6 Week Old Who Is Having Troubling Napping During the Day

Congrats! I was worried about this issue with my first, and I read every sleep book I could get my hands on. I really stressed about the daytime napping thing. But I really think that, at 6 weeks, it's just too early to stress about daytime napping. The baby will sleep when she's tired, and as far as holding her, she really can't be spoiled at this point. My little one didn't start getting on a schedule (for everything, not just naps) until she was almost 3 months. Good luck!

Dear S.:

If you have not yet tried laying down with her this is your first choice. When she falls asleep you can get up. Some children do not need as much sleep as other.

The snd thing is to keep all caffeine, sugar and sweets away from her at least 4 hours before sleep or no sweets at all.

If you have the time sing to her without words.

Good Luck

S. L.

I know it feels like it is taking a long time, but she is still very little, and it's not unusual for babies to "nap" poorly at this age. True naps, lasting several hours in the crib, will probably set in around 4 months. In the meantime, I wouldn't feel bad for using the swing or bouncer to get her to sleep. You have to keep an eye on her, but it gives her a rest and you a break!

My now 5 year old napped like a champ in the crib from day one, but in patches of 30-60 minutes randomly after feeding. Around 3 months, she established a three nap day with naps lasting aorund 2-3 hours. I usually nursed her to sleep before laying her in the crib. My second daughter, now 20 months, would sleep in my arms or the bouncer for 30-60 minutes. Around 4 months she started resisting the bouncer and not sleeping, so I started putting her in the crib. It was a bad few days transitioning, but then she was set with her three nap day.

Start aiming for the 2-up 2-down rule. For instance, wake at 6, eat and play, and down for a nap at 8. After 2 hours of sleep, she should wake for 2 more hours before her next nap. It will take you awhile to get there, but that's the goal. Sounds like she is a pro at night sleeping, and I bet she even drops that 3am feeding soon. Congrats!

And to answer your question, she probably is tired and needs sleep, but she can't soothe on her own without feeling swaddled or without some white noise. Your arms or the swing give her that warrmth and comfort. I never wanted to but some people use swaddling and or white noise machines for this purpose. Also, you could read up on "Healthy Sleep Habits of a Happy Child." There is also a booth that focuses on the "S's" - swing, suck, swaddle, shoosh - I think. It replicates the womb based on the notion that the first 3 months is the fourth trimester. Can't remember the name of tha tbook, mayby "Happiest Baby on the Block"?

One word: Boppy! I had a similar problem with my daughter when she was a newborn, so I had the idea to lay her nestled in her Boppy after she fell asleep in my arms. I think it gave her the feeling that I was still holding her. I used this for about 3 months and then she grew out of that stage and she was able to sleep better on her own! I hope you have some luck!

D.

Hi

Yes she should be tired and napping during the day , she is still very young and therefore still trying to figure out a routine. If you are finding it hard to put her down so that you can eat , shower etc you have a couple of choices , either let her cry for 5 mins because your not going to be that long in the shower and she will be fine or have you tried a bouncy chair that vibrates or a swing chair? Try not to fall into the trap of picking her up every single time that she makes a noise , she will learn to take advantage of this very quickly and then you will have a baby in a few months that you will have to hold/rock to sleep and never be able to move from! She has to learn that she can't always be held and that you need to eat/wash/tidy etc. With all 3 of my kids at this age and until they could get their arms out I used to swaddle them in a blanket , babies like to be held snug , I suppose it reminds them of being in the womb , at this age they also have no control over limb movements so when they cry and their arms are moving around all over the place they are not actually doing that and it becomes distressing for them (imagine someone holding your arms waving them around) so being swaddled stops this from happening.

Also I think the response from Steve suggesting to keep her away from caffeine , sweets & sugar 4 hrs before her nap means maybe you cutting this out of your diet if your breastfeeding? I can't see that at 6 weeks old she is making herself a coffee yet!!

Congratulations and I hope you work it out

K.

Hi S.,
My first suggestion is to not get into the habit of holding your daughter while she sleeps or laying with her. This brings about more problems later on.

Try laying her down in her crib with some music or some type of noise that will help her fall asleep. She may not actually go to sleep however she will learn to lay without having you around.

Be blessed with your new baby!!

I am currently babysitting a 9 week old little girl. What I have found that helps her to relax is to lay her down with the little toys above her head. You can get the ones that hook onto the car seat or cribs. She listens to the music and stirs at the toys above her. Sometimes she will end up falling asleep or she will just lay quietly.

