In those first few months Monkey slept like a champ when in his swing, like 3-4 hours. It was glorious! I knew that he wouldn’t be able to fit in his swing for too much longer, so I started the transition to his crib about a month ago.
At first it was a complete nightmare, which is shocking considering he’s slept through the night in his crib for about 4 months now. He was very sleep-deprived because he would fight his sleep & then wake up right when I put him in the crib. Then I tried the whole “drowsy but awake” thing (which totally works at night) & it was a big fail too.
What to do, what to do…
After seeking advice on Twitter, I purchased the seahorse for Monkey because everyone raved about it. Honestly, I was a little unsure, but was more than willing to try it out. Low & behold, it is a Godsend. No joke.
It works like a charm for Monkey’s morning nap.
Oh, what’s that? He’s supposed to nap more than once? Riiiight. Well, we haven’t completely mastered the afternoon nap with as much luck.
Like most babies I’m sure, Monkey fights his sleep. Oh if he only knew how awesome taking naps really are, right?!
Sometime in the afternoon (It’s never consistent as far as time goes. It could be at 2pm or at 430pm.), he’ll drink his bottle & fall asleep on me. I know that I should probably transfer him into his crib but I don’t. At least 9 times out of 10 I don’t anyways.
While I hope that I’m not instilling awful napping habits in my 6-month old, it’s just too damn sweet to move him to his crib. I figure that he’s not always going to want to nap on me, let alone even give me a hug in public, so I should cherish these moments now. It’s pure bliss to feel his chest going up & down on my chest, have his hands hanging onto my shoulders or hair, & to just savor how sweet of a moment it really is.
But clearly he won’t be napping on me when he’s, say, 4 years old & I know that this napping business isn’t magic, so is the right thing to do (for his sake) to put him in his crib after he falls asleep on me? Or is it okay for me to eat up these moments & cherish my sweet little boy sleeping so soundly on me?
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{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s not only okay, it’s PREFERABLE for you to spend as much time as possible holding your baby. It is beneficial for you BOTH. Don’t worry about the “shouldn’ts” or “shoulds” – go with what feels right. You know your baby better than any book or “expert”. Moms are meant to hold babies – that’s why they are so small. Cherish this time. It goes by SOOOO fast.
SO glad the Seahorse worked for you!
I say let him sleep on you, as long as you don’t mind. He’s only 6 months old, and only 6 months old once.
I’d say yes, cherish these moments if that’s what your heart is telling you to do. Just realize it likely will take more time to get him out of that habit later since he’s getting older and set in his ways, lol!
Hell, my son slept on me most of the way through walmart today. I don’t really see what the difference is. I’d like to be home 24/7 so he can get all his naps on time, but it just can’t happen. I have to do errands sometimes. There’s just nothing like when he wakes up in the carrier and looks up at me and sweetly smiles
Well, if you enjoy him sleeping on your for every nap, you can keep it up. However, if you want him to sleep in the crib, you should probably put him in there, but it seems to me that the afternoon nap may be too late. At 6 months, my kids woke up around 7 and napped at 9, 1, and maybe a catnap around 4 or 5. Bedtime was between 7 and 8, depending on how tired they seemed. I cannot address how hard it will be to transition him to the crib when he’s older and you no longer want him sleeping on you. I was in such a funky/zombie/anxious state with my first that I needed a break from him.
I believe in the magic of the seahorse as well!!! My 3 month old daughter has been a struggle to put to sleep at nap time and night time since she was born. I read all the great reviews of this toy, and thought it was much cuter than the glow worm, so I went ahead and bought it. At first, I just let her observe it and “talk” to it. Then one day, I took the plunge. I saw she was getting tired and was probably ready for a nap, so I put her down, stuck her pacifier in, and turned on her seahorse. Like magic, before it stopped playing music, my daughter was knocked out for a nice 2 hour nap. She gets overstimulated by her environment when we’re out and about, so we bring the seahorse along and it has helped her nap while we’re out as well. I’m glad to see someone blog about this great toy.
I’m heading out to buy a Seahorse tomorrow b/c Butterball doesn’t nap at all! Unless you count the 10 mins he rests his eyes after nursing…he does that twice a day.
