OMG 8 week old naps

[ikphillips]

2nd time mum here so it's not like I'm not alive to the horror of naps... but my 8 week old won't nap anywhere! Won't reliably fall asleep feeding, being rocked, in the sling, in a pushchair, with me or my husband. Only had 2 hrs sleep today and similar yesterday! I have a high maintenance toddler (aren't they all) so proving difficult to spend literally all my day trying to persuade the small one to nap. Weirdly she seems kind of ok on such little day sleep and sleeping ok at night, usual wake ups for BF baby. Any ideas/thoughts most welcome!

Sorry no advice but my DD was exactly the same... until she hit around 3 months and then she started doing good naps. I dont think I changed anything I done other than maybe following awake time windows a bit better.
Maybe try googling the appropriate awake time window for her age and when she has been awake that long then try to settle her and potentially you could be trying too early/late.
Good luck x

In these very early weeks, it's called the Fourth Trimester and what helps baby most is to recreate womb-like conditions.

What helps a a third trimester baby sleep are:

• Swaddle
• Sucking
• Movement

A swaddle is very important in the first 3 months. It recreates the tight, enclosed feeling baby had in the womb. You dont need anything special to use as a swaddle. A giant muslin or crib sheet is fine. It helps reduce external stimulation - remember baby was not used to bright light, noise and having lots of space in the womb.

Sucking is also a reflex way baby sooths themselves to sleep. This is either achieved by using a dummy or feeding baby to sleep.

If you are breastfeeding then it should be established by now, so the dummy helps baby sooth to sleep by sucking, but in an independant way. Many babies are better with a dummy after feeding (while being winded) because this helps them carry on sucking as a means to sooth back to sleep.

Id suggest something along the lines of:

• Baby wakes
• Undo swaddle
• Feed baby until refusing anymore
• Lift baby upright to your shoulder and wind until burp
• Have a little bit of nappy off floor time and tummy time to help motor skills develop. But stop this as soon as baby starts crying and move onto getting baby back to sleep. This awake time might only be half an hour, maybe less.
• Swaddle baby
• Reoffer a feed (with baby now swaddled), either second breast or what's left in the bottle until until sucking stops.
• Once finished milk, dummy in and lift baby to your shoulder, whilst in swaddle. Rub back incase of another burp or until baby falls asleep.
• Bend at your waist, keeping baby on your shoulder to lower until crib.
• Put baby down and keep your hand on baby (over swaddle) as reassurance. Tap outside of dummy if baby isnt sucking to encourage self-soothing to sleep.

Wake.. and repeat!

If baby tends to not settle in the cot, then try daytime naps in something that moves. A bouncer is good for this, or the pram.

This is what sings, carriers and wraps are perfect for. Your closeness and heart beat and movement send them off to sleep

Oh and swaddling works great for some! Two of mine loved being swaddled, the other one liked to stretch out like a star fish 🤷🏻‍♀️

This is amazing, thanks all! Partly being reassured it's just a phase (which logically I know anyway) and also for the tips... today has been much better, she's slept on me a couple of times and then swaddled in the pram. At this stage I don't care much how she naps just that she does! Off for a self satisfied g&t in the garden! Thanks again