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Sleep

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler. Need more advice on your childs development? Sign up to our Ages and Stages newsletter here.

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Original poster

Help with 8 week old sleep

35 replies

graysor · 07/02/2016 21:30

I'm struggling to get my 8 week old dd to sleep during the day. Up until a week or so ago she would either fall asleep after a feed, or drop off easily in the sling. Now however, even when I can tell she's overtired and has been awake for over 1.5 hours, I just can't get her to sleep. She won't go down in the crib/ moses basket. Putting her down either asleep or drowsy just results in her springing wide awake. Holding, walking, swaying (either in our out of the sling) etc also don't work. She just gets increasingly agitated and awake. And she just wails all the time in her pushchair. I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do. At the moment I'm ending up spending so long trying to get her to sleep that in the end I just have to give up and feed her again (she's ebf and feeds approx every 2 hours). So I'm sure she's not getting enough sleep in the day. Any advice on how to get her to sleep gratefully received!

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stargirl1701 · 07/02/2016 21:32

Can you feed her lying down in your bed? She might fall asleep quickly and you can rest.

Original poster

graysor · 07/02/2016 21:49

That's a good suggestion stargirl. We've struggled to feed lying down in bed ( not for lack of trying! ) as I just don't seem to be able to get a good position where she can latch on properly and we both end up frustrated! I will persevere though, as it could be helpful.

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CityDweller · 07/02/2016 21:56

Will she feed to sleep and stay asleep on you? If so, sofa, box sets/kindle and settle in. It won't last forever!

Original poster

graysor · 07/02/2016 22:07

Sometimes she'll feed to sleep and stay asleep on me, and I'm more than happy to stay put when she does! But more often than not now she finishes feeding wide awake and won't settle.

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stargirl1701 · 07/02/2016 22:32

Most folk seem to use the 'bottom' breast but I found it easier to use the 'top' breast for feeding lying down.

Original poster

graysor · 08/02/2016 08:05

That's interesting stargirl, I'll give that a try.

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Original poster

graysor · 08/02/2016 10:06

Thanks folks, any other thoughts or tips on how to get a tired but not apparently drowsy baby to nod off?

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pickleandflux · 08/02/2016 16:52

Watching with interest as my 7 week old is the same. Too interested in everything to go to sleep. She even finds a blank wall stimulating! I try all usual tips to get her to sleep after her feed but she fights sleep and gets overtired no matter what I do!

jellybelly8 · 08/02/2016 18:13

Also watching in the hope that someone will offer a magical suggestion, experiencing similar but baby is a couple of weeks older. Such a to persuade her that she actually is tired and really needs to sleep!

JuxtapositionRecords · 08/02/2016 18:43

There is a growth spurt at that age which really messed my baby up for a while. It was also the time she 'woke up' to the world.

At that age mine would need a sleep every hour. 1.5 hrs would have been way too long for her. Can you try getting her down sooner, especially in the morning? That meant for us she was only awake 45 mins at a time before I started soothing her to sleep. Have you tried white noise quite loudly?

Original poster

graysor · 08/02/2016 18:59

Good to know I'm not alone with this! Juxtaposition - when you say start soothing to sleep what are you doing and where? I feel like I've completely lost any ability to sooth her!

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JuxtapositionRecords · 08/02/2016 19:10

I will be honest and say that was the age I started putting her upstairs in a darkened room for naps - she lost the 'sleep with everything going on around me'. I know it's recommended to keep them with you though. So after 45 mins I would take her upstairs, put white noise on, offer a top up feed and then start singing a song (same song every nap time). I then put her in the cot with dummy and then left. If she grizzles or cries I would go back in and replace the dummy - repeat, repeat until asleep. Honestly though I would really scale the wake time back, it seems like all you do is put them to sleep at that age but they get overtired so quickly and then it just spirals

JuxtapositionRecords · 08/02/2016 19:13

From your description it sounds like she is a baby who gets overstimulated very easily and the rocking etc will just make that worse.

