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anniemm
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| Posted: March 31 2008 at 5:35pm | IP Logged
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As it turns out, I have been "attachment parenting" for the last (almost) 4 years without realizing it!
Recently, I have been reading about AP and have come across a question. I get the whole sleep with your baby thing. I have always loved sleeping with my babies, once my husband started it with my 1st! Now, my current baby is 8 months old and still takes 2-3 naps a day. She has started falling off the bed at naptime because I'm not there when she wakes up and I don't hear her. I most certainly can not nap with her and I'm not sure what to do. With my other two, they started napping and sleeping in their crib around 8-9 months. This was only because of the cry it out method - 2 days of relatively easy training, and they were sleeping on their own.
While that was nice, I'm not sure I want to do it again. I feel like I'm a lot more sensitive to this baby's cries but there is also a safety concern.
Putting the mattress on the floor is also not an option for several reasons. Plus, she already crawls and who knows what she can get into!
Any wisdom?
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: March 31 2008 at 5:41pm | IP Logged
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teach her to get down feet first
I did that with some of mine that were adventurous enough not to call for help.. though there was the one that found it was a soft landing to get off the bed into the laundry basket 
Also, a baby monitor might be a good investment so that you CAN hear her.
Perhaps moving her into the crib while she's asleep?
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Alice R
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| Posted: March 31 2008 at 5:42pm | IP Logged
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I know you said that you cannot put the mattress on the floor-that is what we have done (and do).
I have also put up bed rails on our bed. All around and it takes more than 4 to gate in king size bed.
I have also put down mats all around the bed so if baby should tumble, they are landing on something soft.
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Maddie
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| Posted: March 31 2008 at 5:49pm | IP Logged
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We use bedrails too. I prefer to set up the couch with a quilt and a bedrail so I can keep a good eye on her, if she falls off the couch she doesn't have far to go!
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mellyrose
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| Posted: March 31 2008 at 5:57pm | IP Logged
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I have taught my kids to go down feet first -- there's a chest at the foot of our bed, so they climb onto the chest, and then to the floor, which is a shorter climb than from the bed.
Lydia sits at the edge and calls for me. I keep showing her how to climb down, but she's content waiting for me so far.
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jdostalik
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| Posted: March 31 2008 at 7:33pm | IP Logged
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Make a pallet on the floor and lay her down there for her nap time. My baby this time was way too adventurous and fell out of bed a few times (my other babies never did this, they woke up in bed screaming for me and I always made it there before they even thought about moving!)....
I had a nice quilt and made an area in the corner of my bedroom his "nap place." Admittedly, it wasn't ideal, since I would usually lay down to nurse him on the floor and sneak away but I have to say, that it did give me an unusual perspective on things--I really cleaned out under my bed and dresser having all that time to look around while the baby nursed to sleep, 
Just in the last two months or so, has my little one safely learned how to get down--I think some kids just learn later than others...
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| Posted: March 31 2008 at 8:02pm | IP Logged
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I would practice going down feet first, too. My dd fell a few times around that age and then seemed to grow out of it. We have a super-high bed and now, at 18mo she still doesn't get down on her own, but she doesn't fall, either.
Susan
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LisaR
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| Posted: March 31 2008 at 10:44pm | IP Logged
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jdostalik wrote:
Make a pallet on the floor and lay her down there for her nap time. My baby this time was way too adventurous and fell out of bed a few times (my other babies never did this, they woke up in bed screaming for me and I always made it there before they even thought about moving!)....
I had a nice quilt and made an area in the corner of my bedroom his "nap place." Admittedly, it wasn't ideal, since I would usually lay down to nurse him on the floor and sneak away but I have to say, that it did give me an unusual perspective on things--I really cleaned out under my bed and dresser having all that time to look around while the baby nursed to sleep,
Just in the last two months or so, has my little one safely learned how to get down--I think some kids just learn later than others... |
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ditto this post- I thought we were the only ones with the napping pallet , and a consequently clean floor under bed and dressers!
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Joelle
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| Posted: March 31 2008 at 10:54pm | IP Logged
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We are in the same boat here. Gi (8 mos) has been sleeping with us from day one. We still keep her in with us at night, but for nap times, I have begun putting her in the pack-n-play in our bedroom for safety reasons as well (I also cannot nap with her). She fussed a bit at first-not bad though, but I still didn't like it. I just figured it was best for her safety and she is Moby'ed around A LOT during the day and still sleeps with me at night, so it is not like I am leaving her to comfort herself ALL of the time--just daytime naps as I need to tend to her sibs!
