2 Month Old Does Not Nap

I have a 1 year old Son and he is a picky eater. He does not eat anything.I feed him food and he does want to eat it and he will throw his food on the floor.I can't get my Son to eat anything.
A.- mother of a 1 year old

I sympathize with you as my 3 week old is doing the same thing! It took me forever to get him to sleep today and now that he is asleep I'm scared to even move around him. I did notice that he sleeps much better in his bouncer then his crib and have even had to move the bouncer to my room at night so that he'll sleep through the night. However, I'm still struggling even getting him to sleep in the first place. Thanks for asking this question.

Like the previous mom said... swaddling, in 2 receiving blankets is a good technique, but did you know that alot of times when a baby always wants to be held it's because it's soothing a pain. Make sure it's not her tummy bothering her by always burping her half way through & after each & every feeding. If she falls asleep during meals, put her over your shoulder & walk her around a little bit to make her burp. I know sometimes this won't always work, but make it a habit. Also make sure she's getting full after meals. If your bottle feeding, there should be at least a little milk left over in the bottle. If she's drinking every drop, then she's not getting full so while your holding her she's content, but not once you put her down. You didn't mention where your laying her down, so try somewhere different like a swing or carrier or bouncer with some soft music or vibration. Even though doctors tell you to lay your baby flat on their back, this isn't always a good idea. 1 of my son's always laid his head on the same side no matter how often we turned it & he developed flat head syndrome & needed a doc band to correct it. I was scared to lay my babies any other way, but my mom insisted in laying my kids on their tummies when they wouldn't go to sleep & they would cry for about 5-10 mins & act like they were really uncomfortable, trying to lift there heads up & all, but would then fall sound asleep after a little struggle & they would sleep with their mouths open like their bellies were being relieved. It worked everytime & once she's sound to sleep turn her back over on her back if your scared to leave her like that.

She may only be sleeping good for you that long at night because she's so exhausted from not sleeping during the day, so she has no choice.

My oldest was like that...and I know it is super frustrating. Hang in there! First of all, do you swaddle? That can prevent them from startling awake. Have you tried putting her in a swing, bouncy seat, car seat, reclined highchair, or stroller for a nap? Sometimes if they fall asleep in something they are so snuggled they sleep longer. Just try all different things. I can remember laying a large folded fleece blankie on me then letting him fall asleep on that. Then I would gently lay the blankie on the floor (no other kids or indoor pets) and let him nap there.

Try a swing or a bouncer or something like that. I know as much as we'd like them to get used to sleeping in their cribs, sometimes everybody just gets more sleep (moms and babies) when the baby is being rocked by the swing. Mine would occasionally sleep all night in the swing because she just wouldn't sleep any other way. As she gets older, she'll get more used to laying without being snuggled. So don't worry, it'll pass and it isn't a problem letting them sleep this way for a while....i dont know any kid teenager or adult that has to be rocked in a swing to sleep :)

Yes, i had this exact problem. I found she slept well in the Ergo baby carrier. I even put her in there and propped myself into a reclining chair so I could nap. Eventually I got her to nap on her own, but carrying her in a baby wearing device was key.

I have a 4 week old & I have the same issue! She will sleep forever if I hold her but the minute I lay her down and walk away she wakes up & cries. When my sister comes over she swaddles her & she stays asleep. Maybe try to do the same. Also I noticed that in the day she likes her bouncer. If all else fails I just hold her. I mean If chores dont get done they just have to wait. Hang in there im sure our babies will get the hang of things :)

This is very normal for her age. I second the suggestion to take her for walks in the stroller. Does she sleep in that? That would give you the added bonus of fresh air and exercise, which could help you to cope with the rest of it :)

And do you have a sling or wrap you can put her in? It might help you to get stuff done around the house, and she might sleep in that as well.

My little one is 5 1/2 months and he did the exact same thing around 2-3 months. Swaddling would help sometimes and he would also sleep in the car, but I know the feeling you just want to be able to have at least an hour or so to yourself at home. For a couple of weeks he would jut nap in my arms.
It gets easier.....these last two weeks my little one has done much better with naps. He is taking about 3 naps a day about 1 hour and 15 minutes long.......in his crib!
Just try relaxing when it is nap time, I know that when I completely "disconnect" with him and relax when it is nap time, he naps so much better.
Good Luck!!!

first of all, THROW OUT all the advice you have received, read, or heard in the past.
focus on right now, this moment and your specific child. the problem with parenting advice is that it seems to put all children into a box (very rarely 2) of exactly how to treat them at all times, or else fail raising them. this is an incredibly wrong and hurtful way of raising kids.

what you need to know is that the very thing that you need to do is already in you. when you are pregnant, and have your child, you are also given the exact instincts that you need to raise that particular child. no one else (except maybe dad) knows how to deal with, raise, comfort and whatnot your specific baby. no expert will be able to successfully tell you what to do because they dont know your baby intimately as you do, and they also dont have to live with the way you parent either. so please, above all things, parent the way you know is best for you, your baby and your family. that might mean doing things that dont jive with your social or family opinions.

this is normal infant behavior. some babies dont sleep as much. this is normal for HER. she is her own person. and you are her mother. so just listen to your heart. if your heart and your instincts tell you to do something, do it, even if someone might not agree with that choice.

invest in a sling! there are many styles out there but my favorite was the moby wrap. its so snug and secure and it really helps babies. remember, up until month 4, babies are technically considered in the 4th trimester. they are very immature, and need a lot of touch, holding, and attention. this might not be what you expected (or what you were told to expect) but this is reality. theres nothing wrong with that. not at all. this is normal and the answer as i said, is in you. you know what your baby needs, and dont be afraid to listen to it. :):) trust me, you will NEVER regret doing what you know is right for you, your baby and your family, but you WILL regret doing what someone else thinks is right but feels wrong to you. so please, just do what you know is best.

