How to increase the 45 min nap in an 11 week old

[Chocolateyclaire76]

Ok so I'm slightly at my wits end today, which isn't helped by my imposed quarantine due to a 3 yr old with chicken pox!

My 11 week old girl will only nap for 45 and then is v upset when she wakes up. I've tried waiting before I go in and she just cries more, I've tried picking her up and rocking her to sleep but she cries a couple of minutes after being put down and then I've tried leaving her to cry and that really doesn't work. I spent 2 hours trying to settle her today and have now resorted to the baby Bjorn, which is now hurting my back!

We do rock her to sleep at the mo, which I know isn't ideal but needs must when you have a demanding 3 yr old wanting attention.

Please can someone offer some words of wisdom and practical advise!

Go in at 40 minutes, pick her up and rock her before she wakes up on her own.

It's probably because you are rocking her to sleep (sorry!) so she wakes after a sleep cycle looking to be rocked into the next one.

Could you gradually work on teaching her to self settle at the start of a nap - morning nap is usually the easiest to start with (esp if your eldest is in nursery at that time). Won't be a quick fix but will benefit you in many ways in the long run.

Another option: I used to put DD in the buggy for the lunchtime nap, that way when she (inevitably) woke after 45 mins I could rock her back to sleep in the buggy. Strangely she would then sleep for another hour or more without waking again.

Another option: "wake to sleep" (you semi wake them about 10 mins before their usual wake up point, so at 35 mins for you, so they go into the next cycle). I've never been brave enough to try this!

She's very young still - mines 8 months and won't sleep longer than 20-40 mins at a time. It's very normal for an 11 week old not to sleep through more than one cycle

I used to put dd2 near the tumble dryer in her Moses basket which, looking back, probably wasn't that good an idea. However you could try a white noise app? Where is she sleeping when she does sleep? I also draped a muslin cloth over the Moses basket to make it more 'womb' like, it sometimes worked! Obviously in a cool place.

also - I really feel your pain! You could go to a safari drive round park? Ds and you will get out and dd might sleep?

Can you maybe try a better sling? Won't hurt your back and you can get on with life a bit more. Baby is still teenie tiny.

I had this with DD1 and now experiencing it with DD2 who is ten weeks old.

What worked with DD1 was staying in the room with her when she napped. At the time I was patting her to sleep. As we approached 45 mins, she would stir and I'd resume my patting. I did this for a week or so before she started to settle herself. The technique is from the "no cry nap solution" book if you want to read more.

She was a lot older at this point, however. With DD2, the second half of her nap is usually in my arms/sling. I'll try to tackle it in the same way when she's a bit older.

My dd would always wake after 45mins when she was overtired, 1 sleep cycle. I would suggest getting her to sleep earlier before she's really exhausted