Now, do you have an "all-night-snacker" on your hands as I do? I think that makes napping by herself more difficult. My fault, but aside from sore shoulders from sleeping with my arm up over her and an 8 month long stretch of non-stop nighttime nursing, it doesn't bother me. She's so cozy and I don't want her to cry it out at night. I joke that she's tanking up at night (and during the day) to ensure that she stays "the baby." as nursing really spaces our kids! Anyhow, that's an entirely different post ! Hope that helps & let us know what you've decided and if it works.
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Alice R
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| Posted: April 01 2008 at 10:05am | IP Logged
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Oh yeah, I forgot. I have also moved all of the blankets and pillows from OUR bed onto the floor and made a mini bed for her. You know, it looks, like our bed, feels like our bed, has the scent of us on the blankets...that has also worked too. When they are groggy, they don't really realize they are on the floor (on a toddler mattress actually) They just feel comforted in something familiar.
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anniemm
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| Posted: April 01 2008 at 6:39pm | IP Logged
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Hummm....I have NEVER thought of putting a baby on the floor. I actually really like that idea and am seroiusly considering it. My only hesitance is that I have noticed an influx of spiders as Spring is arriving and that kind of creeps me out. I had an incident as a kid where I was sleeping on the floor and a spider bit me on the eyelid and I had to go to the ER and was totally swollen, etc etc. I'm sure that nothing would happen and I'm just paranoid...
Can a baby at 8 months old get down feet first? I haven't really considered that either.
Joelle- she is sometimes an all night snacker, sometimes she sleeps almost all night! She does do most of her nursing at night and in the early morning though. I hardly nurse her all day long, even though she's not really on solids. She just is too busy while she's awake! I know what you mean about the sore arm though! hahahahaha I do look forward to sleeping the way I like, but this time is so fleeting. I love sleeping with her at night...so snuggly!
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Jess
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| Posted: April 02 2008 at 3:58pm | IP Logged
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We had the same problem with needing to find a safe place for the baby to sleep during the day. I finally had to just put her in the crib for naps. I always put her down after she was asleep and at first she would wake back up but after a while she would stay asleep. We have a tall bed and need the storage space under it so we couldn't put it down on the floor. I tried laying her on a pallet on the floor but that didn't work for us, so I just stuck it out with putting her in the crib and it finally worked.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 02 2008 at 5:41pm | IP Logged
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yep they can be taught to get down feet first.. we had our bed up fairly high when my oldest was that age.. and I just persisted in showing her to turn around and go feet first.. since then our bed has been low so it's not as big a deal.. my eventual plan is to get a good quality foam mattress on a platform.. so it can stay low AND have under storage 
But anyway.. I've taught some to go feet first (the ones inclined to get down no matter what)..and some would "call for help". So I didn't much bother teaching them.
I know I had my oldest going down backwards by 8 months because we spent her first Thanksgiving at my ILs and they had stairs and we had her going down the stairs backward too... I have early movers (my youngest was walking at 8.5 months) and climbers so teaching them how to go down is important.
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Lisbet
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| Posted: April 03 2008 at 6:00am | IP Logged
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We do the floor or couch thing here. I rarely put him up in bed to nap because we would never hear him over all the noise down here! We have a sectional couch, so I take the back coushins off in the corner, lay them on the floor and he sleeps in the corner of the couch. And yes, he has been sat on once or twice. 
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anniemm
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| Posted: April 03 2008 at 11:30am | IP Logged
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LOL, Lisa! I have a bunch of elementary (and younger) aged sisters and I remember when I was in high school and college coming home to find babies sleeping in the corner of the couch just has you described! Those kids can sleep through anything now!
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CAgirl4God
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| Posted: April 03 2008 at 4:00pm | IP Logged
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we would put Judy down on the couch or in her crib at that age...
and she slept either with us or in her crib.
I am lucky.. she took to sleeping in her crib mostly after a time... but recently is sleeping with us again... I love it!!! she is a cuddler and tucks into my back. lol
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: AP Question
