3 Month Old Will Not Take Naps in Crib

Get a wrap...Wear him for his nap. I would look at Moby wraps/ Ellaroo. I have both. Ellaroo is a bit more versatile and not as long and warm as Moby. This would also enable you to allow baby to sleep on the plane very easily.

Look into other babywearing possibilities besides a Baby Bjorn, which carry the infant by the crotch. YOu likely have a babywearing group that meets near you.

http://www.mamatoto.org/Default.aspx?tabid=36

We traveled with 4.5 month old and borrowed some items because we could from family that we were visiting. However, pp suggested renting items....I looked at that and you might as well buy the item because it is quite pricey.

Best wishes

Like the other person said, stay calm, babies can and will sense those things.
Get into a routine can't be stressed enough for the sack of your son, and you, that is the important thing. It is apparent that he has become accustom to noises during the day, the swing makes a noise right, and your heartbeat. Try a soothing CD or the heartbeat sound CD or a toy that plays music.
I wouldn't go out and buy something in another town and return it when you are done, that in my opinion is a form of stealing and isn't fair to the store to do such a thing. That is just my opinion, I just feel that it ends up driving up prices when people do these things, just wrong.
In a month you will have it under control. I have faith in you.

I know, some babies just won't sleep in their crib (my brother in law only napped on his bouncer on the dining room table - very specific, eh?). Will your baby sleep in a bouncer? My daughter loved her bouncer when she was 3 months old. There are ones with soothing vibrations and sounds available, and also ones that are for travel, too. They are a little awkward to travel with, but it's better than lugging a swing around.
There's also portable rocking hammocks, too (Eddie Bauer)...
Good luck, and hang in there!

You've gotten a lot of good advice, minus the person who I'm thinking assumed you had a 3-YEAR old, and not 3 months. We experienced this exact same thing with our now 7-month old son. We let him sleep in his swing when he wanted to (or one me...harder for you, though, if you're trying to get things done), but one thing I tried was to try to put him down in his crib at least once a day for a nap. It took a few days of trying, and if he cried, I came and got him, but it didn't take long before he was napping in his crib. Now, that's the only place he sleeps (except on me after nursing). It's worth a shot! Good luck!

We had the same problem with our baby (now 8 1/2 mos old). We let her sleep in her swing until about a month ago (during the day) and have just now started using her crib for naps. When our baby was younger she had terrible acid reflux and laying on her back made it worse for her. In the swing she is upright so it was more comfortable. The first few times she had to cry it out in her crib for 5-10 minutes. Now she's doing fine. If your baby isn't ready to sleep in his own crib I wouldn't force it. When on vacation just take him for walks in his stroller around nap time and hopefully he will fall asleep while you're out and about. We've done this with both of our kids and it has worked well.

Good luck!

I had the same issue with my daughter who is now 11 months old. It was a tough transition, then I realized that she hated the open feeling of the crib. She was so used to the swing or soothing glider to sleep in. Both snug places. At night it wasn't as much of an issue because she was more tired, but still had issues after the first four hours (basically after her REM sleep) So, I took a Snuggle Nest and put it in the corner of the crib and put a blanket with my scent on it to lay under her head (big enough so they can't pull it and smother themselves) and she adapted well to that. It gave her a sense of security and a smaller place. Then over time as she adjusted to the crib and got a little bigger I weaned her out of it, but still placed her close to the corner of the crib to start. Over time the crib was a cozy place for her. I hope this helps.

I too have a baby that won't nap unless she falls asleep in the car after a little cry. We have tried everything and just gave up...later on we will most likely introduce quiet time in the afternoons..Itried to force it but then she stopped sleeping through the night...not worth it at all..she's getting enough sleep so I don't worry...but a friend gave me this website as we travel quite a bit.....www.babysaway.com or (800) 57-0077....they actually have different locations all over and offer baby items that can be dropped off and picked up at the end of your travel for a small fee.....you can get pretty much anything. I would it's a great way to have what you need and not have to lug it cross country. Good luck.

Sounds like she has trained you to accept that she is the parent. A three, it is not her decision where to sleep. I would put her in the crib, then close the door and don't go back for 2-3 hours. Crying, staying awake, whatever, don't respond. Don't train her to manipulate you like this. It took me until child 4 to figure out that I could set their routine, and that children are far happier and healthier when mom and dad are the decision makers. They can be taught when and where to sleep, if they KNOW that all manipulative behavior will get them nowhere. BTW, my last few kids were the easiest and happiest (still are) because we had finally learned these principles.

