day time naps for 7 week old baby

[Murl]

Hi, new to Mumsnet so apologies if I am repeating a previous thread or not following Mumsnet etiquet!

My baby girl is just 7 weeks and I am very lucky as she sleeps well in the night and settles herself to sleep. However, I would appreciate some advice on daytime naps. I keep reading, and being told by some friends/relatives, that I need to be getting her in to her cot for her daytime naps and having a routine - ie. naps at certain times for a certain amount of time. This would be fine but she does not have a pattern for sleeping in the day - and has lots of mini naps rather than 2 or 3 longer sleeps in the day. One day she could sleep for three hours in the morning, while another she may only sleep for half an hour. Because of this I usually just let her sleep in her chair downstairs in the day or in her pram when we are out and about. I have put her in her cot but end up getting her after about 20 mins as she has woken up and does not settle herself in the day.

I realise this is a rather trivial concern, but I feel us Mums have a lot of pressure put on us to get our babys in to 'routines' - when I would rather go with the flow! But at the same time I am a first time Mum and want to know that I am doing things right for my baby.

Any advice or comments would be appreciated.

Thanks

Doing what you are doing sounds great

Everyone has different ideas but there really is no need to put her down in a cot during the day if you don't want to. It can be really restrictive having to stay at home for nap times and if your dd sleeps well in her chair/pram etc., then that's brilliant.

As she gets older and gets more easily distracted, she may need a quieter /darker place to nap, at which point you can decide to try and get her sleeping in her cot but I really wouldn't worry about it for the time being.

Congratulations on your dd btw

Actually, if what you are doing seems to be working and suits both of you (and it sounds like that's the case) then I'd just keep on doing what you're doing and not worry about a fixed routine.
With my twins, I had a VERY rigid routine because that's what worked best for us but there were times when more flexibility would have been really helpful (for example when I felt like we HAD to get back home for the boys' nap - they hated sleeping in the buggy). If she's sleeping well at night and seems to be happy and thriving, and content to sleep when out and about, why change things?

I agree with everything Tillyscoutmum and bellabelly say. Be glad that she does nap!

I'd go with what works for her - put her down for naps when she gets tired, and let her sleep for as long as she wants/needs. If it suits you, don't worry about what other people think.

Letting her nap in different ways / places is definitely a good idea IMO as it gives you more flexibility.

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