Honestly help re contact naps

Don’t give into the pressure. If it works for you then it works for you. We have been exactly the same and we still co sleep and have contact naps at weekends - during the week he naps fine at nursery on his own and we’re slowly extending the length of time he’ll be on his own overnight. It’s not a habit, it’s just how she’s wired - biologically normal for them to want to be with you x

Sadly yes, I believe it is a bad habit. will try my best to not get my baby used to being held all the time once she is here. As a mother, you also NEED to be well rested and get sleep.

If contact naps work for you then use them! There is absolutely nothing wrong with it and it is not teaching bad habits. Ignore family. Do what works for you and your baby. Maybe look in to gentle sleep methods though if you do feel like things aren't working for you or you need to try a different approach. They are much kinder than ferber.

Hey! Holistic & responsive sleep coach here! No you’ve not created a bad habit and you don’t need to stop contact naps if they are working for you both! Babies naturally prefer sleeping next to their caregivers and it helps to regulate their nervous system.

Babies cry overnight for many many reasons including comfort! They are supposed to wake overnight and often the quickest way to get our little ones to fall asleep is by holding them! Separation anxiety tends to start increasing around this age too which is why she might be checking in more overnight.

You’ve not done anything wrong - your baby is doing what babies do :) if you want to move away from contact naps then there are ways to do it that are more gentle! Also remember that a large part of sleep is temperament based! I’ll post some links to a few of my posts you might find interesting :)

https://www.instagram.com/p/DSSmZPHjYY9/?igsh=bDFhNDhiNGhlYm85

https://www.instagram.com/p/DTczqenjdF5/?igsh=MTlqc3pnaXV5dmt2Mw==

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTfcXUEjUnx/?igsh=MXZtOHdqZzZydHQy

No, definitely not a bad habit!! Our babies are wired to need us & contact napping fulfills that need for so many babies (every baby is different!)  My baby is 18mo & we still contact nap every single day! I put her in a ring sling & that’s where she naps! If you want to make some changes you can - with my older child I transitioned from holding him in a rocking chair to laying next to him in bed around 20mo. The whole process took a month to really work & I’d lay next to him but sometimes I’d roll away to have some time to myself. He’s four now & I still lay with him until he falls asleep at night. I know that they won’t need this connection forever & contact napping works for us. I’ve never regretted one minute of holding my babies while they sleep 

My 2.5yo still only contact naps the whole time he's been here! It's completely normal. Some babies/toddlers (in fact most, it just gets substituted) sleep preference is contact. As humans, we are wired to seek physical comfort from our caregivers for safety and safety equals sleep.

You haven't created a bad habit. You've met her needs.

Honestly? The Ferber method is cruel and if you look into who invented and why it explains a lot.

Don't feel pressured by others to stop doing what's working for you. Prioritise you and your baby's sleep over what others think.

I know for me I had to give my son a thing called a warmie and he loves it you can heat it up in the microwave and I give it to him every night and he sleeps through the night because it has lavender in it to help promote good sleep

My little one contact naps but sleeps on his own fine at night, so I don't necessarily think you've created the habit - it's maybe just the way baby is! X