Take her for a walk outside or in a local mall. Better still, put her in the car and go the grocery store (my son slept well there). Eventually she will get used to the rocking motion and then you will be able to out her to sleep in the swing.

As for the shower thing ... I put my son in his bouncey seat and brought it into the bathroom. He was content sitting in it as long as he could see me.

Good luck! I promise it gets easier.

Hi S.! I don't really have advice, just want to let you know you're not alone and your that baby will eventually sleep! My now 8 year was just like that. I thought it was unbelievable that she could be awake all day (and yes, she cried if I put her down for one second) I seriously thought I was going to lose my mind. I held her for the first 6 or 7 months of her life (I'm not kidding). One day when she was 8 months old it was about 10am and she appeared to be tired. I thought, what the heck, I'll try to put her down for a nap. I put her in her crib and magically she fell asleep. When I checked her I almost did a little happy dance! 8 months old and it was the first time she actually napped. From then on she napped pretty much every day. So I guess my advice is this - hang in there!!!! It's funny, just last night my husband and I actually went to bed before my daughter. She was reading quietly in her room because she said she couldn't fall asleep yet. I told her not to stay up too late, and then went to bed! To this day she is just not one who needs a lot of sleep.

I laid down with my son sometimes for naps, used white noise near his crib and if neither of those worked, we'd put him in the side to side swing with some light lullibye music to sooth him to sleep. He was colicy, so we used Gripe water and Mylicon for gas relief. Good luck.

it's normal for babies less than three or four months old to need help soothing for naps....you may want to try a longer soothing routine and putting her down for naps earlier...at her age she should not be awake any longer than 1 1/2 hours at a time, if you wait longer than that she may be overtired and not able to fall asleep unassisted. It's also ok to hold her now....get used to peeing while holding her, eating while holding her, and showering while she cries....it won't last long, in a few short months she should get it.

This truly is frustrating. I'm also a first time Mom, my son is now 7 months old, and I had the same problem when he was new, like yours. Something that helped was a "vibrating chair," which is a simple Fisher Price chair for babies that really calms them. I was able to shower and keep my son in the bathroom in his chair, and he would usually fall asleep from the vibrating, and the steam from the shower.
Taking a drive sometimes helps, as the motion lulls your baby to sleep. If you have a stroller, a walk around your neighborhood can do the same thing. If your baby likes baths, a warm bath followed by some rocking also helps. These are just some things that worked for me. I hope that it helps! And remember that this will pass- she'll be napping before you know it.

My daughter did the same thing, always had a difficult time sleeping during the day. Even though she didn't like it at first I would put her in her travel swing in the bathroom, shut the door and take a shower, by the time I was finished she would be asleep! After three days she LOVED the swing and would fall asleep right away in it. Even now (at 18 months) if I turn on the bathroom fan (down the hall) she falls asleep faster in her crib. I think it has something to do with the white noise now, but that and the motion and steam seems to be a great sleeping combo!!! I promise, it will get better. Good luck!!!

Snuggle spot...It is a baby bed/pillow that makes a baby feel like it is being held when you cant hold it. www.laneybug.net

I don’t know about you but I had a spoiled baby that only liked to sleep if someone is holding her. I got tired of sleepless nights so I invented this pillow that I call the Snuggle Spot. The pillow snuggles the baby so they feel like some one is holding them and they are safe. Babies love it, the first time I put my daughter in it she slept 9 hours straight and every night since! I put her in the pillow fully awake with a full belly, and swaddled. Since the pillow snuggles them the swaddle stays intact! I recently went out of town and I did not want to pack the portable crib, changing pad, etc. so I just took a chance and only took the pillow. It was amazing, even in a diff environment she slept all night. I just put her in the pillow in the bed next to me or on the floor next to me. It is the perfect Co-sleeper! I changed her diapers in it, She likes to watch colors and lights of the TV so i put it in front of the TV. It fits perfectly in portable cribs and in regular cribs. My Daughter has reflux and has to be elevated so that her formula stays down, The pillow slightly props her up so that she is comfortable and stays clean!!! If you have and questions or concerns or want to place an order feel free to send me a message. The pillow is totally custom, you can pick the fabric, name or saying.

What i'm going with my son and it worked for my daughter is his 7pm or 6pm feeding is his evening feeding. I treat every feeding after that as night time feedings. I don't turn on the light i don't leave out the room with him. So he starts staying in bed all night. He will get up early but that's how it is. She should sleep alot during the day but not all day. If you want set her down that means you are holding her too much. That's why she's not sleeping more. You need to separate from her some so she has time away from you and can sleep. Because she can't possibly get enough sleep on your hip or lap. good luck