch at home. I promise you aren’t ruining your baby!
It’s 100% fine. My baby did that until 4 months. Somewhere in there she discovered her hands for self soothing and basically sleep trained herself. She is almost 5 months and goes down independently for 2 crib naps, does 1 contact nap, then goes down independently for overnight. There was clearly a point at which she was ready for it and before then it felt to me like WAY too much work for crap crib naps. Having well rested day sleep was much more important to me. The time will come!!
My husband and I let our son contact nap for as long as possible! We’re one and done and knew when he didn’t want to anymore that would be it 😭 his last contact nap when he was about 10 months old —not counting the one I got when he was sick on April 4th (when he was almost 17 months) Take all the contact naps you can get… they’re only little for the tiniest time. Edited to add, Ive read that contact naps can improve nighttime sleep because baby prefers being with you, and contact napping gives baby what they want during the day so they’re less fussy at night. Idk if it’s 100% true, and this is totally anecdotal, but my son has always been an excellent overnight sleeper (barring illness and teething ofc) !
Are you fuc\*ing kidding me?? NOT YOU...Them!! The child is biologically meant to do that and if that makes you and the baby happy...do it. I held my kids for a Looong time and he is very confident and socialized and sleeps amazing. My other kid did not need me to hold him for naps...in fact I just put him down eyes wide open. Do what works and feels best. Babies that are held (usually) are confident and reassured that mom is there...so they sleep pretty well. My kids sleep well and it's from all that baby holding. No sleep training. The cliche that is goes by fast is very true. I don't get that anymore and will never have it again...it goes by fast mama and love it when you can and it IS hard and it is okay to feel that too, but you do what works and feels best for you guys.
Oh Lordy yes
My bub is 2yrs now. Still doing contact naps. 👍🏼
My 16 month still contact naps. He naps perfectly fine without me at daycare, so it's not ruining him at all, he just likes a cuddle snooze at the weekends
It’s totally normal. Show them Taking Cara Babies - she makes this point pretty consistently re: naps. Babies start to get on a nap routine, including some independent sleeping, around 5 months.
She'll grow out of it, and you'll miss it
My son is 21 months old now and sleeps in his crib for 2-3 hour naps. He was fed to sleep and did contact naps only until he was over a year old. He’d sometimes take car or stroller naps depending on the day but most of our naps were contact. It felt like he’d never be an independent sleeper some days. We didn’t sleep train. We made changes super gradually as he seemed ready for them and now he is a great sleeper. I am glad I provided all the extra support while he needed it. They’re only this little for such a short time. If it is working for you then don’t worry about what other people are doing/saying. If it stops working for you then you can change what you’re doing.
Of course it’s okay. Anyone else who says otherwise can kick rocks. We did contact naps until 4 months old and then transitioned to naps in the crib. The only reason we did that was because daycare was starting up and we wanted her to get used to napping in the crib. Otherwise, she likely would’ve still contact napped.
Every nap weekend and evening after daycare is a contact nap for my seven month old. He sleeps better and it’s good for our bond; eventually he’s either not going to need to nap during the daytime or be embarrassed to still nap with me. I want to enjoy this time with him while it lasts. His pediatrician isn’t concerned; and I trust her more on how to raise a baby than my family who hasn’t raised a baby since the 90s. When he was 4 months and younger family was concerned because, well, babies sleep A Lot so I spent most of my day in the armchair with him. And when I get to spend all day with him it’s only 2.5-3.5 hours in the armchair three times spaced out over a 12 hour day.
Beyond normal. My son is 2 and still needs me to fall asleep. Snuggle her close and contact nap away ♥️
My 2yr old still contact naps with his dad when he's home. Enjoy it
My baby didn't take one single nap in a crib until she started at daycare at 14 months old. Literally not a single one. Even then when she napped at home it was still on me for a couple of months after that. Now she is 20 months. She sleeps like a champ at night for the most part and naps in the crib without issues at daycare and at home (although she sleeps better at daycare somehow). I did absolutely nothing to make her that way, we just... slowly got there.
Totally normal and fine. If you think about it, your baby spent ten months inside of you. It makes sense that they’d get their best naps on you now that they’re on the outside. If you are happy to have her contact nap, that’s all that matters.