Help! I've been go with the flow now need to schedule.

amother

Pewter

Sun, Oct 25 2015, 7:09 pm

My baby is 5.5 months old and I have had a baby nurse since she was born. Because the baby has had a nurse, she's been very coddled (dare I say spoiled). Her needs are met at an instant.
I exclusively breast feed. She eats every 3 hours. Her day basically is eating, playing and napping. But the nurse doesn't take her to her crib to nap usually. Most naps are in the baby swing or the bassinet stroller.
At night she sleeps for a little in her crib - she is still swaddled - she sleeps better that way.
Around 1030/11 PM the nurse brings her to me and I keep the baby in my bed for the night. Been doing that for months. I like to sleep with her and I just nurse her and go back to sleep when she wakes to eat - usually every 3 hours during the night too. But past 2 nights she woke up more frequently. Maybe it's a growth spurt...
Anyway, I cannot keep the nurse much longer and I am afraid that the baby is almost 6 months old and not on a schedule with morning/afternoon naps in her crib.
I remember from my other kids they always had good morning and afternoon naps that lasted over an hour. This baby doesn't. Her naps in the swing can be an hour same for the stroller especially if she is outside. But the crib is very short.
How do I get her to nap in the crib at the same times each day? What do I do when I put her in the crib and she wakes after 15 minutes or cries when I put her down to nap? The nurse has been holding her to fall asleep. That is also something that will shock the baby if I try to place her down awake in the crib to nap.
2 major things the baby is used to will be changing - am I looking at heavy crying for a few days? Is there any other way? I hate crying.