9 wk old only sleeps for 35 minutes at a time...help!

[chickpeamum]

Any suggestions would be most appreciated!!! My 9 week old wakes up regularly (and I mean every day and you can set an egg timer to it) from her daytime naps after only 35 minutes. It doesn't happen at night (she sleeps with us) and only when she is in her crib. I've resorted to long walks with the sling but I am wearing out my back... anyone know how to break this cycle and what could be causing it?? She acts exhaused so I know she needs more sleep....

What about keepng her naps quiet? She may be too interested inwhat's going on around her.

Sorry, but my DD had 40min naps for the first 18mths of her life. Nothing we did made any difference until we sorted out the night time sleeping, which then knocked onto the day time naps, until she eventually had one nap for 2-3 hours. She would never nap in her cot/bed before this and would have to be walked fo up to an hour to get her off during the day. From six months she would often go the whole day on 40 mins. Nightmare. Sorry - this prob dosn't help!

is she waking up because she has to burp? my 10 week old dd3 can be similar and it's usually b/c she hasn't finished burping
am sometimes at my wits end
have lots of sympathies for you

You wouldn't believe the lengths we go through to attempt to extend her naps:

black out shades
white noise cd
swaddle
inclined crib
wind-down time before hand
bf to get her drowsy before, followed by burp and infacol (just in case )

I'm out of ideas about what might be waking her up... I thought maybe reflux but it doesn't happen at night so where do we go from here?

my lo only slept for 30-40 mins at a time until he was about 6 months and weaned then his naps gradually got longer - now he has 2 x 1 hour naps or one 1.5-2.5 hours.

chick- this is no help either, but i sympathise with you 110%, my 9 week old dd2 is exactly the same at the mo, i am shattered as well, but from my dd1, i know it doesn't last very long..
like firsteps said, it was only when she got to 6 months that she sought of went a little longer... now she is nearly 2 and only sleeps at night (no naps at all during day!) and personally i put it down to her being so damn inquistive and full of energy!!!!
have you tried putting her in her own room to nap?? or your room? if she sleeps longest there at night, might need to do same with day???

I also had this problem at 9 weeks - seemed to spend all day trying to get him to sleep! BUT good news is at 12 weeks it gets better. He has now started waking at 7.30am, going back down at 9am for 1 hour then a bit sporadic rest of day but at least getting better. Some days he will have 2.5 hours in afternoon which 3 weeks ago was unheard of. The only way I could achieve this is strict wind down routine, in room, dark and quiet. Also sometimes as soon as he peeps, rush in and re-settle him. Have to do this less and less now as I think its finally sinking in. Sometimes takes me 20 mins to get him back off but this is often when he has 2.5 hours total. Good luck!

Oh Tidders, THANKS!!! I live day by day on sheer hope that it will get better I'm a bit nervous, however, that the only technique I have to get her to shut her eyes and settle in is to bf... as a result she just grazes all day before her naps, no big feeds. What tricks do you have to put 'em back to sleep without bf?

Don't ask me! I'm now in the realms of another crisis as my ds (12 weeks) will only go to sleep if rocked either in my arms or in pushchair! Can't get him into the cot for love nor money. Actually what really worked for me was following the EASY plan (Tracy Hogg the Baby Whisperer). Eat. Activity. Sleep. You. Mine will happily go 2.5 to 3 hours between feeds since I instilled this. But like I say, rather than b/f to sleep he is now rocked and since putting him down at 7.15pm he was woken up at least 4 times and is currently crying even though dh is rocking him!
To achieve this I followed her advice of stretching each feed by 15 mins each day, so if you normally feed every 1.5 hours, tomorrow keep him going for 1.75 hours and then next day 2 hours etc. Try walking round garden (if not peeing down) or something equally exciting to keep them going.
You just have to keep working at ways to soothe them. I wish mine would find his thumb or take a dummy!

Hi my 16 wek old is exactly the same. Instead of fighting to get him to sleep longer when he wakes after 30 mins I get him up and carry on as normal. The only thing I do is make sure he has a nap every 2 hrs, that stops him from getting overtired and difficult to get to sleep and 4 naps of 30 mins seems to be ok.

This may not be the answer for everyone, but this sounds just like my ds was, and he improved massively after a few trips to a cranial osteopath.

He was much more relaxed and calm and slept better on is own during the day. I dont know what I would have done without it. I used to take him out in the pram and was so tired it felt like I was walking through sand, but it was the only way he slept.

Well worth a try if you are desperate.

chick, i know you said you swaddle already, but have you tried a swaddle with a dummy?? tried this today with dd2-9 weeks, like yours, never sleeps, and finally made some progress!!! been asleep 4 hours tonight, took some perservering with her taking the dummy, but working for us.... so far...

I think I have a rare one because she won't sleep in the pram. In fact she won't even ride in it for more than 10 minutes without having a melt down.

We've tried swaddle with dummy (that worked a treat for all of two days) and have been going to an osteopath for four weeks. Nothing seems to work for more than a few days or hours and then she is back to waking up after 35 min. I even sit there and watch her sleep some days to see if it could be something external waking her up.

It wouldn't be a problem except that she is tired again after 30 minutes if I take her out of bed and give her some activity. So our day ends up being : BF (to get her to sleep) 10 min, sleep 35 min, awake 30 min before I get tired of her tired cry and put her back to bed.. all day long. The only thing that works consistently is the baby sling (not baby bjorn but one that looks like a hammock). So, I put her in this and we walk for hours... but she is getting too big for that and my back is about to break.

I am just praying this phase passes !!!!!!!

My dd is now 20 weeks old and for the first 3 months she rarely had a long nap and like you said, I could tell she still wanted sleep as was very grumpy when she woke up. Without doing anything other than have her on a 3 hour feeding pattern, she eventually started to have a long nap, about half the week, normally in the morning. She then went through a phase - from 14-18 weeks where she could be relied upon having this long morning nap. It was great and she was very cheerful. She now is more unpredictable again and will still usually have a long nap, but I can never tell when.
My best advice would be to just wait and not get too hung up about it in the meantime. I know you can't get anything done but if she could have 4-5 35min naps every 2-3 hours, she might be in a better mood. I became a bit obsessed with naps for a while but am now going with the flow more and am happier for it.

Hi Chickpeamum, My Ds2 is 12 1/2 weeks now, and I had exactly the same until the last week or so. I would put him in his cot, and could time when he'd wake up - 45 mins in his case. We ended up using a dummy, and when he woke up after the 45 mins, I'd give him the dummy which usually got him back off. Trouble was then he started waking up in the night looking for it...

Suddenly when he got to 12 weeks he started sleeping for longer in the day, and for the last few days has had a 2 1/2 hour nap in the middle of the day as well as 2 shorter ones in the morning and late afternoon. I think this is really common for their age, but none of the "gurus" tell you this (except the Baby Whisperer). I think it might have something to do with finding their hands to suck on...