8 week old baby will only nap for long periods on me!HELP!

[Kepier1986]

Hi

My 8 week old daughter will only sleep for long periods on me! I have tried putting her down in Moses basket when awake but tired and try to settle her with dummy and she might sleep for 15 minutes then wakes screaming. I have tried putting her down when asleep already and again she wakes. I spend most of my day trying to settle her and or just giving in and have her sleep on me and I can’t get anything done. She will sleep at night in Moses basket so I don’t understand why she won’t for naps. I can’t continue like this and wondered if anyone has any advice? X

It's completely normal. A sling is a lifesaver, stretchy wrap one was brilliant.

That's totally normal at 8 weeks!! Try a sling for when you need to get things done. But honestly - enjoy the snuggles while you can. It'll be gone sooner than you think!

Thanks @putputput @AmericanAbroad, I have ordered a sling so hopefully it will arrive soon! I do enjoy the snuggles and I wondered whether I had kinda made things worse by letting her sleep on me through the day since birth but if it’s normal that’s fine, hopefully sling will make things easier. X

Yep mine done the exact same for a while.
Have you got a swing? Mine would drift off in that sometimes around 8 weeks.
It does get better and its a phase. Mine last about 2 or 3 weeks. Shes now 14 weeks and naps in her cot - I didnt do anything to encourage this I just put her in there one day when she was knackered and it worked. But like you I had to do the human cushion graft for a while.
Hang in there x

Very normal for the fourth trimester.

Ahh well I feel relieved it’s normal and I’m not the only one going through it! @girlmummy25 no I don’t have a swing but I have a bouncer which bounces automatically and she will sometimes sleep in that for a little bit. Well if it’s just a phase I guess I will just enjoy it while it lasts! Xx

Mine napped solely in my arms for ages. I would sometimes put him in the sling, but it was nice to have the chance to sit on the sofa and watch his gorgeous, sleeping face (while catching up on mumsnet and boxsets).

Then one day when he was about 4 months old, I took a chance and put him down in his cot and he was fine! Now he has all his naps in the cot (or the car/pram if we're going somewhere).

@sewinginscotland well my sling has come today and I’ve been able to get some things done around the house, it’s reassuring that others have been through this and it doesn’t last forever! Xx

Nothing lasts forever! Sometimes it's replaced by something worse though 😂
Good luck with your lo, one day the in arms naps will seem like decades away. I remember the last long sling nap he had, it was Valentine's day and I was baking a cake. I kept him asleep for 2 hours by putting on some music and dancing every time he stirred.

babywearing is your friend. Perfectly normal for such tiny babies to only feel safe close to their mama. Most little mammals are the same

My 8wk old DS is the same. If I try and put him down anywhere in the day he wakes straight back up. I’m just enjoying the cuddles and using the sling when I need to

Oh I feel you, my DS is 11 weeks now and is much easier, kind of, but I spent ages trying to put him down and thinking I was doing everything wrong because he wouldn't sleep on his own in his moses basket like the babies I'd seen. I then realised nothing was wrong and he just wanted to be close to me(still does) so I basically had him in the sling all day and enjoyed sitting on the sofa with my sleeping baby. Forget that you need to do anything, you don't, just enjoy your little girl whilst she is little!