Short naps but baby not tired....and 'putting down'

[stowbeau]

My baby doesn't nap longer than 30 mins but is sleeping 9 hours through the night. She sleeps about 12 hours on average per day, never more than the 13. Sometimes as little as 9 hours (if she's slept less at night).

Her day time naps add up to about 2 to 3 hours. So she has around 4 half hour to 45 mins naps throughout the day.

Everyone seems to stress out about baby getting 14 plus hours... it's making me a bit stressed trying to get her to sleep for longer, even though she doesn't seem tired.

Should I persist and try to get her to sleep for longer? or is the fact that she seems happy enough with the sleep she has now good enough?

Also - everyone talks about 'putting down', I'm embarrassed to ask what exactly this means. I assume it means taking to the crib/cot when the baby is tired?

Also I know I'm not supposed to be rocking my baby to sleep - she's 14 weeks old. But when I put her in her crib when I see she's yawning and showing sleepy signs, she doesn't sleep. She can cry and cry and just won't sleep (I stay with her whilst she's crying, I don't believe in leaving them to cry in distress).

So I rock her gently until her eyes start drooping, and then I put her into her crib. She usually fusses some more, and I rock the crib. Is this a bad habit to get into?

Thanks for any advice!

Watching with interest and relating to what you say :)

FTM and DD is 16 weeks and in a similar situation to you. I need to start working from home in a few weeks and hoping my LO can nap for more than 30 or 40 mins....and not on me!

I love her napping on me, but I have to work - boooo :( !! Hoping you (and I) get some good advice OP!

Thanks MissKipper.
Does your LO sleep much at night? And does she seem overly tired?
You see my LO seems fine and so I don't know if I'm stressing about her getting more sleep unecessarily...

My DS2 is 11 weeks and will sometimes only have 3 or 4 half hour sleeps. Sometimes less. Some days when I don't have DS1 he'll sleep upward of 5 hrs, so I know he can't be that happy with just a couple hrs throughout the day other times. Bedtimes a bit messier when he's had less sleep.

My feeling is that if you're doing what you can to ensure she gets as much sleep as she can then that's all you can do. Try to stop counting hours - go by how she seems.

I went for a long walk today with him in the sling hoping he would sleep for At least an hr or so then I could transfer him to his cot. He woke up after half an hr and despite me then walking for another hr he never fell back to sleep. Not much more I can do really...!!

Ps rocking/feeding/cuddling to sleep is only a problem if it's a problem for you. Don't let books and other people telling you it's a bad habit. It's actually a lovely thing for your baby - people talk about "bad" sleep associations. Really? Being snuggled up to your mummy is a bad thing?? Don't believe it

Both of mine cat napped until they were mobile then started taking long naps without me doing anything. I'd just go with the flow and accept the short naps.
Personally I think it's pointless to worry about self-soothing before 4months as there sleep patterns change so much then - sadly not for the better.

DS1 is 5 months old and has been doing the same 30/40 min cat naps since he was about 8 weeks. I'm still waiting for him to go longer......if he wakes up in a good mood, smiling etc, then I know he's had enough but if he wakes up grumpy I know he's still tired. I can't get him to settle back to sleep again but he'll usually go back down again about an hour later (usually 90 mins to 2 hrs between naps).

A lot of people have suggested that babies start going longer when they're about 6 months.....here's hoping as he doesn't sleep through the night yet either.

At that age mine would never fall asleep alone in her cot. I didn't even bother - fed her to sleep or took her for a walk. At around 7 months I wanted her to learn to fall asleep in her cot in preparation for nursery so started a nap routine - nappy change, blinds closed, in sleeping bag, then leave the room. She cried a bit for the first few days but now she has a chat and a roll around then conks out. So you can unlearn those "bad" habits. I agree there is nothing wrong with snuggles and rocking - they're only tiny for a short time, enjoy it.

Hi stowbeau. She sleeps 6-7 hours tops at night before waking for a feed. I only need to feed her once during the night and she settles really well afterwards (usually). If she fusses at any other time, I can pop her dummy in and she settles again. She's within arm's reach in a crib next to me, so it's easy at the moment - not so much when she goes into her own room!

She doesn't seem overly tired, most of the time. However she can, all of a sudden, become completely manic from over tiredness - out of nowhere! She's a really happy little thing the rest of the time.

How about yours?

Reassuring to hear that she's still too little to be too worried about it yet. I like the idea of a nap routine. I might try this in the next few weeks :)

Everyone seems to stress out about baby getting 14 plus hours... it's making me a bit stressed trying to get her to sleep for longer, even though she doesn't seem tired.

Everyones baby is different. Don't get stressed. My DD needs much more sleep than 14 hours, your DD needs less. If you know she's not tired then you have no reason to worry.

Also I know I'm not supposed to be rocking my baby to sleep - she's 14 weeks old. But when I put her in her crib when I see she's yawning and showing sleepy signs, she doesn't sleep.

A young baby that needs no help whatsoever to get to sleep is a very, very rare thing. You will need to help her to sleep. It is worth bearing the longer term in mind.

Are you happy rocking a 12 month old to sleep if needs be? Will you be able/happy to rock a 2 year old to sleep? There is a chance that you will create a rocking to sleep association (there is also a chance you won't). If you are fine to carry on rocking to sleep until your daughter is old enough to be explained to, then all is OK.

While getting you DD to sleep is clearly important since the time she sleeps on the lower end of average, be mindful of the associations you make (don't stress about associations, just bear sleep associations in mind). Then form a balance between the two - the need to get her to sleep and the associations formed.

Many babies are soothed to sleep by sucking. You could try a dummy or encouraging sucking fingers/thumb/hand. This may be a way to get baby to sleep my 'putting down' (ie not holding).