JuxtapositionRecords · 08/02/2016 19:17

Also (sorry keep thinking of things) try taking away any stimulation in the day - play mats, toys etc. they really don't need any of that for a couple of months and it can make some babies incredibly over stimulated and harder to get to nap. Even looking in your eyes is stimulating to a little baby

Original poster

graysor · 08/02/2016 19:32

OK, so I'll definitely try getting her to sleep sooner. I'm just not entirely sure how. I find If I put her down in the moses basket or crib when she's awake she just gets increasingly agitated, even with shushing or white noise, until she's properly crying. And then she's further than ever from getting to sleep!

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Original poster

graysor · 08/02/2016 19:38

That's interesting about toys, play gym etc. We've not been doing too much of that, other than waving a few rattly toys in front of her, and a bit of tummy time on her mat. Mostly I've just been talking and singing to her. But I'll be mindful of over stimulating her.

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pookamoo · 08/02/2016 19:39

I'd say just feed her to sleep. citydweller is on the money with her post.

I used to find mine took an hour to get down with the shushing or whatever, when it was 10 minutes feeding and out like a light. If it takes an hour to get them to settle, it isn't a sleep after 45 minutes, it's an hour and a half or more. (not saying that wsa Jux's situation, I know it was mine if I tried anything other than boob to sleep.

Girlfriend36 · 08/02/2016 19:44

Agree with what Jux said, my dd needed a dark, quiet and warm room to sleep in. She was easily over stimulated and any amount of 'soothing' would just wind her up more! As a child she has been diagnosed with sensory difficulties which fits exactly with how sensitive she was as a baby!!

Girlfriend36 · 08/02/2016 19:47

Also light swaddling might help, my dd liked to feel contained and had quite a strong startle reflex!

JuxtapositionRecords · 08/02/2016 19:49

If she is overtired when you put her down it will be impossible for her to settle herself. So tomorrow morning 45 mins after she gets up try putting her down with white noise - she might surprise you! How does she sleep at night and what time does she wake up?

They are all so different - my first would only be rocked to sleep, my second hated it. You could try holding her hand to settle her?

Original poster

graysor · 08/02/2016 20:02

She's actually pretty good at night. She feeds to sleep and I can usually put her down in the Co sleep crib without her waking up. I'll try putting her down after 45 mins tomorrow morning. Although she still often feeds for 40 ish minutes so it'll be straight back to sleep after that.

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pookamoo · 08/02/2016 21:42

graysor she may be asleep already after a nice big feed, LOL!

CityDweller · 08/02/2016 22:52

When DD was that age her 'morning feed' (around 6.30 or 7am) just segued straight into first nap of the day - she'd feed for 20 mins+, fall asleep on boob and nap on me or DH for 45 mins or so before we properly 'got up' for the day.

Original poster

graysor · 09/02/2016 12:58

Hi folks, I tried out some of your recommendations this morning. Dd woke up at 6.30 and fed back to sleep until 8.30, and then fed to sleep again till 10 (all good, I'm happy with feeding to sleep when she does it! ) At 10 she fed again and was wide awake after. She sat in her bouncy chair for a bit, and nothing more exciting till I tried to put her down just before 11. I tried putting her in the crib in the dark and laid down next to her and held her hand while shushing. She had wide open eyes and quickly started crying. I picked her up and held her quietly but that didn't sooth her and she carried on crying getting increasingly upset over 10 minutes. I tried to feed her to calm her down but she just kept pulling off and flailing around. This carried on for a while before I finally got her to feed properly for a short time. But she didn't get sleepy and was still wide awake. So putting her down again in her crib was another failure. I've finally got her to sleep at 12.30 after having her in the sling and quietly swaying for 45 mins. Clearly she was over tired by this time. But all my attempts to get her to sleep earlier failed. What am I doing wrong?

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JuxtapositionRecords · 09/02/2016 14:55

You're not doing anything wrong, this age is so tough! Will she take a dummy, sounds like she likes to suck to sleep?

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