I am a new mom w/ a 7 wk dd. the first month or so were tough, very fussy baby (turns out she had a milk allergy) now that that's straightened out and her temperament is better i am trying to implement naps in her bed, not in my arms like she has been doing since she was born. it's only been a few days and i know it will take time but any advice to keep me on the right track would be appreciated. My main objective is to get dd to sleep out of my arms and my #2 obj is to get her to more than catnap for 30 min here and there. Let me preface this by saying i am not a faithful swaddler and she does not love the paci. i know these are key parts of the 4s's but...and i know what tracy would say, but she wriggles her arms out of her swaddle, she has since the day she was born. we always swaddle from teh waist down adn she sleeps well at night like this. The paci is good once in awhile but 75% of the time she spits it out or will not take it all. I'm not to disappointed w/ this as i don't want to have to go thru, her waking up when paci falls out which is not a problem if she doesn't lay down w/ it in the first place but is when she does. (if that makes sense).
Nap time has been going like this for the most part. working on reading her cues...a yawn, her tired whiney cry. Then i'm trying to use the window of opp to get her in her basinet as quickly as possible so she does not fall asleep in my arms. Sometimes a wind down isn't always possible like this last nap. She was dozing fast so i just laid her down shushed/patted. She fell asleep but was up about 20 min later. How long do i let her wake for before i go up and shush/pat again? i'm afraid if she stays awake too long she will overstimulate herself and not fall asleep. This time i went up shushed/patted she is clearly tired and kind of dozes, then up again. This is the second attempt at napping today. I feel like i'm trying to get her to nap more than she is actually sleeping and i'm inadvertantly doing the opposite of what i want to accomplish. How far do i go w/ this. How many times do i try lay her down--everytime? or set times?? how many times during a "nap" do i go in when she wakes up? should i just let her fall asleep in my arms a few times a day so at least i can assure she is getting some sleep while we are in training. or should i be more efficient (which i know i should) in getting from wake to sleep? i don't want to create bad habits and i don't want to be selfish...i want her to get rest during the day but on her own. Am i doing nap overkill?? Please help me.
