Hi ladies -
I'm sure this question has been asked many many times...but here goes!
My fabulous 10-week old is a champ sleeper at night (goes to bed between 6:30 and 7, wakes at 3 or 4am to nurse and then wakes for the day around 6am). However he is not a good napper. He starts to get sleepy after about an hour of waking (yawns, rubs eyes, stares off in the distance, etc.) so I'll bring him into the bedroom, swaddle him, rock him for a few minutes and lay him down in his bassinet. He usually will stare at the sides of the bassinet and fall asleep on his own. After 45 mins of sleeping, he'll wake up crying. I try to get him back down but can't. He's a happy little baby and loves to play but I just feel like he is constantly tired and wants to nap longer but can't.
Do we think this will change as he gets a bit older? I'm not looking for some hard schedule for him at this point but would love him to be well-rested during the day.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!!
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Thanks for all the great replies mamas!!! Candy - He does sleep in the bassinet at night. And quite soundly. Though soon he will be too long for the bassinet so we'll have to move him to the crib.
This morning he was up at 650am, I fed him, changed him and then at around 7:40am he was looking tired so I tried to put him down and my husband is still at it. He has the hiccups and just can't settle. I think I may be keeping him up to long?? But he was only up for 50 mins! I feel bad because I am the one who is making him overtired!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
I have a question for you. Does he sleep at night in the bassinet or in a crib? When my daughter was that age she would not sleep in the bassinet anymore. All she would do is cry after being asleep for about 20 minutes. I don't think she liked being in there. We stopped using the bassinet and put her in the crib for naps and she slept like a champ. Just a thought. Maybe he doesn't like the bassinet anymore.
I suggest trying to let him nap in whatever room you're located or back and forth into. Some babies thrive being where the "action" is. Just let him fall asleep where ever his is when he is sleepy.
Try putting him in a baby swing when he wakes up too early. Sometimes you can get another little nap or at least he'll be resting and quiet.
Unfortunately they usually do not settle down into a regular nap schedule
until about six months. I always felt if they slept at night I could deal with
anything during the day. Sounds like you are doing a great job.
Some babies are cat nappers but that can also change with time and them learning how to sleep.
Try not to wait till he gets to the point of the stare and rubbing of the eyes. If you can try to catch it right before that point he may get a bit better sleep. Or he might not. He might just be a cat napper. Just make sure that he isn't wake more than 2 hours at a time right now.
And don't be surprised if his night time sleep changes shortly-growth spurt coming up!
Hey Mama
Try laying him down before he gets too tired. I've found that if kids miss their "nap window" they get too tired to fall asleep, and if they do fall asleep, their sleep quality is poor.
Good Luck
R. Magby
