Newborn won’t nap/ sleep

[Otterington23]

Hello, so our 6 week old refuses to sleep or nap. I’ve tried avoiding her getting overtired by looking for sleep cues but even when she displays those cues she just cries if I try to lay her down.

swaddle - she cries.

lay down awake but drowsy - she cries.

rock, bounce, sway etc. - her eyes stay wide open.

feed - she falls asleep and screams blue murder if I move.

lay her down slowly, holding her tight and releasing extremely slowly - her eyes pop open and even if we take 10 minutes, she cries.

Baby massage - she cries if I lay her down and this doesn’t stop it.

white noise - no effect.

room conditions - dark, comfortable temperature, quiet.

I also leave her just to make sure she’s awake and not active sleep. She’s definitely awake.

Tried giving her anti colic stuff just in case but don’t think it is colic as she’s fine on me. The only way to get her to nap is on me, which is fine when I’m doing chores as I pop her in a sling. But I haven’t slept more than 2 hours a night for ten days now so I’m exhausted and haven’t got the energy. She’ll fall asleep on me on the sofa for a little while but then I can’t move or sleep myself. I’ve tried co sleeping safely but it’s the same as using a crib.

She used to be so good at night so it was manageable in the day but now she’s not letting me sleep at night either. As well as frustrating, it’s making me ill so any other suggestions on what to try would be amazing!

Have you looked up wake windows? Some sleep cues come when a baby is already overtired so it can be more of a struggle to get them to sleep.

Do you have a partner? If so, you need to take shifts at night time so you get your head down earlyish for at least a few hours (or more if bottle feeding) until your partner goes to bed and then you can take the next shift. Hopefully it will mean you can both get a chunk of sleep and it isn't all on you.

Yeah I’ve also looked at wake windows and tried doing it based on timings rather than cues, it’s just any time I put her down. My partner was taking her the first couple of weeks and then she was great at night for until 5 weeks so didn’t need to. Now she’s entered demon mode and he can’t console her longer than 20 minutes.

we're having a not so fun 6 weeks too. Apparently it's 'the worst' time- they have their peak of fussiness between 6 and 8 weeks, there's a growth spurt and also google 6 week sleep regression.
My boy has gone far too awake/nosy to sleep easily in the day and come evening he's beside himself and the is a nightmare to settle to sleep- feeding and rocking/holding is taking longer to work. No help but I feel your pain.

We are going through this as well! For the past couple of weeks. Our girl is 7 weeks old.
i hope it’s just a phase :(

why is the room dark and quiet? She will feel very alone in there. Will she settle better in the same room as you with light and noise?

Because that’s the general advice given for getting babies to have longer and more restful naps, so when she wasn’t napping I was trying everything possible to encourage her ☺️ She was always with me and never alone.

For anyone else going through it, I think she was going through one of the development leaps which impacted her sleep. Knowing that instantly put me in the right headspace to cope! We’re 14 weeks now. She still only contact naps for 45 minutes max and has to feed to sleep, but that’s fine as she’s very happy and sleeps amazing at night!

@Otterington23 Glad to hear things have improved for you. My seven week old doesn't nap well. She takes cat naps during the day and wriggles and squirms/grunts a lot at night due to reflux issues.

How long does your LO sleep at night? What helped? I need something to look forward to - the hope things will get better can keep me going I suppose 😭

Could she have reflux? My baby had reflux, thankfully spotted by at only a few weeks old. Signs were hiccuping, vomiting after feeds, arching the back, constant crying, constantly wanting to feed. The feeding is for comfort because of the tummy pain, only it then makes the reflux worse. I had to be really gentle when winding her, gentle taps on the back only, and I winded her for a good 10 mins after every feed. I then never laid her flat. I put a wedge under her mattress and under her buggy bassinet mattress so she was always a little propped up. No bouncy chairs or rocking/bouncing her in my arms...and the paediatrician gave me something, sorry I can't remember what, to give her after feeds to make the milk more solid in her tummy to help with the reflux and vomiting. Or was it before feeds? Anyway all of the above worked, and she was on the medicine for a few months.

I would take her to a paediatrician if you can.

I hope you and your baby get some rest soon!

@user2233 so sorry to hear that! I know a few people with reflux issues and it sounds awful for both parent and baby. My little one has never had any colic or reflux issues so I don’t have any first hand advice. One friend mentioned they saw an osteopath and they said it helped, others I know cut out dairy (breastfeeding), tried various formulas, or are still working it out and using baby gaviscon.

I struggled with the development leaps alone so I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you! A friend reminded me that it doesn’t last forever and now every time I find myself struggling I just repeat that to myself as well. It’s amazing what 4 words and knowing about leaps did for my sanity 😅