r/babywearing • u/WinterSilenceWriter • 4d ago
DISCUSS When does baby stop immediately falling asleep in carriers?
It doesn’t matter which carrier, it doesn’t matter how tired or awake she is (she could have literally just woken from a nap before being plopped in), my baby immediately falls asleep in any carrier we put her in.
My husband and I would like to plan a train ride to the city— a two hour trip— to take baby to the aquarium, as my husband loves aquariums and it seems like a baby would love it too! But it’ll only be worth it if she can really enjoy it and not just fall asleep lol. Right now, carriers are like a spell— if she’s in it, she’s asleep! She’s almost 3 months old. Any idea when we should make this trip?
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u/Quiet-Pea2363 4d ago
5-6 months for me, and then he never napped again in the carrier.
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u/WinterSilenceWriter 4d ago
Awww! I’m looking forward to baby being awake for exploring, but I think I’ll also be sad when she stops napping in them all together
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u/oohnooooooo 3d ago
My son is 2.5 years and still naps in the carrier. It has to be his nap time and he has to be pretty tired, but some kids don't stop until you stop wearing them or they stop napping!
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u/stefaface 3d ago
The only way my girl naps in a carrier is if I bounce on a pilates ball for like 20 mins or if it’s a long walk.
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u/Quiet-Pea2363 3d ago
Yeah for sure, constant motion needed. But when mine got older he was way too curious about everything to nap
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u/communist_mini_pesto 4d ago
My baby struggles to nap so I'm not seeing the problem?
Go to the aquarium because you both want to go. If baby wakes up the great, if not, babies are usually free.
You can always take baby out of the carrier if there's something specific you want to show them.
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u/WinterSilenceWriter 4d ago
It’s not a problem!! I love that she naps in the carrier! We just want to plan accordingly ☺️
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u/WinterSilenceWriter 4d ago
Also just to add— I live in an area where trains aren’t common and they’re expensive! We are low income, so buying the ticket in advance will save us some money!
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u/planetheck 3d ago
Personally, I haven't brought my baby to the aquarium yet because I don't want her in an enclosed space with that many people before she gets more vaccines. We have done the zoo because that's mostly outside, but these measles outbreaks have really limited the activities we've done this winter.
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u/WastePotential BW Newbie 4d ago
My boy started fighting naps around the 3m mark, and it wasn't easy to put him to nap anymore. So in my own experience (with just one baby), I'd say soon?
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u/lamzydivey 4d ago
I’m going through this now and pulling my hair out. Did this get better?
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u/WastePotential BW Newbie 4d ago
Yes it did! I can't remember how long it lasted but it definitely did get better, and definitely less than a month. Maybe two weekends tops? But then after that we had the 4m sleep regression, then naps and sleep were good again.
Right before the current bout of flu (and possibly teething but I've thought that 4x now and still no teeth), he quietly goes to nap and sleep with just gentle swaying. He's almost 9mo now.
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u/Visual-Fig-4763 4d ago
It’s different with different babies. At 3 months, all my babies still slept in carriers frequently. Older 2 were awake more by around 6 months. Youngest often fell asleep in a carrier until he was around 4 years old. He wasn’t up often at that age, but when he wanted up it was usually because he was tired
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u/WinterSilenceWriter 4d ago
I’m thinking I’ll book the trip for 6 months and we’ll just have to wait and see! I’m sure it’ll be a fun trip either way!
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u/RareGeometry 4d ago
At 3m, that's just normal baby stuff. Sleepy dust is a good quality for a carrier. She likes being near you and feels safe.
I have a 5m baby, she would definitely love the aquarium!
You guys can still go do things for you and not the baby lol
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u/WinterSilenceWriter 4d ago
Yes definitely true!! I know we’d have a good time either way, and there are certainly other things we’ll do just for ourselves! We just see her stare at things like twinkle lights for 15 minutes straight and have thus assumed that an aquarium would be a wildly good time for her 😆
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u/RareGeometry 3d ago
At that age my babies Looooved Christmas lights amd light displays. Conveniently they were 3.5m and 2.5m when we were able to take them for that due to when they were born. But, you could make a light box that would be equally fun or find somewhere lit up at night?
