Daytime naps for 7 week old baby

[Murl]

Hi, new to Mumsnet so apologies if I am repeating a previous thread or not following Mumsnet etiquet!

My baby girl is just 7 weeks and I am very lucky as she sleeps well in the night and settles herself to sleep. However, I would appreciate some advice on daytime naps. I keep reading, and being told by some friends/relatives, that I need to be getting her in to her cot for her daytime naps and having a routine - ie. naps at certain times for a certain amount of time. This would be fine but she does not have a pattern for sleeping in the day - and has lots of mini naps rather than 2 or 3 longer sleeps in the day. One day she could sleep for three hours in the morning, while another she may only sleep for half an hour. Because of this I usually just let her sleep in her chair downstairs in the day or in her pram when we are out and about. I have put her in her cot but end up getting her after about 20 mins as she has woken up and does not settle herself in the day.

I realise this is a rather trivial concern, but I feel us Mums have a lot of pressure put on us to get our babys in to 'routines' - when I would rather go with the flow! But at the same time I am a first time Mum and want to know that I am doing things right for my baby.

Any advice or comments would be appreciated.

Thanks

Definitely go with the flow! Your instincts are absolutely correct on this one. You will make your own life and your baby's life harder if you try and impose routines when you're both clearly quite happy with things as they are. Babies need wildly varying amounts of sleep at different times of the day depending on how they're developing, what they've been doing, what the weather is doing, etc etc etc. You can't possibly create a routine that works with all the variables. As long as it's working for you - stick with it! I did exactly this with DD - now she's 11 months and still has naps at varying times depending on how well she slept overnight, or whether we've been out and about. It means you can be a lot more flexible about your own life too - you won't have to dash away from somewhere because it's nap-time!

Definitely go with the flow!! I have a 7 week old too (also a 2 year old) and I think 7 weeks is far too young to expect any kind of routine. I seem to remember DD1 had a nap/feeds routine that she fell into naturally by the time she was about 12 weeks, but for at least the first year each routine changes just as you get used to it! Definitely chill out and go with the flow IMO.

Yep go with the flow for now, and letting her sleep in the pram/car seat will give you more flexibility. I found once my DS was 10mo he dropped down to one nap a day and then it was important to put him down in his cot to make sure he got a decent nap but even then I put him down when he seemed tired not at a set time.
It is only now he is 15mo that the time of the nap has become pretty much fixed.

Hi, go with the flow. As above, also;

Do what ever suits you, your family and your household. We were criticised for having DD sleeping, mainly a the boob during my days off till she was around a year old. I found i relaxed soooooo much better if I wasn;t listening out for her upstairs in her cot cos as you say some days she napped for 15 minutes other days for more than an hour.

SHe settled fine at night in her own room, then, and when I went back to work she settled fine at nursery on my work days.

When she got a little older and I was less tired and she fed less she went to sleep in her cot upstairs. No bother.

I';d like to think that letting her fall asleep comfotably and her being able to wake and feed or wake and cuddle (she did the same with daddy on his days off) helped her learnt hat sleep is a nice cosy thing to do. Een now (aged 2 and a half) she happily takes herself (with us folliwng!) us to bed and rarely is upset to go and have a nap.

Also, I look back on those times of watching her sleep in my arms, or next to me while I did jobs as some of the loveliest times. Especially when we both slepted (follosing co-sleping guidelines!) together and she would wake up, have some booby milk then fall back to sleep.........

Must be a good thing to do surely!!!

My only worry is how I might manage to do with with another baba, perhaps while DD1 is at nursery.....?

ALso, 7 weeks is TINY! If you were in Africa she would live on your back....