Hello there and welcome to BW!
So sorry you sound so distressed though! It is hard when tiny babies don't sleep but sounds like you've done a great job helping her with her feeding issues
I will start by saying that she is very small and still learning a lot about sleep. Don't panic, she is able to learn and you are able to teach. Average A times for a 12 week old would be about 1 hr 20 -30 minutes, some babies get less, some get more, so sounds like your LO is bang on there, though perhaps 1.5 hours is a little long for her if she's OT?
What does your wind down look like? With the littlest ones, it is often the case that if they get to sleep really well in the first 20 minutes, the rest of the nap follows pretty well, so perhaps what's happening here is that she isn't getting 'into' her sleep enough to stay there (if you see what I mean). The rocking motion of the buggy soothes her, so instead we want to make sure she's soothed enough in the cot. I'm sure you are already doing everything you can for her comfort, of course, these are just my suggestions
. Here's a good link on winding down:
What does a good wind down consist of (Includes 4S ritual)Now, you want to bear in mind that teaching sleep with sh-pat is a gradual thing. You sh and pat and baby gets very relaxed and even falls asleep in your arms. Don't worry about that too much. Enjoy the lovely snuggles. Next time, tomorrow, or next week, you'll try to get her into bed earlier. It is a gradual process, but she is learning every time that sleep is comfortable and soothing and pleasant. So you're sh-patting and she's nodding off. You want to slowly wind down your sh-patting, and then equally slowly transfer baby into the cot, with a couple of sh noises to keep her in her trance! Then - KEEP on patting and sh-ing! She will make the association that being in the cot/crib is just as relaxing and lovely. Wind down your patting and sh-ing, you might be doing a gentle pat once a minute, or even just resting your hand on her lightly and making very occasional shush noises. You'll work out exactly what works for you. Please try staying there with her for a good 20 minutes, til you feel her jolt and then slip into a deeper sleep. Hopefully this will help her sleep a bit better.
It is actually a *good* thing that you know she will sleep in the buggy. If all else fails, you have a method of getting her to sleep, a secret weapon! Try not to rely on it too much but if you see she's building OT, then use your secret weapon on her and catch up a bit on sleep.
Hope some of that helps!
