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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if anyone else has a newborn who doesn't nap during the day?

29 replies

RozDoyle · 23/08/2017 20:42

Is that weird?

DD is six weeks old and doesn't nap during the day. She might doze for 20 mins but thats it. She just fights sleep to the death. Will lie wide awake in her pram while I walk for miles.

Good sleeper at night though. Takes a bottle at eleven, up 4-5 and then back down till 8 (although I have an unsympathetic 2 year old who makes me get back up at 6.30 so I'm not too smug).

The days are hard going, she doesn't seem particularly happy to not be asleep and by 6pm she's bringing the building down because she's exhausted. She'll then have one ounce of milk and crash out.

I'm worried she isn't getting enough sleep?

OP posts:
LittleR1e · 23/08/2017 20:50

I have a 5w old and been told that 'dozing' is normal 😴

AHedgehogCanNeverBeBuggered · 23/08/2017 20:51

Wow, that's unusual! DS is 5 weeks and sleeps loads in the day but barely at all at night, I'm exhausted and very jealous! Has your DD done this since birth? How's her weight gain? How many ml of formula is she taking in 24h?

Spam88 · 23/08/2017 20:51

Doesn't sound like she's getting anywhere near enough sleep. What else do you try to get her to sleep? Mine absolutely will not fall asleep in the pram no matter how exhausted she is, but a dark room, lots of rocking and (when I'm desperate) white noise normally works quite well.

That being said I started trying to get her to sleep at half 6 and I'm still going so maybe don't listen to me 😩

Pleasedontdrawonyoursister · 23/08/2017 20:54

My 1st DD was like this, until about 9 months when I managed to get her to take a decent nap after lunch once a day (until she was nearly 4!!). DD2 slept all the time until about 10 weeks! They're all different.

Neither of mine have ever slept in a pram either. I have to make sure I'm back home for nap time in the cot, or far enough away from home that they sleep in the car.

I'm sure she'll fall into a routine soon enough. At least she's letting you catch up at night (for now.....) xx

Kpo58 · 23/08/2017 20:57

Is she over stimulated? Have you tried draping a muslin over her sleeping place to block out all the exciting stuff going on around her?

Sashkin · 23/08/2017 20:57

Dozing for 20mins IS napping when they are six weeks old! You just need to ensure they do it every hour or so... The proper scheduled naps start later, around four months, though DS still has 5x30min naps at five months so not all babies ever have those mythical three-hour-long naps.

He isn't too bad at napping in the morning, but will stay awake all afternoon long if you let him, and then be a screaming mess at 5pm. So I have to either take him for a long walk so he falls asleep in the pushchair, or camp out in the bedroom with the light off between 2pm-4pm feeding him back to sleep every 20mins.

He goes to bed quite happily at around 19:30 and sleeps through for twelve hours. He's always been a good night time sleeper though, and given the choice of good sleeper or good napper, I'd rather he slept through at night.

Wellthen · 23/08/2017 21:02

DD was a bit like this. She didnt fight sleep but she went from sleeping for 2 hours at a week old to only sleeping for 15 mins at 6 weeks old.

I started doing a proper 'nap time' - putting her in her sleeping bag with white noise (Ewan the sheep) and all her usual sleep cues in her bed upstairs as opposed to just sleeping in whichever room I was in in her moses basket. It meant she would go for 30-45 mins instead of 15. I think she found me being around distracting and wanted to know what was going on all the time. If your DD is awake in the pram it could be a similar thing - watching the world go by must be quite stimulating!

She did this right up until 8 months and then one day she slept for 2 hours and has done ever since. It was like somebody flicked a switch.

Original poster
RozDoyle · 23/08/2017 21:08

I can get her to sleep in the day by rocking her in front of the microwave (we have the worlds most frequently sterilised bottles). It's keeping her asleep that's the problem. It doesn't matter how tired she is, once I put her down she's awake after 15-20 mins. She used to sleep on me or DH only but now she doesn't even do that.

Her weight gain is fine, she's bang on where she is supposed to be, and so the HV is unconcerned. She takes about 4 oz formula every three hours.

OP posts:
Sashkin · 23/08/2017 21:09

Oh yeah, mine used to sleep anywhere as log as he was in my arms (❤️) but sadly that stopped somewhere between 2-3 months old and he needs either movement (pushchair) or proper darkness (bedroom) now.

Another tip is baby swimming! Mine is out like a light on swimming days.

Original poster
RozDoyle · 23/08/2017 21:11

I'm having a sling delivered tomorrow. That is a route I really didn't want to go down. But I can't get anything done.

