I can't get my 7 week old to sleep in the day

[Muggle17]

She has never been a big sleeper in the day. She may sleep half an hour if I'm holding her, but she won't be put down. I have spent most of the day trying to get her to sleep, both of us have been crying. My partner comes home and within 5 minutes she's gone. Anyone got any tips?

Have you tried a sling or other baby carrier? When very wee, mine would pass right out in my carrier. Also, just let her sleep on you/in your arms. They need the physical contact at that age. It won't last forever, although it seems like it.

How are you feeding her?

Will she go to sleep at the end of a feed?

I have tried a sling and worked a couple of times. I am bottle feeding, she is usually quite active after a feed and has a good kick on the mat. Then I try and put her down once she has worn her self out.

The best advice I got was to put them down to sleep as soon as you see an eye rub!

If they won't settle themselves try taking her out for a walk. I had to do that with DS1 for a while and I think it helped him learn how to settle himself.

Sympathies. I tried every single piece of advice here and beyond and my DD never napped for more than 20 mins until she was 6 months old. So no advice, but you are not alone or doing anything wrong...

Have you tried a dummy and relentless bouncing in the bouncy chair?

Mine was the same, she continues to only nap on me or occasionally in the car seat until 5/6 months. Now she naps fine in the day. Is she being kept up too long/not long enough? As soon as I read about sleep cycles I found the sleep situation much easier to handle.

I had similar he was awake all day whilst DH was at work and I was demented as I couldn't put him down, I found info on high needs babies and read good advice about how I was completely missing the window. It turned out he needed down for a nap after only two hours awake. I used a dummy and swaddling and cracked it and after I managed that he thrived on routine. Good luck I know how stressful it can be.

At 7 weeks, their awake time is about an hour, so you would want to think about getting them off within that time. It's essentially, feeding, nappy change cuddle and sleep at this age.

These are quite useful.

Really it's about regular naps by any means just to get them into good sleep habits. Once you recognise their sleep cues, it becomes much easier to get them off.

A big mistake I think people make (myself included) is far to much stimulation. Just being awake is enough stimulation for newborns.

I think ineed is right, I am saying two hours but it was 5 years ago and I don't remember correctly. I remember going from all day awake to a rush to get everything done in the short awake times.