2 month old won't nap

[Trinityhome]

Desperate for some help please

My 2 month old will not nap, I spend hours a day getting her to sleep just for her to wake up 10 minutes later. I try everything - walks, car, rocking etc

She sleeps through the night or will wake up once which is brilliant however she is knackered in the day and fighting naps. Her eyes are bright red she's yawning and rubbing her eyes. The minute I see 1 sign that she's tired I jump straight on it but I then spend hours trying to get her to sleep and then she's overtired.

Any magic tips?

Have you tried a stretchy sling and just going for a walk with her? Might be a bit hot now but weekend will be cooler.

I think you need to be consistant and start a naptime routine. I remember when I decided to rock DS to sleep, it could take an hour but shortly got down to 5 minutes. Same with bouncing on a ball.

You also need to be aware any micro nap like a boob snooze can then make it harder for them to sleep. They may need another awake cycle before they will nap even though they are overtired from a tiny nap.

If you've not heard of it I'd recommend EASY routine, Eat, Awake, Sleep, You time. This means they eat well because they are well rested, play well because they're not hungry and sleep well because they have been active and then you get some time off 😉

I was trying to guage if your baby was showing signs of simply not needing the sleep (happy to play on floor independently, not clingy, not crying) or if baby is getting more and more distressed due yo being very sleep deprived. It sounds like the latter.

OK, so back to the swaddle - the answer to your question is yes. It does sound like you need to take the stance that you do know best and effectively force the sleep.

The screaming is actually because baby is very frustrated and distressed at needing a sleep, needing significant help to sleep, and not getting that help. In short, the screaming is unlikely to be to do with any form of preference for the swaddle use it not. It's to do with lack of sleep.

Do you have a dummy

The 5 S's if Emergency Sleep:

• Swaddle
• Sucking (dummy)
• Sideways (hold baby in a cradle hold, facing you, rather than facing upwards. Head higher than heart)
• Swaying (sway your own torso, so baby stays in same position relative to you. Bouncing also works - on birthing ball for example)
• Shushing (white noise does the same)

Then don't stop. Keep going throughout.

*the sideways could be facing away from you or towards you. Whichever feels best.

@Trinityhome FATEdestiny is the ultra mumsnet super baby guru, you'd be wise to try her advice. All the best xxx

The best thing is to ignore it and carry on with your day.

@FATEdestiny yes she has a dummy but hasn't wanted it recently.

I've actually just managed to get her to sleep but rocking her in our bedroom in the dark with white noise and a dummy. She's stirred a few times but I just held her close and she's back asleep so im thinking you're right with the swaddle as im basically imitating it.

We have this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B082QFY9FL/ref=cmswwrcppawdbimmm_8CSPKTVSWA1FNAAEQBA5?psc=1

Is it ok to use given the heat?

@5zeds

The best thing is to ignore it and carry on with your day.

Anyone who ignores a screaming 2 month old all day long, and doesnt at least try to soothe them shouldnt have children.

How old are yours?

DS (3 months) is a nap-denier. Yesterday he slept for about an hour total between 5:30 am and 8:30 pm. He has days where he just doesn't sleep much, alternating with days where he sleeps more (mostly lying on me though). With his older sister we spent every day fighting for naps, trying everything under the sun, but with him i just go with the flow. He seems to cope ok and i am less stressed and frustrated. I'm hoping we can achieve something rosemary nap schedule latet on.

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz Not ignore a crying baby ignore the “putting them down for a nap”. Babies pick up on stress. It’s hot (assuming @Trinityhome is in the uk) and the baby is obviously not settling. Most babies fall into their own routine.

Is it ok to use given the heat?

That link says it's appropriate up to a room temperature of 24°C.

I didn't use anything fancy to swaddle in. You can buy giant muslin squares which are very light weight and great for swaddling. Even more simple is a basic flat cot sheet. Cut it in half along the short edge (to make two long, thin rectangles) gives you two idea sized swaddle sheets.

I wouldn’t swaddle a baby in this heat

Like I said holding securely, tightly but not too tight, just enough to restrain the squirms is the same effect as a swaddle Xx

@5zeds unfortunately I can't ignore trying to get her to sleep when she's unsettled crying, yawning and rubbing her eyes. As her mum I feel like I need to step in and assist her

Thank you for your help and suggestions everyone, tomorrow is a new day and I feel armed with some ideas :-)

When mine was 2months old she refused to nap during the day apart from 10-15mins after a feed in my arms. She slept really well at night though. I gave up trying as nothing worked and she was quite happy being awake, it made days a bit more tiring but without all the rocking and swaddle attempts and screaming when I put her down it was much nicer. At 5 months she's still not great at naps but is improving. Good luck!

That was my experience too @Charlotte2020. I think it just made us both stressy and miserable. I have a large family now and can report that some napped and some didn’t but no one was ever left to cry.

@Charlotte2020 that's great that your little one didn't need naps

@Trinityhome oh she needed a nap- just refused and screamed if I put her down for one! She had tired eyes and exhausted behaviours but it's like she had/has FOMO. Might miss out seeing me wash up or put away laundry!

Just thought it worth mentioning. Is there a chance your baby could have silent reflux? Mine was very hard to get to nap too and it mostly had to happen on some kind of incline before the reflux stopped. And he used to cry for hours with it before we realised what it was and also got super over tired. Rocking him or feeding him in a horizontal position was the worst thing. So was the e.a.s.y routine as he'd get fed then go flat on the floor to have a nappy change and a play which just triggered the reflux, then he'd be a screaming mess by the time he needed to sleep.