5 week old just doesn't sleep/ nap.

[Moorelewis]

Needs some advice about DC2. She just won't sleep in the day. I put her down when she starts getting tired, I recognise all the cues from DC1 but she fights it constantly. She is unsettled and HV is currently querying cmpa but she refused to drink any of the formulas and ended up in hospital with dehydration so we're back on normal formula. I'm exhausted, I physically can't hold her all day as my poor toddler is literally getting no attention at all. Husband works 9- midnight so can't help. I tried a carrier but I'm so short that even on the shortest setting her face is literally against my chest and isn't safe. Even if I rock her to sleep she will sleep for 10 minutes and then wake up screaming. Shes been awake for 7 hours now and before that only a 10 minute nap. Thankfully at night she might sleep for 2-3 hours at a time. Any tips/ advice anyone else have this?

Definitely get some fit advice from a baby wearing consultant, you should definitely be able to babywear and that should give baby somewhere to sleep and your hands back. The FB group babywearing UK is very helpful too.

How long have you been out if hospital? Was baby admitted for failure to thrive? How long did it take baby to get back to birth weight? Is baby maintaining a weight centile line?

Nutrition and calories come first - so you need the above sorting as a higher priority to sleep.

With regards to sleep:

• Put baby in a swaddle. It calms down a distressed newborn
• comfort sucking might be needed. Try a dummy.
• Very frequent feeds
• Very little awake time before working on next nap.

@Moorelewis I had one like this, could never switch off. It was my first so never noticed any cues so at least you have that to go off. In the end we decided to force as many naps as possible as once they are overtired it can 10x worse. We worked out how long they could be awake before starting to get tired, so something like 1 1/2 hrs - 2hrs awake time then we forced a nap, something like walking in the pushchair or out in the car. We needed to ensure he napped for at least 40 mins & it he wasn't moving he would wake. Even would wake if stopped at traffic lights!! Never could I just put him down to nap, he didn't do that until he was 1! Eventually with time & getting older we could stretch out the time between naps but still remained strict with ensuring he slept & for enough time. I think I remember reading somewhere that overtiredness releases a hormone that almost puts them into survival mode & its harder to relax hence harder to then fall asleep. Have you thought about a swinging chair? That could sit upright & continue the rocking? We also found a loud white noise helped! Really loud! I feel your pain though, people think all newborns can easily just drift off throughout the day! Day 3 was when I noticed mine didn't.

@FATEdestiny she was in hospital for only 16 hours. She only lost 3% of her birth weight on day 5 and was over her birth weight on day 8. She's followed her centile line. Weight has never been a problem. Obviously I'm well aware that keeping her fed is the biggest priority, I just wanted advice on the sleep.

Thanks for the advice everyone. She reacted badly to the cows milk formula again. So we're back on the prescribed formula and shes like a different baby. Slept for 4 hours earlier. I'm thinking it was the milk causing her pain.

Absolutely nothing to worry about with feeding then - I'd drop that stress from your mind.

It might be simple over tired. At this age awake time is basically just as long as it takes to feed. Say 30 minutes. Then straight back to sleep. The longer she is awake, the harder it will be to get back to sleep.

For sleep you need:

• sucking. Dummy or feed to sleep
• movement. Rocking, bouncer, pram
• Protected safe feeling - held in arms or swaddled
• Full tummy
• well winded

Our 13 week year old baby hasn't really napped and we were desperate. A friend recommended The Baby Whisperer and the shush pat and EASY technique are working for us. It's not easy especially with the tears but she's so much calmer with the extra sleep and needs it when she's learning so many new skills.

Have they checked for tongue tie? My DD2 was missed and finally after many appointments was found at 12 weeks. I was on my knees by this point. Yiu have my sympathies. Shes stil quite a handful at 2.5. I think some of it was personality.