Catnaps and Nightime Waking

Hi S.-
I don't really have any advise, just wanted to tell you you're not alone. My son was a TERRIBLE sleeper. He was up pretty much the whole night and would only nap here in there in my arms, and then would scream because he was tired. Soooo frustrating. He also hated the process of being swaddled but once he was finally swaddled he was fine. I found that my husband was the champion swaddler, much better then me! I did get a Baby Bjorn and that helped a bit, at least I was able to get some stuff done and he would eventually fall asleep in it. If I was able to arrange it perfectly, I could lie on the couch, still wearing him, and we could both get a small nap in!
Good Luck!!!!
S.

If you are getting 4-6 hours stretches at night then you have a baby that is considered to be sleeping thru the night. You don't say if you are breastfeeding or not but if you are it is very normal for her to be waking to eat. When she wakes after that first stretch give her a good feeding and get her settled back down. If you are breastfeeding it would not be uncommon for her to eat again anywhere from 1 /12 hour-3 hours after you STARTED the feeding.

Also-google 4th trimester and Dr. Harvey Karp. Your baby is still in the "4th trimester". Read up on it and it will help you understand your baby's needs right now and some of her behaviors while she is getting used to this big world and no longer has the comforts of the womb.

Some babies don't like to be swaddled and that's ok.

The biggest thing to understand is that night time parenting is different from daytime parenting. Parenting doesn't stop at night. Babies her age can't be expected to sleep all night. Their little bodies most of the time just aren't physically or neurologically ready to do it. I hate to be the one to say it but you've got a long road ahead as far as lack of nighttime sleep. Some babies are champs and others not so much. My oldest was a great sleeper from 7 months on but my second didn't start sleeping really, really well till she was over a year old.

Check out the Baby Whisperer. She talks about routine-Eat, Activity, Sleep and You (meaning time for yourself). I was able to glean a lot of very valuable info and come up with a routine that worked for my babies.

Hi S.,
let me share some real magic with you, its called the heart syncronisation.
When you hold your baby heart to heart, those 2 hearts syncronize. You can
always calm down a crying baby by doing this. It will adjust to physical reality much easier & gets reassurance of love. The father can do this, too.
TO do this consciously, knowing of this simple magic will make all the difference in the world for all involved, like grandma, grandpa, siblings, etc.
The bonding will last a lifetime. Just open your heart & fill it with love when
you hold your baby so it can suck it all up & bloom like a flower. These
carriers are great, but remember, your baby can feel your vibrations, if you
are angry or frustrated, the baby feels it with its heart & reverberates it
accordingly.
You can also do this with a kitten or puppy, the heart syncronisation, you
will have the best pet of your life, total magic. Something so simple can be
that impacting when you know this & do it, its life changing knowledge.

Hi there,
I have a wonderful on-line book I can forward to you. This book really helped me figure out how to help my baby fall asleep on her own. My email is ____@____.com to hear from you soon! M.

Hello,A baby so young needs to nap often and they r hungry every 2 hrs,so if she is full,then she will sleep more peacefully,All the best!!

This all sounds like typical 8-week old sleep patterns. Please pick up the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Weissbluth. It will give you some pointers-like your 8-week old shouldn't be up for more than 2 hours at a time, and yes, they are going to wake up frequently at night, their startle reflex will wake them up because they can't control it, they need to eat a lot, etc.

It also sounds like you are forcing a schedule on her. Usually babies that young have their own schedules and you may need to take her lead. You might want to get a baby bjorn or Mei Tai baby carrier and carry her around. When both of my kids were that age that was one of the ways that I got them to sleep(especially my son who never liked the swing) during the day. Check out The Happiest Baby on the Block by Karp.

Rest assured that she will change her sleep patterns several times during the first year. Her next change will be around the 4-month mark. Also, you need to have your partner/husband/SO help with the night feedings. Welcome to mommyhood!

The more full baby's tummy the better he/she will sleep. It is recommended not to let your baby go more than 3-4 hours at night without a feed. The fuller your baby's tummy, the better he/ she will sleep at night.
The catnaps during the day. Are you concerned because you want your baby to sleep less during the day? Or are you wanting your baby to sleep for longer stretches at a time during the day?
It is normal for an infant to sleep 16 hours in a 24 hour period because of the rate at which they are growing. Hope this helps.

Are you feeding on-demand?
Are you producing enough milk?
Is she latching on properly?
If not, she will NOT be getting enough intake. Thus a hungry baby, 24/7.
Do not feed according to a 'schedule.' If you are doing that. A baby needs to be fed on-demand... and to assure that they are getting enough intake at their growth-spurt periods.
In an infant, 'growth-spurts' occur every 3 weeks. Then at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and so forth. Every 3 months.
If a baby's intake does NOT keep pace with their needs and growth, they will be hungry.
And infants also "cluster-feed." Meaning, they will NEED to feed even every single hour. This is normal. Hence, you need to feed/nurse ON-demand. So that baby gets what she needs for adequate intake and nutrition.

And yes, infants nap a lot. Usually, after about 2 hours of 'awake' time, they get tired and need a nap. Or if hungry they will wake.

If a baby is OVER-tired, they actually do not sleep well, nor fall asleep well and they wake more. Ditto for a baby if they are over-stimulated.

And yes, for an infant, they have what is called the "startle reflex" They cannot control their appendages and have no motor-skills... thus, their limbs 'flail' and it wakes them. Normal. So you have to soothe them. They will grow out of it when older, by 6 months old.

all the best,
Susan

hello

i think at that age is very hard to have a schedule for a baby ,at 8 weeks they sleep a lot in the day and they wake up a lot in the night ,the only thing you can do is take a naps in the day with the baby and don't change the diaper if tha baby don't need it because it make them wake up more often in the night ,if tyhey have poop or a lot of pee is ok but oif not don't change it ,usually if the baby don't poop in the night the diaper is for about 12 hours