4 week old not napping

[1tamara1]

hi, I have a nearly 4 week old and have tried to start her on a routine as much as I can for a newborn. She is beginning to extend her feeds to 3 1/2 - 4 hours and eating a heap at those times. She is sleeping really well at night, feed her, hold her until she looks sleepy then put her in her cot.

However during the day I find she isnt settling as well, sometimes wont sleep at all between feeds. I have a double storey house and she's up with me during the day and I am beginning to wonder if she is becoming over stimulated and therefore becoming over tired then not able to put herself to sleep.

Should I be keeping the same routine of putting her to sleep as I do at night? Most people would be glad I guess to have a baby that sleeps well at night but it makes it hard to do anything during the day as she just cries on and off (not a full on cry) until i pick her up. am i asking too for her age?
any help is appreciated!

[Chicane]

Hi tamara - first up big hugs, you are doing fantastically! It would be useful if you could post up your typical day so teh other ladies can have a look at it. I would say from looking at your post that your LO is OT and over stimulated. At this age they really need to eat every 2-3 hours - you can check out typical routines for her age in the EASY FAQs - would be interested to see what the others have to say about that. A 4 hour EASY is really appropriate for a 6 month old. So, I would try feeding her a bit more often and seeing if that helps with her naps. Also at this age they cant cope with much stimulation at all, just a nappy change and a cuddle should so it. How long does she cry on and off for? Could this be her mantra cry, her way of self settling? And finally I think its amazing that you are already at this point at 4 weeks! She's still brand new to the world so there is nothing wrong with being a bit more flexible. Post a typical day and lets see what comes of it.

[1tamara1]

no worries, thank you for your feedback.

So a typical day; her last feed of the night is around 8pm and then we bath her and she will sleep until about 1am. When we put her to bed for night feeds we feed her, change nappy then cuddle until she shows sleep signs. She will have another feed at about 1am then 4am/5am then wake at 7am/8am, this is where her routine changes. The day feeds, I feed her, change nappy then put her in a rocker upstairs with me. Sometimes she settles others she doesnt until her next feed which is around 3 1/2 hours. I wake her if she tries to sleep longer. When she doesnt settle I give her a dummy and that seems to work but I dont want to get her into that habit. At night she doesnt need it she sends herself to sleep which is why i thought it might be over stimulation. When she cries its not a full on cry, more like a few screeches, she does have a cry when she is settling but it ends quite quickly, this seems to go on and she ends up getting all worked up! thank you again for your feedback, your help is greatly appreciated  :-)

[Chicane]

Hi ya - ok - first thing you should have a look at the sample routine here http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=164027.

At this age LO's can only handle being awake for about 30mins to one hour max. I would say one hour is too much but it would depend on your LO. So this awake time involves feed, nappy change little cuddle and settling back to sleep. After her day feeds I would be putting her in her cot in her room to sleep and not in the rocker with you. It may be that being in the rocker is too stimulating and making it hard for her to get to sleep??? The cries sound like it might be tiredness and frustration at not getting to sleep. The nights feeds sound totally normal for this age - she probably still needs the food to get her through the night so I would continue with them as  you have been and not expect too much from her just yet. I do exactly the same routine for day naps as for night sleep except at night nurse before bed (but not nurse to sleep). I find its good to be consistent in the routines for all naps. This routine will change as you LO changes - you might want to add a song or some other things as she grows. But for the moment keep it all low key. At this age she is still a new born and her life and routine is still a bit unstable so you should go with the flow a bit - she will have a growth spurt at around 6 weeks and wake up a bit more and get into the swing of it. Using a dummy is okay - it shouldn't become a habit if you use it as a last resort tool, if you take it out of her mouth once she is asleep and if you confine its use to the cot only. Finally, the BW way is about knowing your baby, learning her signs, responding to them appropriately and becoming in tune - so dont' get too caught up in times and give yourself time to get to know each other. BTW - I think you are doing amazingly well at this stage! Really! We were nowhere near where you are now at the same age. So give yourselves a pat on the back. Stay in touch and let us know how you go x

[1tamara1]

thanks again for your feedback. so its been a couple of days and the napping during the day still wasnt working, she was actually getting worse. However her room was still really bright and I could see her trying to fall asleep but then she'd get distracted and start looking around. But, yesterday my partner blackened her windows so the room is now dark during the day and so far so good. She's had her morning nap, just woke for another feed and now is back asleep. But now how do I know how long she should be sleeping during the day? I feel like I just feed her, change her then put her back in her black room! This morning:

E at 8am
A at 8.45
S at 9am

then she woke again at 11am and she is now back in bed (12pm)

I also think she may be going through a growth spurt if that's possible. Another thing, how do I make sure that she sleeps at night now that she is sleeping during the day? do I wake her every 3.5 hours if she doesnt wake herself?

thanks again for your help, its great to know there are forums like this to help in these testing times :-)

[Chicane]

Hi tamara - well done! Looks like she just needed some darkness. I know I cant sleep in  a bright room myself.

But now how do I know how long she should be sleeping during the day? I feel like I just feed her, change her then put her back in her black room!

Have a look at the sample routines for her age in the link i posted above. That sounds about right to me. Feed, nappy change, back to sleep. That sounds really normal for her age. Go with the flow.

I also think she may be going through a growth spurt if that's possible. Another thing, how do I make sure that she sleeps at night now that she is sleeping during the day? do I wake her every 3.5 hours if she doesnt wake herself?

Well, how is she sleeping at night at the moment? There are different theories on this. Many would say leave her to sleep at night and feed her when she wakes naturally in the night. Others would say they need their blood sugar levels kept up at this age and to feed them regularly in the night (ie. dont let them go more the 4-6hrs without food) My doc advised that but if I had my time again I would let the LO wake naturally to eat. You can feed her while she is sleeping...the sucking reflex will happen naturally if you put her to the nipple. A lot of LOs wont wake up but will still feed - others will wake up a bit feed then go back to sleep. Its up to you. I would be interested to see what the others have to say about it. And yes there is often a GS at 6 weeks...they also wake up a bit at this stage and start to 'see' their environment more.

You are doing really well!