M.-

If you're planning on going on vacation, now might not be a good time to try to conditon the little one to sleep in his crib for nap time. My little ones all went thru similar phases with naps or night-sleep. My youngest slept in her car seat at night for a month because of persistant stuffiness.

If you feel comfortable just letting your baby do what he's going to do, you can get small a folding travel swing. And for the times when he needs to be held for a nap, I highly reccomend a baby sling. You can find them in all styles and price ranges. My second and third loved the sling for napping, cuddling or just being carried around.

And I've been told (and believe it) that you can't spoil a baby

Good luck to you!
-B. M.-

My daughter was the same, I think they just like the close comfort of the swing for naps, but are okay being a little "free" at night. Do you still swaddle him? If not, that might help. Also, the foam sleeping wedges or something that will give him the snugness that the swing does might work.

For your vacation, this may sound really strange and I was totally against it when I first heard it, but it wound up really helping... when on vacation, take lots of blankets and pull a drawer from the dresser, pack it with the blankets and the baby might sleep inside the drawer. It worked for us when we moved to WA when my daughter was that age (we decided to take a five day trip up the CA coast in our car while a moving company took care of our stuff). We had tried everything but couldn't get her to sleep and we sent the swing and vibrating chair on the moving truck. I think that it gives them the same effect and the sides of the drawer give you a sense of security. I was really scared about the blankets and SIDS so I bought a sleeping wedge for her and placed it on top of a tightly packed blanket. She slept beautifully. Several moms suggested it to me and I thought they were all crazy, but it worked! Good luck!

My son just wasn't much of a napper when he was a newborn till about 6 months, people were amazed that every time they saw my son he was awake basically from the minute he was born--he wasn't a lot better at night either (and that was co-sleeping)...Nevertheless he would occasionally nap in the bouncy chair--yet, my partner and I worried about him never sleeping in his crib and would spend undo amounts of time worrying about getting him in a crib for napping--I'm not sure when or how but now he's 11 months, sleeps 11 hours at night and naps 3 hours per day (all in his crib). So, I really wish I hadn't spent so much time worrying about where he would and wouldn't nap. When they're so little they just have their preferences and they go away one day and you don't even notice. I would just buy a little swing from a consignment store when you get where you're going and thank your lucky stars that at least he sleeps somewhere.

Hi M.,
My son suprised me with his solution, he did the very same thing, he slept just fine during the night in his crib, but during the day it was a major frustration, then when I went out with some female family members for a day my husband said he had no troubles getting our youngest, who is now 7 months old, to take his nap in his crib, he just did it in a lazy way and didn't do anything to make it dark in the room, he even left the curtain open, so it was actually really bright in his room and he slep just fine. I also heard on the radio one time that a bay needs to either have a bright room or very dark room to get good sleep. Avrum our 7 month old like staring out the window and will fall asleep doing just that, he still has his bad nap days but what baby doesn't.

M.,

Oh how I understand what you are going through. We have a 5 mo. old who just started taking naps there. Unfortunately there are no quick fixes. I read good night sleep tight and I really liked it. It is a form of sleep training without the dreaded crying it out method. There will be some tears involved but not at the lengthy period that it would be if you cried it out.

good luck!

first of all, dont get frustrated or nervouce... baby can sense that and will react to that.

at this age baby is still very very young. sleeping in a swing or with you is still very comforting. try swaddling baby. do a little nap time ritual, same music playing, feed baby, rock baby in rocking chair or stand at side of the crib and rock baby in your arms. Try a bouncy seat instead (little easier to pack if necessary. Worse case scenario, depending on where youare going, you can buy a swing or bouncer at your destination and then return it. I took my first born to California at 4 months of age and we ended up buying a bouncer for himthere and then returning it before we left....

My grandson slept in his swing too. He would also sleep in his car seat. The bottome is formed with a rocker base so that when he kicked it rocked. We fasted him in and set the seat on the floor. Eventually we set it in his crib. He was sleeping in his crib a couple of months later.

We had same experience with my granddaughter. We started with swaddling before putting her in the car seat.

For my grandchildren we guessed it was more comfortable for them for several reasons. They felt secure in a tight space. My grandson had GERD and this prevented some of the back up of stomach acids. My granddaughter was diagnosed with asthma at around 6 months. Perhaps she could breathe better.

I to disagree with buying and returning. YOu can rent baby gear. I learned of this from a flyer at the car rental place at the airport. The prices seemed reasonable.