Nap frustrations with 6 week old...

[cbsmommy]

We have been on EASY for a little over 2 weeks now with 6 week old.  But I feel like I am still misreading DDs sleepy cues for when to put her down for a nap.  The first nap, with any luck, is good, but we go downhill from there.  She takes a long time to settle down.  She gets so fitful.  She'll drop off and then jolt awake but her jolts are more like earthquakes.  It'll take 40 minutes for her to fall asleep and then she usually wakes at the dreaded 45 minute mark.  There are times I can't tell if she is OT or UT.  I try to wait til about the third yawn.  Am I waiting too long?  She is Touchy baby.  But today, for instance, she would have only had 40 min of A time if I acted on the first yawn.  DH looks at me like I'm crazy when I say she's ready for another nap.  We have a consistent w/d (she is swaddled) and many times she starts to drift in my arms, which makes me think she isn't UT.  I'm trying not to get frustrated with myself.  She's only 6 weeks old and I tell myself to relax... there's always another nap to figure it out...

[bessie26]

Hehe, my whole family thought I was crazy putting DD1 down for naps so early, but it worked!

Afraid I have no real advice (although waiting until the third yawn sounds a bit late to me), but am looking forward to reading responses from the experts as I'm having similar problems with DD2 (10 wks)

This link might help? It says (on average) how much A time babies of different ages need
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64158.msg476652#msg476652

[clazzat]

Wish I had some good advice but we are in exactly the same boat - although I seldom manage a decent first nap - so I am here to sympathise and offer hugs!

A couple of things that I have learned with my touchy dd2: sleepy cues are not always particularly reliable.  I found with dd2 that if I waited for her to yawn at all then I had missed the window, so I had to watch the clock instead of waiting for her cues.  Touchies get OT incredibly quickly and easily, so if she is not having a full nap it is perfectly possible that her A time is as short as 40 minutes.  Finally, less is often more for a touchy wind down - if I did a long wind down with dd2 she got much more worked up, and she would fall asleep much more quickly if I just put her straight to bed without a real wind down at all.

One thing that I have noticed with ds, although I don't ever really get a chance to act on it, is that the second yawn is sometimes the right time to put him down.

[Ima shel Alon]

I want to second what clazzat said.
I remember that once in the support thread for parents to touchy babies there were many mothers who said that they don't use the sleeping cues (there was a mom who said her bub is yawning when tired, when is hungry, when bored, when is 10min awake - yawning all the time!). So in this case make the clock you friend. Start with a short A time and go up with it slowly every day till you get the right time. Mind you, the first A time of the day is usually shorter.
And yes, keep WD to a minimum. Ours was like 2min. Also make sure that the room is dark enough, that is such a simple thing, but it made wonders for us.
As you said, she is very very young, don't forget to enjoy her in the pursuit of the perfect nap.

[cbsmommy]

Thanks for all of the support.  I will watch more closely, both her and the clock.
Tomorrow is another day....

[Ima shel Alon]

Let us know how you are doing.

[cbsmommy]

First nap... not so good.  I think I missed her window... again.  It took her about 30 minutes to fall asleep and then woke up after another 30.  I got her back to sleep but that took about another 30, and I need to go wake her imminently.  I feel like she really can't take too much stimulation yet.  She's 6 weeks old and I thought she'd be able to handle more but it seems like she can still only handle 45 min-1 hr of A time.  Is that characteristic of Touchy babies, easily OS, then hard to settle down?  She squirms so much when I put her down even though she's swaddled and she'll jump at any noise, even her own noises (grunts, moans, etc.).  Now that she can move her head, she just moves it from side to side.  I'm reading these as signs of OS and can't settle as a result.  Do you think that's right?

[cbsmommy]

I should also mention that she rarely ever actually cries when I put her down and she's trying to fall asleep.  She fusses but that really is the extent of it.  For nap#2 (which was shortly after eating because she wasn't rested from nap #1), I didn't intervene, and she did fall asleep on her own but it took 40 minutes.  She woke after about 40 min and put her self back to sleep but it took about 30 min.  So she can sleep on her own.  Maybe it just takes her longer than the typical 20 minutes???

[Ima shel Alon]

As you said, it does sound like you missed the window and she was OT, but I can't tell you how many times that happened to me - HUNDREDS!
I also noticed the same about the stimulation. I kept things very simple. I would simply put him on a blanket on the floor or the playpen with nothing hanging over him and he would look around - that was his A time and he was happy. Sometimes I'd put a CD for him, not very loud though, these touchy ones are very sensitive to sounds, but would make sure it's turned off about 15-20 before going to bed.

Is that characteristic of Touchy babies, easily OS, then hard to settle down? 

Defiantly.
If she settles herself for a nap independently I wouldn't care how long it took, it will become shorter with time as she is so very young. She is tiny.
The only thing is that maybe she gets OT because it takes her so long to put herself to sleep, so try to put her a bit earlier in bed.

[clazzat]

If she's not crying, then leave her to it - it is very frustrating leaving them when you know that they are awake, but she will learn to settle herself by being allowed to do it, and as pp said, the time it takes will get shorter.

I personally think that a lot of Touchies have shorter than average A times because they do get OS so easily - unfortunately, they are not all high sleep needs, which can make things tricky!  You will figure it out eventually, though, and it is great that she can settle independently at all.

[cbsmommy]

I know I should leave her to it.  I just get so anxious for her to fall asleep!  I know that Touchies generally like a shorter w/d but today I spent a few extra minutes sitting in the chair to get her more relaxed and sleepy and then put her in.  It seemed to help a lot.  She settled much faster and got through the jolts without re-awakening (I did have my hand on  her though).  I guess she and I are learning together

[Erin M]

If its any help, my two month old seems to need about 45 minutes of A time first tng in the morning.  I had to keep shortening it day by day until he could actually fall asleep without fussing.

[cbsmommy]

Did the 45 min of A time count your w/d or no?  I get confused about what A time is.  I've seen it explained a couple of different ways.  Do the 3 stages of sleep count as A or no? 
I took advice and am leaving her to it as I obsessively watch the monitor.  Watching her is agonizing!!!!  My heart is pounding out of my chest, hoping she'll fall asleep!!!

[Erin M]

I did 45 minutes until a quick winddown, so probably an hour or more until he was asleep! 

[cbsmommy]

I am getting so confused by her cues and am ready to pull my hair out.  I can't tell when I put her down if she's UT or OT and it's driving me crazy.  I am starting to think she is a baby that yawns all the time.  The clock isn't helping me at this point because her nap lengths are all over the place.  She can settle herself and fall asleep but it usually takes a good 40 minutes.  And then she'll be up after 45 min.  I saw in another post that it could depend on the "type" of yawn.  Maybe I should be waiting for the really big ones.  Any advice is much appreciated because I'm ready to pull my hair out...