Baby won't nap

[Doglovesbooksx]

So I'm relatively lucky that through feeding to sleep and co-sleeping I am currently managing to get enough sleep to function, however daytime sleep is completely different. LO is 12 weeks and will either not fall asleep, or fall asleep with difficulty, sometimes with lots of crying, and then generally wakes within 15–45 minutes. Waking could be because she is disturbed by something tiny, or for no apparent reason at all. I have tried the pram, the car, the sling, rocking, feeding, dummy, swing, white noise, walks, quiet/noisy/bright/dark... and that's just off the top of my head! Firstborn was similar but not quite as bad, if I remember rightly. On days when I'm also looking after my 4 year old it's even more of a nightmare because I can give her so little attention and have to keep telling her to be quiet because I'm trying to get the baby to sleep or keep her asleep. I feel really sad about this because it used to just be the two of us and I could give her all my time. Also, I know short naps are better than no naps, but it's obviously not enough as she wakes tired and cranky, making it difficult or impossible to get even basic things done in her awake periods. I don't know if there's an answer to this as I feel like I've tried everything, I suppose I'm either looking for a miracle or just some solidarity! TIA x

[Penguinlady19]

Hi, DS is 12 weeks old, and only naps for about 20/30 minutes in the day. I am currently sitting in a car park drinking a coffee because he is finally asleep.
Usually, he would only contact nap or sleep in a sling, but as soon as he turned 8 weeks he started napping in the cot for around 45 minutes. He would wake up and then would get put back to sleep and manage another 45 minutes🙏.
However, that was short-lived as now he won't sleep for more than 20/30 minutes even on me. This has been going on for around 2 weeks now and I'm worried he is not getting enough sleep. He has dropped from 15/16 hours to around 13 hours now, and most of that is at night.
He usually goes to bed at around 6/7 and sleeps for about 4 hours, has a feed, and then goes to sleep for around 6. He then wakes up at around 6 am for another feed and then will sleep until 8. At this time he wakes up all happy and comes to nap in bed with me. He will do this for an hour or two. He is a reflux baby so I think by 8 he has had enough of sleeping on his back.

It is so hard in the day to get things done. It's hard to go out because he is just too excited to sleep. We haven't made it to any baby groups because they are all on in the morning and I dare mess up the only sleep he is actually getting.
I know I shouldn't complain as he is sleeping well at night, but I'm just worried he isn't sleeping enough and it will hinder his development.

Anyway, that was a long rant, but I have literally nothing else to do while in the car. Hopefully, I will make it into Morrisons soon 🙈

[Doglovesbooksx]

@Lijay I could have written that myself 😂😂. I barely use the pram because more often than not it ends in stress and tears 🙈

[trrk]

@Lijay Mine is not too grumpy (apart from current teething and the odd growth spurt). A few times when she’s woken up really distraught I try to get her down again but most of her naps have been one sleep cycle (30-45 min) for months. I’m also lucky that she sleeps quite well in her cot at night which is weird as she always wakes straight away if I put her in the cot during the day. A few days ago she slept for 2 hr and I thought it might be the start of longer naps but she went straight back to 30 min after that 😞

My main problem is not being able to get anything done during the day which is even harder now with weaning as I’m trying to prepare food and cleanup the mess while she’s awake.

[Lijay]

@trrk how have you coped for so long?
Does your baby get grumpy still with the lack of long naps or have they got used to it?
Guess there goes my 6 month theory too haha!

[trrk]

I’m sorry I can’t offer any helpful suggestions but solidarity with you! Mine is 6.5 months and still catnapping (has been since 3 months). Same with a lot of the other babies in my NCT group. At home she will only contact nap and while I enjoy the cuddles it does make it hard to get anything else done! Sometimes manages a pram nap but other times I walk for an hour and she’s wide awake or falls asleep just before we get home.

[Lijay]

@Doglovesbooksx oh don't get me started on people with routines already. Or the much loved suggestion to bath him every night. My baby loves a bath but absolutely screams the house down at being dried so it has the opposite effect to making him sleepy 😂
I put mine in the pram and walked to m&s today hoping it would settle him. He just screamed the whole time 😅 cue a near breakdown from me and just left the shop.
I'm sure I've read somewhere that catnaps are really common until 6 months..... 6 months 😳😳🫠🫠 God help us!

[Doglovesbooksx]

@Lijay it's comforting to know that there are others out there in the same boat - it often feels like everyone else is able to just pop their baby in the pram and go out and get on with things while it drifts off to sleep (mine generally just cries). And don't get me started on the people online with their routines and how they manage to do regular housework / meal prep / get some me time while their baby is down in their own bed 😂😂😢. My house is a bombsite and if my husband doesn't cook, we don't eat 😂

[Doglovesbooksx]

Around 1 hrs 15 - 1hr 30 or whenever she seems tired.

[Emmamoo89]

Whats the awake time before putting down for a nap? X

[DragonbornMum]

Oh poor baby! I've been there. No advice, just that she's still very little and she will get there eventually when she's a bit bigger!

[Lijay]

No advice here, just solidarity. My 14 week old is exactly the same and has been for a couple of weeks. He cries and protests going to sleep, will sleep for half an hour and then wake up miserable. Same as you I can't get anything done whilst he's awake he just wants to be held the whole time. However I only have one so absolute kudos to you for managing with two! I miss a hot cup of tea 🫠