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Sleep

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Original poster

7 weeker will only nap in her sling and I'm knackered!

16 replies

jumpjockey · 19/01/2009 10:30

Any ideas as to how to get a 7 weeker to settle for daytime naps, other than in her sling?

We have a close baby carrier which is great in many ways but dd will only sleep in it during the day. She'll feed, get sleepy and I'll try putting her down but she wakes up after a few minutes. Likewise if I walk around a bit with her slinged she's usually off in about 5-10 mins but will not let me put her down - even if I wait for about half an hour until she's really deeply asleep. This means she wakes up, gets cross, and then gets hungry so her whole cycle starts over more quickly, and I'm stuck back ina chair feeding. Have tried putting ehr down so I can express some milk but she wakes up and demands it first hand, even if she's only fed an hour or so ago! obviously it's impossible to express with her in it. If I keep her in the sling she'll sleep for up to 2.5 hours before being hungry but if I do anything to disturb her, the whole thing's buggered and she won't go back to sleep for ages and then is overtired, can't sleep etc etc...

For example this morning she woke up, I fed her, she was quite happy playing on the changing mat so I grabbed a shower and managed to get dressed before she got cross and over-tired (yawning, glazed eyes etc) so put her in the sling. She dropped off quite fast but I need to get on with some household jobs that invovle bending over (!)so let her get to deep sleep, eased her out of the sling and put her down in her pushchair - bing she's awake again but hasn't had a decent nap so have now only just managed to get her off again after walking around for half an hour with her sucking my finger (which kind of takes away the point of a sling freeing up your hands!)

I'm happy to let her sleep in it most of the time but has anyone managed to solve this problem? At some point I'm going to need to be able to get her to nap during the day in a way that doesn't involve wearing her the whole time. We're pretty much attachment parenters so not bothered about enforcing a routine on her but really would like to be able to sleep myself while she's asleep, and that's just not possible in the sling.

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lovelymama · 19/01/2009 16:25

What about a swing or a chair that you could bounce/vibrate? Some would argue that these get babies in to bad habits. I say they are a Godsend that got me through the first 5 months of DS's life. At least you could get on with things while she naps.

StarlightMcKenzie · 19/01/2009 16:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

wideratthehips · 19/01/2009 16:37

vibrating chair next to the dishwasher....do it! get one asap!

ds1 was in a sling for as long as possible...i couldn't bear to put him down...he looked too tiny in his moses basket. ds2 had to be put down at various points (so ds1 could get some attention) and a vibrating chair saved our lives!....didn't create any bad habits for us

DownyEmerald · 19/01/2009 16:47

Been there.

Eventually got an Amby/Natures nest. Took a couple of weeks for her to get used to it (she was quite old at 5.5 months by time I cracked) but then lovely. Of course then a problem cos managed to mess up the cot transition, but you might be better at that - and it's not worth worrying about

MegBusset · 19/01/2009 16:48

Vibrating chair, deffo. You could also try putting her in the pram and jiggling it up and down a bit.

Original poster

jumpjockey · 19/01/2009 20:44

Thanks for all the suggestions. Firstly wideratthehips we have no dishwasher, dammit, though we have tried white noise from a radio in the past when she's upset. Starlight - I need to get into the washing machine as I have no clean nursing bras left! It's not frivolous housework, it's stuff that needs doing in order to function The idea of just lying in bed with her all day is wonderful but simply not practical if I'm going to eat and dress during the day.

just leaving her on a mat - have tried putting her down on the bed and she just cries even if she's already sleepy, and I'm not going to leave her to cry herself to sleep. If she's on my lap then yes she will sleep but again I'm pretty much stuck wherever that should be as she wakes up if I put her down somewhere. I can't blame her for wanting the contact with a warm body but it is getting exhausting.

