Getting 7 week old to sleep during the day

[barmybunting]

DD is 7 weeks old, and seems to have realised the difference between night and day now but we are really struggling to get her to nap enough during the day. She feeds to sleep at night and is generally going to sleep at 10, and waking for feeds at 2, 5 and 7.30 and waking properly at 9.30/10.00 so is doing quite well at night.

However can she fights sleep desperately during the day and I know she isn't sleeping enough and is overtired which is a vicious cycle. She will sleep for half an hour in the pram, car seat or sling as long as we are moving but screams after that no matter what we seem to do.

Any ideas on how to get her to nap more frequently/for longer during the day please? I am stuck!

[flipflopsonfifthavenue]

DS2 is 8 weeks and is the same. I feel he's in a massive overtired cycle and not sure how to get out. He fights naps and bedtime is a two hr long crying meltdown.

Plan tomorrow is to try to put him to sleep once he's been awake just 30mins as at the moment he's going 1/1.5hrs as am occupied with DS1.

I usually put him in a sling and walk circles around the kitchen table. I can occasionally get him to sleep in his Moses by feeding him but not these last few days, he just wakes a few mins after falling asleep which I think is classic overtiredness.

Watching thread to see other suggestions!

[omama]

Ha wish I had your problem - mine is 6 weeks & up to now has been sleeping most of the day & awake all night!!! She is slowly getting there though & starting to have more awake periods during the day though she did want to party at 2am this morning!

When my DS was a baby, I found the baby whisperer average A times (awake times for different ages) absolutely spot on, and plan to use them again with dd. A time is from the moment your baby wakes til the moment they are asleep, including time spent feeding/winding/changing. For my dd, once we are done with feeds, it is literally only 15-20 mins tops before she is getting tired. If your dd is awake much longer than this it may be worth taking a look at these.

I would also suggest trying to develop a sleep routine - a sequence of events that lets your dd know that sleep is coming - it may be sing a lullaby, cuddle, sssh pat, into cot - you choose what you want - but do the same sequence every time she gets tired. These cues will help her prepare - not an overnight fix but a grounding for long term good sleep habits.

Finally - the short nap thing - yes it can be a sign of overtiredness, but unfortunately at this age its also a developmental thing. Babies have a startle reflex & can easily jolt out of sleep, especially at the point where they transition between sleep cycles.

Often when I lay dd down, she will jolt awake as soon as her head hits the mattress or after say 10mins or so. I find if I hold her for the first 20 mins of her nap she has usually passed the first sleep transition & is in a nice deep sleep & I can put her down more easily. Also laying her onto a warmed surface helps (hot water bottle to warm mattress before putting her in, or wrap blanket around her as you cuddle then lay the blanket in the crib & her onto it works well).

[tak1ngchances]

Are you using a swaddle?

[ThinkIveBeenHacked]

Do you have a bouncer chair? We put 10wo ds into his and bounce it til he sleeps for daytime naps. If he stirrs after a very short period we can bounce him back to sleep.

I found with ds and dd before him, long naps of 1hr plus come much later.

[Dollyemi]

My dd wouldn't settle unless I took her away from the "overstimulation" of tv etc in the lounge. Once I started putting her back in her Moses basket in our room she realised it was bed time. I also swear by the White noise toys, we have ewan the dream sheep, it's brill!

[sallysimpson]

I found a website (can't remember name but google amount of time baby is awake between naps!) and it told you how long on average a baby of a certain age would be awake between naps. I can't remember the times for your babys age but for my 10 month it is about 2.5 hours between sleeps, he dosn't usually seem tired at this point but I put him down in his cot anyway and he'll go straight to sleep (sometimes after a little moan or chat! ). When I would leave him until he seemed tired to put him down for a nap he would cry as soon as I put him down and I would end up rocking him off.
I also have had to prioritise naps, and I plan my days around his nap times as he is very unhappy without them! He goes off to bed at 6, so I make sure he is up from his afternoon nap at 3.30 latest, and if I am going on a long car journey I try to plan it around at least one nap time so he gets a good sleep.
Also agree aout no stimulation, DC always sleeps best/ longest in his cot.
Is a revelation to me and wish I had tried this method with DC1 who slept well at night but struggled with naps!

[sallysimpson]

Sorry just seen Xpost with omama - got interrupted part way through replying!

[barmybunting]

Thanks everyone. My first stupid question now comes (but a genuine one)- do you count a short 15 min catnap as a nap for them?

Our routine at night is bath, swaddle, feed and story with Ewan the sheep. During the day I hadn't thought of swaddling but tried that in desperation at 7pm last night, took her up to our room and she promptly feel asleep for an hour and a half after a song and a feed so we need to come up with a daytime Bak routine I think.

I have managed to rock her off in her bouncer this morning- she usually manages 10 mins the starts to grizzle so I left her in for a bit longer and she dropped off with the help of Ewan the sheep. Still bouncing 30 mins later as she keeps stirring but at least it is some vague sleep!

She is definitely awake too long between naps, yesterday she spent 3 hours wide awake in the afternoon which wasn't the making of a happy baby! Unfortunately she won't sleep on me unless in the sling, but will happily sleep on DH, so I can't get her to fall asleep on me then transfer her after 20 mins the way I do at night.

Off to find a copy of the baby whisperer just now as well, thank you!

[barmybunting]

Flipflips and Onama, good luck with your little ones, I hope they decide sleep is a priority soon .