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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

5 week old WON'T SLEEP in the day

13 replies

felinebelle · 25/07/2011 16:05

Anyone got an tips to try to get a 5 week old alert/advanced/spirited/call it what you will 5 week old who refuses to sleep in the day?
We're just about managing to get her to go down in her Moses basket at night (7pm-5am with 2 wakes for feeds), but when we try as soon as she shows signs of being tired in the day (first yawn etc) she screams and screams and fights her sleep.
Trued swaddling like we do at night, tried dark and light rooms, she'll occasionally sleep if we take her out in her pram/the car, and always nods off in her carrier, bu they're not long-term/good sleep habit solutions.

The line between tired and then over-tired is extremely thin, and she'll very quickly turn into a screaming overtired baby, who is really hard to calm down, and therefore even harder to get to sleep - and so the vicious circle begins.

Thanks in advance for any help.

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BooyHoo · 25/07/2011 16:07

i'm sorry, i have no advice but just wanted to give you my sympathies. my ds2 didn't sleep at all during the day until he was 10 months. i hope your baby isn'y like this. it was very hard.

BornToFolk · 25/07/2011 16:10

Do anything it takes to get her to sleep and DO NOT worry about creating bad habits.
My DS did not sleep in the day (without a struggle!) from 7-11 weeks. I took him for walks in the buggy so he'd sleep. Once he got used to having 3 sleeps in the day at roughly the same time, it was possible to rock him to sleep at home and put him down in his cot. Then when he was about 6 months old, he was able to put himself to sleep and we didn't need to rock him anymore.
You are so right about the vicious circle - I found that DS would get so overtired he wouldn't sleep well when he did drop off. The more sleep I could persuade him to have (by whatever means necessary!) the better.

Octaviapink · 25/07/2011 16:30

Agree - you can't create bad habits (or indeed habits of any sort) at this age - they're too young. Sling!! Wear her endlessly - she will love it, sleep and eat well, you will get things done and everyone will be happy. She's tiny and can't bear to be separated from you. The buggy helps get her to sleep because it's like the constant motion of being inside you. A sling will duplicate that.

Original poster

felinebelle · 25/07/2011 16:50

I've tried the BabaSling and realy didn't get on with it - I didn't feel comfortable or confident with it, and don't really want to wear her on me all the time. That said I like walking out and about with her in our Baby Bjorn carrier. I'm not too bothered about getting things done around the flat - my partner can take her at certain times if I really need to do anything - I just want her to he happy and content.

OP posts:

Muser · 25/07/2011 17:51

I'd suggest a stretchy wrap sling like a Moby, Close carrier or Kari-Me. My daughter would only nap in her sling at that age. I just went out for a walk every time she needed a nap. Don't worry about good habits, just do what you need to to get through the day.

Megfox · 25/07/2011 18:21

FIVE WEEKS.....?

What do you expect.....?

Original poster

felinebelle · 25/07/2011 18:35

Megfox - thanks for your constructive input. All I asked for was some tips to try to make my baby's life (not mine) a bit happier.

To those with good advice, thanks - we know it's a matter of time, and will do whatever it takes. Lots of long walks it is then!

OP posts:

BornToFolk · 25/07/2011 18:45

If it makes you feel any better, I lost 2 stone after DS was born which I mostly put down to the long walks pushing a buggy several times a day!
Good luck! It is all just a phase, remember she will sleep eventually...

Octaviapink · 25/07/2011 18:52

The Close is a good sling - the Bjorn isn't so good for long periods because it puts the weight of the baby on its pelvis. The Close-type wrap slings have the baby sitting on a fold of the sling in a curled up/knees up type position which is much better. You might not want to wear her all the time, but she does want to be worn all the time, so some middle ground can be found I'm sure!

LittleMilla · 25/07/2011 19:28

My DS was exactly the same at this stage - if you look in sleep you'll see a v.desperate plea from me after he was awake for 6 hours and I was really worried about it.

Did whatever it took to get him to sleep...lots of long walks as he was happiest in the (moving) pushchair - helped me shift almost all of my babyweight! I'd advise to sticking to a constant bed time routine if she's going down and do whatever you need to in the day. I always sing to him before putting him to sleep in the cot at home.

I started to get him self settling at about 8 weeks as he was getting too heavy for continuous rocking. This involves me leaving him to have a shout for about ten mins, before shhh patting if he hasn't dropped off. Works 80% of the time. And if he gets really upset I'll obviously give him a cuddle. Helped us be able to have him napping in the cot at home.

He's now almost 12 weeks and daytime naps are still a slight shag, but I'm learning to be more chilled about it. Averages 4x40 min naps in pushchair/cot/car seat or sling. So my new battle is to get him to stitch some of the sleep cycles together - fed him this am which put him back to sleep for 1.5 hours . But he's getting there.

Sorry to waffle, but just want to echo what others are saying. THey're way too young to be 'spoilt'. It's about them learning to sleep/nap in the daytime. Where they do it can be worked on at a later date.

Oh, and I find that the first nap of the day is the easiest to crack. For my DS it's about 1.5 hours after he wakes up. The whole catcing them before overtired was a real breakthrough for us BTW...it really is the holy grail!

Now, DS has just zonked out after taking very little milk. So my conundrum is whether to dream feed him tonight. Made eff all difference in the past, but I don't fancy 3+ wake ups tonight!!

Loopymumsy · 25/07/2011 21:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LilyPilley · 26/07/2011 17:58

My DD is four weeks and I'm struggling with the same thing. She rarely sleeps more than 40 minutes during the day even though I can see she's exhausted. The only way she sleeps longer is on my chest which is not something I want to encourage (even though I secretly love having her snuggle in my neck). Swaddling definitely helps to settle her but it's short lived. I don't wish her to sleep all the time but I want her to be content, and I dread reaching the overtired stage. On occasion its taken 3 hours and a few tears on my part to settle her once she's overtired.

Sorry I don't have any advice to offer but I sympathise!

Starshaped · 26/07/2011 21:30

DD was exactly the same at 5 weeks, sleeping well at night but hardly ever napping in the daytime (apart from in the car seat). I was worried sick about her being overtired and couldn't see how I'd ever get anything done around the house when she was constantly awake.

Will she nap in your arms? I know it's not a longterm solution but I found DD would sleep when being held. In the very early days, I decided it was better to get her to sleep using any means possible and worry about how I was getting her off to sleep later.

She's now 11 weeks and usually having three short naps (about 30 - 45 mins each) per day. I still have to rock her to sleep for daytime naps but can at least now put her down in her cot once she's drifted off. I've found that she starts getting tired about 2/2.5 hours after waking from a sleep, so I just start rocking her at this point regardless of what she's doing or try and time trips out in the pram or car to coincide with this.

Oh - and I agree with LittleMilla. The first nap of the day strangely seems to be the easiest one to crack. DD usually goes down about 2 hours after waking and I find that if she has a decent nap then, the rest of the day is usually ok.

It does get easier, promise!

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