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kbfsc
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| Posted: Feb 11 2010 at 7:25pm | IP Logged
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I love wearing a babe in a sling, and I've done it more and more with each child. This new little girl lives in hers. She had some colic when she was very new and I found that the more she was in the sling during the day, the less colicky she would be during the night. So I've just kept her in it and have gone about our daily routine as best as I can. Well, here we are just shy of six months - and she will rarely sleep out of it (a little here and there in her car seat on top of the dryer of all places) and I'm struggling to get much accomplished. Schooling the other kids is challenging especially when she hasn't slept well and she's cranky. It sure would be nice to put the baby down for a reliable nap or two each day. Apparently other babies do that... am I dreaming to think that attachment-parented babies could do it? Mine never have. I'm just wondering how other baby-wearing mamas navigate this. When do your babies begin to nap outside of their slings, and how do you make that transition with them?
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Kiera
happy mama of ds '02, dd '03, ds '06, dd '09 and little ones in heaven
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Maggie
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| Posted: Feb 11 2010 at 8:50pm | IP Logged
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Your description of your baby fits my eldest to a T. She could never sleep unless she was 1). in the sling or 2). I nursed her while laying down.
She remained the way until she gave up naps at 2 yo. Honestly, I think she really needed that (and still is very needy). There is just something about her...
My ds (who I parented the same way--very AP) lived in the sling more than my dd out of sheer necessity. I had a newbie and a 2yo. However, I could gently slip myself out of my ring sling and lay him down by about 4 months.
To this day, I still nurse him down for naps...but then leave after 15 minutes or so...and then he naps for 2 hours.
Both AP'd...but totally different.
I wouldn't force it with your little one right now. She's still so young.
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Wife to dh (12 years) Mama to dd (10) ds (8), dd (1), ds (nb) and to Philip Mary (5/26/09), Lucy Joy (12/6/09), and Margaret Mary (3/6/10) who entered Heaven before we had a chance to hold them.
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SusanJ
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| Posted: Feb 11 2010 at 9:30pm | IP Logged
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I've managed to get my three (who were all major AP sling-loving babies) to take pretty reliable two hour naps during the day by committing myself to teaching them to do it in an AP style. I nurse them lying down in my bed until the fall asleep and then slip away once they are really out. Sometimes they'll stop nursing quickly and sort of roll over on their own and other times I just wait for the active sucking to die down and then gently detach. Then I get back in bed and nurse some more every time they wake up until two hours have gone by. I'm right there--in bed the whole two hours if need be--teaching them that it's okay to sleep. All three of my babies have adjusted to a good two-hour nap in a fairly short amount of time this way.
I don't know how practical this would be with your other children but perhaps you could plan ahead with things to keep them occupied and quiet while you work on this.
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Mom to Joseph-8, Margaret-6, William-4, Gregory-2, and new little one due 11/1
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Chris V
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| Posted: Feb 11 2010 at 10:45pm | IP Logged
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SusanJ wrote:
I've managed to get my three (who were all major AP sling-loving babies) to take pretty reliable two hour naps during the day by committing myself to teaching them to do it in an AP style. I nurse them lying down in my bed until the fall asleep and then slip away once they are really out. Sometimes they'll stop nursing quickly and sort of roll over on their own and other times I just wait for the active sucking to die down and then gently detach. Then I get back in bed and nurse some more every time they wake up until two hours have gone by. I'm right there--in bed the whole two hours if need be--teaching them that it's okay to sleep. All three of my babies have adjusted to a good two-hour nap in a fairly short amount of time this way.
I don't know how practical this would be with your other children but perhaps you could plan ahead with things to keep them occupied and quiet while you work on this.
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 This is exactly what I've done with my three. Very loving, very gentle, and always making sure that my babies and I are in harmony with each other.
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Chris
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Mama to My Five Girls ('04~'07~'09~'11~'11) 
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drmommy
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| Posted: Feb 12 2010 at 8:25am | IP Logged
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I am an older mommy, but my 10 year old who LOVED the sling and being held constantly is still very affectionate and close to me. Keep doing it...it will pay off.
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SusanJ
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| Posted: Feb 12 2010 at 11:14am | IP Logged
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drmommy wrote:
| I am an older mommy, but my 10 year old who LOVED the sling and being held constantly is still very affectionate and close to me. Keep doing it...it will pay off. |
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Oh, yes, I agree about continued baby wearing even if they move beyond wanting to do all their sleeping there. I definitely continue to hold my kids for much of the day and on all outings well into the second year. But I definitely can understand your body needing a break for part of the day especially after six months.
I should have added last night that if babywearing continues to be the only way for your baby to sleep you might want to look into a two-shoulder carrier or some kind of back carrier. I have a long Ella Roo wrap that was a life saver with my very high need daughter. Because it went over two shoulders it remained more comfortable on the front for longer--and they are great on your back, too, though the learning curve is steeper. My current baby really likes hanging out on my back in the Ergo and it lets me make dinner when he's feeling fussy.
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kbfsc
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| Posted: Feb 13 2010 at 8:16am | IP Logged
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I am interested in trying a different kind of carrier - maybe an Ergo would be nice to move her to my back so I could be a little more hands-free. That's a helpful recommendation!
Please don't misunderstand me! - I love, love wearing my babies. It's a precious, all-too-short time. But... am I the only mama that just gets tired? A little frustrated and maxed-out from continuous contact? A little breather here and there would, I think, just recharge my batteries a little and make me more able to respond well to the baby and my other children. I get the dynamic of self-giving at play here and I want to embrace it.
I guess the bottom line is that I need to seek the Lord to minister to the emptiness that comes along with this whole motherhood thing... because, ultimately, I see that in our emptiness comes more fullness than we could experience otherwise. Whew!
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Kiera
happy mama of ds '02, dd '03, ds '06, dd '09 and little ones in heaven
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LeeAnn
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| Posted: Feb 13 2010 at 9:31am | IP Logged
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I used a babysling with all four of my children from birth to toddlerhood. I had similar feelings of being maxed out on continuous contact. Beginning with #2 I trained them to take naps on the bed or in the crib during the day and then only slung them when they were awake or when we were out.
It would be easier to sling babies all day long if our daily work was all physical: walking, moving about. But since a lot of my daily work was at the computer (doing bills, doing parish work, etc) having the baby in the sling all the time was not practical as you really need the constant motion to keep the baby happy. Also, the type of sling I have gets in the way of having your arms directly in front of you, as for typing.
Don't be afraid to make some changes in how you do things for the good of the family. 
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: time to get out of the sling?