some resources : askdrsears.com, the no cry sleep solution (book), la leche league resources, mothering magazine, happiest baby on the block (book or dvd -- the dvd is AWESOME).

but anyway, i cant tell you what to do. you have to know for yourself and your child. one thing i can promise you is that it wont go away soon, my son is 4 and though he sleeps better than any kid i know his age, he does wake up once or twice a night; now because hes potty training at night. even when your kids are grown and moved out, you will lose sleep thinking about them even then. ;) you are a parent day and night. you are never off duty. so do what you can, and remember to put your husband/bf if involved, health, sleep and child first, before anything else.

some things that might help? white noise; we have a CD called "for crying out loud" that hs 8 tracks of white noise on it ; my son was a huge fan of vacuum noise. my husband is a light sleeper, and hes addicted too LOL. darkening shades, making sure baby isnt too hot or too cold (check the back of her neck-if shes sweaty, shes too hot.), and dont disregard the power of your skin, your heartbeat, your smell, your closeness. your baby sounds like she wants to be close to you. theres nothing wrong with this. she wont grow up to be so reliant on you that she cant function: she is going to grow up knowing that you are there for her to fulfill her needs, no matter how irrelevant they seem, no matter how inconvenient they are. :) you are going to raise a child who KNOWS her mama takes care of her. those are the kids we want; those are the kids who are truly independent and secure - the ones whos parents were there for them and responded to their cries and their needs. mostly, this works because kids feel secure when responded to and when they feel secure, they trust. :):) trust is important! :):)

anyway, even if your baby needs to fuss a little to relax (there are increasers and releasers, increasers only increase in intensity, releasers fuss and wind down) many many babies need to be attended to, especially at this young an age.
anyway.
do your best mama. you know the answer. dont be afraid of other people's comments. you are the person who means the most to your child. :):) just do what you know is best. :)

You just keep trying :) If I recall correctly, my kids BOTH didn't fall into regular nap patterns until about 4 mos (just after I went back to work) but it is the early regular patterns you are setting up that will help you get there. Little babies tend to sleep when they need to/want to sleep -- just do what you can to make the situation conducive to sleep and be satisfied that you are doing what you need to do...heck, when mine were real little sometimes they would take whole naps in the baby bjorn while I did chores around the house--they both turned into GREAT NAPPERS (they are 2 and 3.5 now).

BOPPY PILLOW!!!!! LOL
I will confess that I didn't read all the answers below. I had a little one (daycare) that did this almost 2 years ago. The swing was ok but THEN.. I discovered the BOPPY PILLOW!!! WOW is all I can say! What a difference. I know your not supposed to use it in the crib but the difference it made was SO AMAZING!!!! That's all I can say!

do you have a naptime routine for her? I know it may seem too early, but it sounds like she's fine going down at night because she knows it's night time--it's darker etc-and she's probably very tired from not napping enough during the day. There are two things that could be going on: she may still be hungry--because babies are more wakeful during the day, they want to eat more, especially in the newborn stage. If you know she's full, then I would suggest developing a nap time routine for her, and also a bedtime routine. That way she starts to learn the cues that it's time for sleep. It may not work right away because she's so young, but she will learn to look at the cues for comfort and winding down. For my son, we read him a book, and at that age I would breastfeed him and put him down. In the evening it's bath, baby massage with lotion, book, and bottle.

Also, try swaddling as someone else suggested when you put her down. But because she's persistently crying--my guess might still be hungry? She's still a newborn and their needs and eating habits change constantly. Either way, I found setting up a routine for sleeping was very helpful for us as our baby got older.

Hang in there, it will get better!

Welcome to having a newborn! It is super frustrating when you think it should be so much more simple. How you described your situation is so common and normal! I went through the exact same stuff, literally. I found that majority of babies make a turn around about 4 months as they start to really find a routine of when they like to nap. You just have to deal with the obnoxious stuff up front, it does get better, promise:) In the beginning, just get you and your baby out of the house. Go walk the mall, your baby will sleep in the carseat and you can get some much needed exercise and a breath of fresh air from sitting on the couch all day.

My daughter was the same way around that age, just napping for 20 min here and there. We finally bought a good, cozy swing (fischer price my little lamb cradle swing) and I call it the sleep machine! She's now 5 months old and consistently taking a couple two hour naps every day in it. I know we can't use a swing forever, but I intend to do it as long as I can! :) The No Cry Sleep Solution (author-Pantley) has some good suggestions for transitioning out of a swing when the time comes. I second what the person said below about not leting her cry-at this point in her life, if she cries-she needs you. Good luck!

Google 4th trimester. It will give you lots of info and tips but know that some babies are cat nappers at that age.

Def swaddle, hold her till her breathing pattern gets slower and deeper then lay her down staying very, very close to her to prevent that falling feeling.

Do not leave her to cry. She is running purely on instinct. She has no understanding or concept of sleep at this age. Babies have to be taught about sleep and how to sleep. And at her age she still wants/needs/craves the comforts of the womb.

I'm sorry to say that I had this problem and tried everything. Only when she was about a year old did she start sleeping an hour or more at a time. I hope that the solutions others have suggested work for you, because those 30 minute naps are no joke--I feel for you! Do talk to the pediatrician about it to rule out any medical kinds of issues but if she does ok at night it's less likely.