The nap dilemma

***3 ½ MONTHS***
Vaughn is a great sleeper...at night. He has been sleeping through the night since December, however, napping is a whole other story. I need to pick up some sleep training books to figure out how to get him to nap somewhere besides in my arms. I really need him to nap so I can have a tiny bit of me time and try to get things done. I LOVE spending every moment with him, but the house can't clean itself. I think I've heard that somewhere before. haha.

We have been working on a daily routine ule to encourage a nap/play/eat schedule. Most days, we wake up around 7:30am (sometimes, he wakes, eats, then goes back to sleep until we have to leave) to start getting ready for Stroller Strides. I feed him on one side while pumping the other side around 8:30am so we can get out of the door by 9:00am for our 9:30am class. When we get to the Goodyear Community Park, I feed Vaughn a bottle of 2 oz., burp him, then strap him in for class. A few times, he's catnapped during class, but often will stay awake throughout until then end when I take him out of the stroller for some playtime while we do ab exercises. Then, we go home, Vaughn hangs out in the car seat while I prepare my lunch, then I eat while he eats (such a multi-tasker), we play in his room with the low lights, and I put him down for a nap. The nap usually doesn't work out too well. I'm TRYING the "cry it out" method with the Sleep Trainer, but it's so darn hard to listen to him cry nonstop. After doing two or three checks, I give in. Once he's in my arms, he's out! However, if I put him back in the crib, the crying starts all over again.

As I type this, Vaughn is taking a nap which he has been doing for two hours. I WISH it were in his crib, but instead, he is nestled like a little cuddlebug on my chest; his favorite place to nap. I am trying to enjoy every minute of his snuggle nap sessions in my arms or on my chest as I know he'll not want to do this forever, but I think about all the things I could be getting done if he were in the crib.

I'm hoping I can get some answers in some books before this becomes a habit of Vaughn's. I just love my "chest gnome" as Dave calls him, but he needs to learn how to nap in his crib.