OP posts:
Lemonycakes · 23/08/2017 21:17

Mine is 4 weeks and he's also good at night, but it takes 3-4 hours of feeding plus rocking to get him off for the night (cluster feeding + overtired), then will sleep for 4 hours until next feed.

Day naps are horrendous though. He will fight them for as long as he can. He will sleep if I take him out in the pram, but he's been getting too hot over the past week and wakes up in an awful mood. If I do get him to sleep, he will wake as soon as I attempt to put it down. Then gets more tired and distressed. It's very exhausting.

I'm hoping it will get easier than this over time!

Wellthen · 23/08/2017 21:18

If she likes the noise of a microwave, would white noise help? You can find videos on youtube that will play for hours and you can get it up quite loud on your phone (Ewan isnt very loud in my opinion).

Perhaps noise combined with something like a sleepy head so she still feels like shes being held?

Original poster
RozDoyle · 23/08/2017 21:19

I've tried the white noise app but I've had no luck with it. Only seems to be the microwave. And sometimes the kettle. Why is it when you need coffee, the kettle takes an age to boil, but when you're trying to get a baby to sleep it boils in five seconds flat?

OP posts:
TheWeatherGirl1 · 23/08/2017 21:21

Sympathies, we had this problem, then I discovered the miracle of slings, he crashes out within seconds.
We also got given a baby swing that I've taken to calling the sleep machine it's soooooo good.

Original poster
RozDoyle · 23/08/2017 21:22

See she's a clingy baby, and I am fairly certain a sling will work. However, then I'm concerned she won't sleep in her basket at night!

OP posts:
Dutch1e · 23/08/2017 21:25

I had two kids like that. The youngest stopped napping completely by 20 months and at 6 yrs old still doesn't need anywhere near as much sleep as average. It's a treat isn't it

MarcelineTheVampire · 23/08/2017 21:29

My DC1 slept all the time during the day, for hours, never at night (and still waking up twice a night 20 months later).

DC2, completely different - doesn't sleep much during the day, quick snoozes here and there but sleeps all night!!

TheWankiestPuffin · 23/08/2017 21:30

Why don't you record the noise of the microwave / kettle (or I bet there are YouTube videos) and play it to her whilst she's in her cot or Moses basket?

ShortLashes · 23/08/2017 21:34

My DD is 10 weeks and is only having short naps at home during the day, roughly 20-40 mins. But if I put her in the sling and go out, I won't hear a peep from her for 4 hours! It doesn't seem to make much difference to her nighttime sleep either way. Hope the sling helps.

needtogiveitablow · 23/08/2017 21:36

DD is 15 weeks old and she is the same as yours - she sleeps 7-7 and has done since 2 weeks old, during the day we don't get much in the way of naps although we are noticing her shifting from a few catnaps a day to less naps but for a longer period (30-45 minutes) - it's tiring through the day but having had DS that was a frequent night waker I'm definitely counting my blessings!

Hollyhop17 · 23/08/2017 21:38

Be careful what you wish for. My 7 week old sleeps for 2-3 hours at a time during the day, but no more than an hour or so at night time. It is utterly exhausting and I am so beyond knackered.

deadringer · 23/08/2017 21:42

My dd was like that. It was a shocker for us because our first two were brilliant nappers. There were times when I really needed her to nap and I would spend two hours rocking her to be rewarded with 20 minutes max to put on dinner/empty dishwasher/hang out washing or whatever. She hated the sling and would cry non stop on the floor or in a seat. She didn't nap when she got older either.Thank god she slept at night!

thisisillyria · 23/08/2017 21:43

I'd always thought babies slept most of the time, but neither DD1 nor DD2 ever slept much during the day - the odd nap here and there, but definitely not hours at a time - and once they were 18 months, there was no daytime nap at all. They both slept well at night though, from about 6 weeks, apart from odd blips when they were teething or ill. DD1 was an early waker, so we made sure they had an early bedtime to get enough sleep. They are both adults now, and DD1 still wakes with the dawn!

lozzylizzy · 23/08/2017 21:47

My DD was the same and never had more than 2 30min naps as she got a little older. They disappeared all together at 1 year. She has always been a good night sleeper. Maybe a little late up but will happily have a lie in!

Original poster
RozDoyle · 23/08/2017 21:59

This might be a stupid question, but if you have a newborn who is fed, changed, winded and happy but won't sleep...what do you do with them? Especially when you have another (in my case, jealous) toddler to entertain?

DD will go on her jungle gym for five/ten mins at a time, kick on her mat without her nappy on, we'll go for a walk, I'll chat to her and show her toys...but then what?!

OP posts:
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