Baby Only Sleeps in an Upright Position

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Baby Needs Carseat to Nap

Sept 2006

My 4 month old will only take naps in her carseat. She takes a morning nap (about 1/2 hour) in her car seat and her afternoon nap in her car seat (about 1 1/2 - 2 hours). I am currently reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and am learning a lot so far. I have tried having her take her long afternoon nap in her crib but she will only nap for about 20-40 minutes REM sleep. After that she is up and even if I try to soothe her back down she won't sleep anymore. For the past two days I have let her sleep in her room in her car seat since I know she will take a long nap in there. Any advice on what to do?

My first child, who napped better in her car seat than a crib, also napped very well in her stroller. When nap time came, I'd clip her into her stroller in the house, stroll her around a quiet, large room until she fell asleep (often it only took three or four strolls around the room) and stroll her into a quiet room to sleep. Sleeping in her stroller wasn't a problem until we needed childcare. We had trouble finding someone who would help her go to sleep in a stroller instead of a bed or mat. In many ways napping in a stroller was very convenient because it kept her routine when we were on vacation or visiting relatives. For me, getting the needed sleep was what mattered. Not where she slept. And the only people who ever gave me a hard time were some potential childcare situations or nannies. So we just didn't use their services. Oddly enough, she slept fine in her crib at night. But the crib just didn't work during the day
Whatever works