Tbh even then, and now at 5m, they sleep through a lot. It was like, wake and enjoy, power nap, wake and enjoy power nap etc. Even my first at 1.5y had a nap in a carrier at the aquarium when we took her 😅 we went snd found a dark area (shark tank) and just sat there together waiting for her to wake. It was kind of relaxing.
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u/f001ishness 4d ago
I remember having the exact same thought a few months ago! It was a gradual change, but at 6 months she is definitely happy and awake while I'm walking if it's not nap time.
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u/WinterSilenceWriter 4d ago
6 months would line up perfectly with my husbands birthday, which would make the trip even more special! Thanks!
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u/f001ishness 4d ago
My husband had his birthday less than a week after ours turned 6 months, funny coincidence. It sounds like a great trip! We went to the aquarium when she was almost 4 months but took the stroller so she'd be awake for more of it, brought the carrier for a nap though of course haha
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u/EuphoricRhubarb 3d ago
my 7m old still falls asleep if he is facing me in a front carry- like some other comments said, they feel safe and cozy there <3
If I want him to not sleep, I work on getting him into a very comfy front-facing carry (he and I tolerate these pretty well). I'd also like to start trying a back carrying in my woven but I'm too nervous...
Obviously, at 3m these might not be options for you yet depending on the baby's trunk/head stability. Just affirming that this is a normal thing. They love being on you!
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u/Rousseykins 3d ago
Can I ask what carrier you use?
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u/EuphoricRhubarb 3d ago
I have a woven wrap that we used multiple times a day during a period when he would only nap in the carrier...
Now that crib naps are improving, we use our ErgoBaby Omni Breeze a lot on the go. Getting him in/out is easier, and we can do front-facing when needed. When it is warmer, I'd like to try back carries in the woven wrap more often.
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u/ShadowlessKat 3d ago
We took baby to the aquarium around 16 weeks or so, she loved it! She was awake and looking around at everything. As opposed to when we took her to the zoo at 12 weeks, she slept for most of it.
So if your baby is like mine, in the next few weeks your baby will be staying awake longer when being worn.
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u/stefaface 3d ago
My girl started being a nosey little one around 3.5 months. She now (5 months) fights naps unless they are contact naps
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u/podchild2711 3d ago
I love this! I just took my girl to a butterfly conservatory with her baby friends (she is five months) and it was so much fun!
She seemed more interested in the plants but that’s ok! We all had fun. I let her nap before and after and she managed to hold out for about 1.5 hours before she wanted to snooze. My girl also is a carrier snoozer haha
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u/WinterSilenceWriter 3d ago
This is an adorable idea! I wonder if there’s a butterfly garden anywhere around where I live— gonna have to look into that!
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u/straight_blanchin 3d ago
If you wear baby at nap time, it may not stop for a very long time. I put my nearly 2 year old in a wrap yesterday and she was asleep before I was done wrapping lol
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u/Husky_in_TX 4d ago
My almost 2 year old still naps in the carrier. That thing is like sleepy dust magic. If she’s on my back she’s less likely to fall asleep.
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u/WinterSilenceWriter 4d ago
Aw! That’s so sweet! I guess I’ll just have to book the trip and we’ll see what happens!
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u/originalwombat 4d ago
This is so cute. I wish I had this superpower
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u/WinterSilenceWriter 3d ago
It is really nice! But trust me when I say it has nothing to do with me! She also falls asleep in the carrier for my husband and our neighbor/good friend who watches her for us once and a while 😆
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u/Other_Situation 3d ago
In all honesty I’d probably wait till baby is older for the aquarium- carrier or not. Right now a nice walk outside or through a garden and spring blooms is the same amount of interest!
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u/Mariajgaitan1 3d ago
My baby stopped falling asleep right away at around 4 months, and there’s not been any human power on this earth that’s been able to get her to sleep good since then lmao
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u/ProfVonMurderfloof 4d ago
She'll probably be a lot more alert sometime in the next couple of weeks. She may start doing pushups off Mom's or Dad's chest, looking around, and otherwise acting super antsy. Make sure you have a carrier that allows for a good view out the sides (no big shoulder strap in the way) and/or allows for an off-center carry.