Naps and sleep advice for 5 month old - 1st time mum

[Viper84]

Hi,

I was just after some advice and reassurance please.
My little girl is fighting all sleep at the moment and it can be a real struggle to get her to nap, even though I can see she needs it. Nighttime sleep isn't the best either, this is a loose example of what our 24 hr period looks like:

Wake between 9am & 9:30am (after co sleeping when she first wakes up)
Play and feed
Attempt to nap between 11am & 11:30am - for this I try to rock her in her pram but it usually leads to me rocking her in my arms. These naps only tend to last 20mins.
Play and breastfeed.
Attempt to nap between 1pm & 1:30pm - for this i try to rock her in her pram but it usually leads to me rocking her in my arms. These naps can go up to 45mins
Play and breastfeed.
Sometimes we may get another nap but can be very touch and go.
Bed time routine starts at 5:30 - bath, massage with an aim to start a breastfeed before 6:30. This can then go on for several hours, feeding with several atempts to put her in the Moses basket in living room( we have tried upstairs with miixed results.... she usually wakes up leg banging).
She will then wake up fully any time between 10 and 11 which ends up in tears as we battle her off to sleep, this can go on until midnight :-(
She can then wake up between 2:30 and 4am at which point I co sleep with her to get some rest. I would like to stop doing this.

I just wondered if anyone had any advice or pointers if I am doing something wrong?
Thanks in advance x

Will see breast feed to sleep?

Mg DD has never been a great napper. I feed to sleep most of the time, sometimes rock her.
Maybe you are putting her to sleep a little bit too late? Try before she shows sings of tiredness?
Has reflux/other medical problems beem ruled out?

She will, however she seems to have got wise that it will make her sleep so pulls off crying .
When I get her to sleep she can root around looking for it, which then gets her into a deeper sleep.

Can you take her for walks in her pram rather than just rock her? This tends to make my dd, who issix months, fall asleep deeper and for longer. Do you go to any morning groups with her as mine is exhausted when we return and has a good nap? Also, I know she is a bit young, but have you thought about getting her started on some solids yet?

I have just moved her bath time forward to 5:30, I used to wait until my partner got in at around 6:15. I was going to try that for a week or so before changing again. At this point she is still usually playful so before the tired signs start.

No medical problems apart from some unexplained blood in nappies
, which has happened 4 times over last 8 weeks. No infections or weight gain implications. The gp has suggested to keep an eye on it for the next 6-8 weeks. Current thoughts are it is a tear from possible straining.

I guess I just wanted to know if this sleeping pattern is to be expected from a 5 month old? Everywhere I look seems to be full of babies sleeping through the night and self soothing for naps :-s

Does she use a dummy?

Walking does seem to get her to sleep and she does tend to have her longer sleeps so that will be something I could do more of.

No morning groups as yet, I still struggle to be ready and out for dinner time . I will try for one though.

We haven't tried solids yet, but she is actively watching and attempting to grab food from our plates. She can also sit up (supported) and hold her head. I was tempted to start but I am aware if the 6 month guideline so trying to get as close as possible.

Thanks for the advice so far... this parenting malarkey is hard work !

Sorry, that was a really short, abrupt message. A dummy tends to help a lot of babies- not so much for us but others swear by it. Could she be teething at all? We ended up having to use controlled crying to help DS learn to self settle- best thing we ever did but it’s not recommended before 6 months and it isn’t for everyone

No dummy, tried and she spits out and cries - same with a bottle so we seem to be tied to each other!

My DS is just 5 months and going through a fighting sleep phase too. We generally BF to sleep or he'll drop off in the buggy or sling. Like DD before him, this was the only way until much older. I would make sure she's well fed then get her in buggy by 11am latest for a nice long walk. Repeat at 2/3pm. If you can break the cycle of her being over-tired, she might fight it less. Or just grow out of it. And it keeps you fit and sane getting some walks. I would go mental in the house all day.

DS is 5.5 months and he still goes for his first nap about an hour after waking. Then has roughly 2/2.5 hours of awake time in between naps, and a longer stretch in the evening. He has in this past week been having longer naps, before it was 20/30 minutes. He has a nap around 5 but doesn't go to bed until 8/8.30. I have tried to relax my expectations and just be glad he is getting some sleep. There are so many developmental leaps at this age

I’ve been reading a lot about helping with nap times as DD (3 months old) struggles with naps too, she has frequent naps but very short (20 minutes or so). I’ve heard, and it might not be for everyone, morning naps determine the day. So after a bottle and change, try to keep a peaceful atmosphere so baby will likely drop off again soon after. I used to play with DD when awake in the morning, but since I have cut it out she seems to sleep a lot better throughout the day. Still short, frequent naps but less cranky. Also look for signs that she may be tired or if you think she has been awake for a long time. Have you heard of white noise? It works wonders when DD is over tired (search on YouTube or a myhummy bear) 5 minutes and she’s out like a light.
Good luck OP!