Our 4month old daughter loves her seahorse as well! Plays for 5 whole minutes… as far as I’m concerned, that’s way better than the glow worms that play for a minute.
Love it! And snuggle, snuggle, snuggle! They grow up too fast, cherish it while you can!
We have the seahorse too and it works well…my mom also got us a lamb that has ocean and other sounds he likes too and now that he’s teething he chews on the seahorse’s head, so cute! And he talks to it like it’s his little buddy, glad you found it works too!
We have the seahorse as well and Julian loves it! It doesn’t, however, help his nap situation. He’s just too stubborn to let Mr. Seahorse soothe him to sleep! He does like to snuggle it and stare at it though.
As for holding them while they sleep…I do this too, and like you – I wonder if I’m creating a bad habit. But honestly? At least he sleeps this way…versus screaming and fighting it for an hour and getting no rest (and no closer to being better at napping). It’s a special time for us and we both enjoy it. It stays.
We have the Seahorse, too. My Peanut loves it! But, it doesn’t help her nap. Then again…nothing but a car ride does! She just isn’t a napper. The pedi said some babies just aren’t. She catnaps most days…about three times. Every once in awhile we pull out a whopping 1hour nap, but that is rare. And…she NEVER naps in her crib. Wherever she falls asleep is where she stays: floor, boppy, playmat…whatever! I think napping becomes more consistent around 10 months or so…at least that is what I have been told. We shall see in another four months!
Wow I can’t believe all these great comments about the seahorse! I got one at my baby shower but it’s still in the box somewhere, I’ll have to go find it & see how it works
I must be missing something because I just can’t understand what one would DO with a glowing, music playing, large stuffed animal with hard plastic on it & a little baby. Do you just put your baby down & put the seahorse down too? Where? Next to the baby? How does it help baby sleep? It doesn’t cradle, swing, swaddle, shush… just plays canned music? I’m at a loss at how this is helpful to an infant sleeping. Are there actually babies who would fall for that? Not trying to be snarky, just amazed!
kblogger – I thought the same thing as you before I got this magical toy. Not sure how others do it, but I give him a bottle while we rock in the nursery. When he is through with his bottle, I turn the seahorse on . I hold him for a minute & then lay him down in his crib with the seahorse at the other end of his crib. I think babies “fall” for it bc it soothes them once they are in a drowsy state. Plus, the light starts to dim towards the end of the 5 minutes & the music starts to fade as well. Don’t know why it works, but it works!
We love the seahorse as well. We got this as a Christmas gift for our son who was 7 months old at the time and was not a good sleeper. It works wonders and even now my son is 20 months old and the seahorse remains in his toddler bed.
My niece always slept on my mother, me or my sister in law….. we never had a swing for her, and she was spoiled…. she’s almost 4 now and she still falls asleep with her head on my brother or sister in law.
The Cloud B Sleep Sheep has been great for us (bedtime and naps). It plays “white noise” (rain, ocean, mom’s heartbeat, and whalesongs) for either 23 or 45 minutes (you set which one you want and the volume). It just hangs on the outside of the crib using a velcro strap. They sell few other animals and a “mini sheep” for on-the-go.
Long live the seahorse! My almost 7 month old started using it when he moved to his own room. He pats its face and coos at it until he falls asleep. I don’t know why he loves it but I don’t question the magic.
My 4.5 month old LOVES the seahorse too! We have nicknamed her “Snooki the Seahorse” – yes, Snooki from the awful show Jersey Shore for those who have seen it. It’s become a routine for us – swaddle, lay down and turn Snooki on. My little girl sleeps on her belly so we can lay it within her eye sight and she will smile immediately once she sees it and then often “talks” to it for 10 minutes before drifting to sleep. I would say its a magical toy for us!
I got one of those as a baby shower gift. It worked so well! However my son never fell asleep during the first round so I would have to get up and push it’s belly again. We ended up buying a projector from Fisher Price that plays music or ocean sounds and lights up a picture on the ceiling. That plays a little longer and gives us all a chance to fall back to sleep.