In terms of when she sleeps - I don't mind when it is at all, I'd just like to be able to get some rest myself. Today she only slept as long as I kept walking and got fractious as soon as I stopped... we do co-sleep anyway at night, she usually takes an hour or so to be soothed to sleep in a bedside cot with the side off. Then once we go up to bed she's in with us after her first night feed.

vibrating chairs - doesn't this then mean that the baby will then only sleep in that? I guess I'm just wondering how it is that some babies are able to fall asleep in a moses basket/pram or whatever.

sorry if this message comes over agressive/ungrateful, am just exhausted today and now even though DH is home there's no rest, I have to make dinner and do the laundry etc as he's on putting her to bed duty. [wallowing in self pity icon]

OP posts:

LazyLinePainterJane · 19/01/2009 20:47

DD wouldn't go down at all (now 9 weeks) and in the end I had to give her what she wanted - being on her front. I didn't really want to but she sleeps like a dream now.

wideratthehips · 19/01/2009 21:04

vibrating chairs are good for naps...but i don't think you have a baby in that position for too long.....

i don't think theres anyway that you can leave a baby to cry it out at 7weeks........BUT.... if you have to preserve your mental sanity, you do what ever is needed.

i remember if ds1 wouldn't settle and i had done everything physically possible to settle him then i had to get away from the noise of his crying....it gave me palpitations/terrible sweating and i would stand in the shower, unable to hear anything and then was able to go back out and face the noise.....although he was usually asleep.

tenacityflux · 19/01/2009 22:35

erm...DD is 15 weeks and still only really naps in the sling - it keeps me fit and it's easier now she's sleeping in her bed a bit longer at night. Am waiting for the automatic swing chair to give that a go, I'll let you know!

IlanaK · 19/01/2009 22:40

You are describing my ds3 totally. He is now almost 6 months and will nap on our bed (fed to sleep) and then i can get up and leave him. It has taken time. At 7 weeks, there was no way he was ready. IN fact, he fought sleep so much that he would often scream himself to sleep even in the sling with me walking around!

What I am saying is, she probably won't be like this forever! As she gets a little older, she will be easier to get to nap in other places or be transfered from the sling.

millenniumfalcon · 19/01/2009 22:47

i'd second the amby suggestion. we got one for dd2 after dd1 would only sleep in sling/pushchair/car seat and needed rocking every 45 minutes through the night (for about 9mo). dd2 was in her amby(alike) until her first birthday and the transition to the cot was much easier than i'd feared.

good resale value too.

Original poster

jumpjockey · 20/01/2009 10:54

maybe i'm being a bit ambitious then! we did think about an amby but went for bedside cot in the end to make feeding easier at night.

thanks again, will stop comparing her to the angelic babies at the nct group

OP posts:

tenacityflux · 20/01/2009 12:47

I cures all Angelic babies, or their mother at least, and tel myself that it just means mine will be a lovey child while there's will be horrible - this is not true but it makes me feel better!

hanaflower · 20/01/2009 13:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DownyEmerald · 20/01/2009 14:20

Don't compare her to "angelic" babies - the trouble is nct groups are usually quite small, so you may have the only one like this - I did.

There's so much down the road ahead of you - one of the sleeping babies in my nct group was only eating oranges and porridge at 12 months, and her mum wanted to wean to try for dd2. Everyone has their own challenges with their dcs. Mine loved all food at that stage - my turn to feel smug!

Your baby does need you, but try an amby or similar at least for some naps in the day. Though I was amazed what I could do wearing a sling. Not much housework below knee level happened tho' but for a while everything above that level was lovely and tidy!

aubergenie · 20/01/2009 14:56

DS is now nearly 16 weeks but basically lived in the close carrier during the day for the first 3 months because he wouldn't sleep anywhere else. I managed to perfect slowly lowering myself to my knees without bending at the middle so I could throw things in the washing machine. I also found that I could lean back in a chair while he was in the sling and have a little nap, although it got more difficult as he got bigger. It's not exactly quality sleep, but it's better than nothing.

Over the last two or three weeks there's definitely been a change and he will nap during the day without being on me, sometimes for an hour or so.

Does she sleep if you push her round in the pushchair? We sometimes go up and down the road and as soon as ds falls asleep I dash home and lie on the sofa and leave ds to sleep in the buggy.

Good luck!

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