Short naps for 6 week old

[kayasmama]

My DD2 is 6 weeks old and started waking 45 minutes into her nap. Sometimes I can get her back down, other times she will wake a second time. How long it takes for her to go back down varies. She I sometimes hungry but not always because she won't take a full feed which just continues the cycle. I don't have time to work on napa since I have an almost 3 year old too. I remember 2 horrendous months of nap training with DD1 and I want to avoid that again. Any suggestions? Here is her routine

E 600
S 700 ish
E 830/900
S 50-60 min later
E 1130/12
S 100
E 230-300
s 345/400
E 5/530
S catnap if we can get her down
E 730 and bed
2 night feed

Her nap lengths vary so her feeds might be earlier. She was previosly on a good 3 he routine with 2 he naps. Her naps are sometimes on the go with activities for DD1 but she gets at least 2 naps in bed. Any help would be great!

[elmarie]

Your A time might be a bit long at time.  This may be why she struggles to go down for naps.  This is the sort of routine you are looking at for a 6 week old:

7 wake and feed
8.15 Swaddle and lay baby in cot (may take 15-20min to fall asleep)
10 Feed H
11.15 2nd nap
1pm feed
2.15 pm nap
4 feed
5.15pm catnap (40-50min)
6.00pm 1st cluster feed weeks.  Dreamfeed will continue to more and less 7-8months.
7.30 Another catnap
8.00 2nd clusterfeed
In bed after cluster feed
10-11 pm dreamfeed

A lack of routine can often cause babies not settle down easily.  It is extremely important to start an adequate sleep routine and using the 4s to get her to go down relaxed (p.181 BWSAYP Tracy explaines how to do this). The 4s stands for
Sitting
Setting the stage
Swaddling
Shh/patting (when necessary)

A time will increase slowly and the 2nd cluster feed can be dropped around 8 I know it is so hard to get that routine going but with a good routine you and lo with have a peaceful night.  It will take time but persevere with it, it will get better

HTH-please ask if you have anymore questions

 

[kayasmama]

We have a nap routine although it 's abbreviated sue to dd1. She will usually fall asleep pretty easily but wont stay asleep. She takes at least 40 minutes to eat but I tried to cut her A time to 45 minutes. She did not sleep at all. Not sure what the problem is...

[elmarie]

because she is still so young she still needs to learn how to self-sooth.  Shh/pat is a good method to teach this.  Here is a link that you may find useful http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=26672.0 

[kayasmama]

I have been trying to do sh/pat but I can only do it for 5 minutes or so because of dd1. I think I remember from dd1 that this is developmental. Will she eventually just get it even if I don't have time to work on it? She has also been pretty unhappy when she wakes so we have a lot of crying

[elmarie]

I'm not sure if she will just get it  .  It may take far longer than teaching her how to self-sooth.  I do know it is really hard if you have another child to take care of.  However being consistent with shh/pat will be your best option to teach her self-soothing quicker and soon you will have a LO that self sooths and fall asleep on her own...

[kayasmama]

I have been trying to stick to sh/pat but 10 min is just not long enough. She is now waking at 30 minutes and is difficult to get to sleep. We are in an OT phase for sure, but she also wakes due to having to burp or shes spit up.  Her one nap when I can work on it while dd2 is asleep is in a room that isn't dark. I have to take her into a dark bathroom and put her back to sleep but she never settles enough to put back down. Is it going backwards by doing this? Not sure what any other options are. At least she naps in the carrier when we go out but I need to nap during dd1's nap. I am so tired and really need dd2 to start napping well again.

[elmarie]

yes 30 min naps are usually a sign of being OT.  For now while you are trying to get into a routine I will watch her A time.  So try and stick to no more than 1h A time for now.  Remember if infants are OT they don't sleep well.  I know it is really hard now but just try and stick it out-it will get better.

Keep us poated x

[kayasmama]

So I've kept get A time under an hour and sh/pat isn't working at 45 minutes. She wakes thrashing and fighting her swaddle. She might fall back asleep when held but squirms and wakes when I put get back down. I guess I am looking for any way to get a long nap because I really need to sleep. There is only 1 nap a day where the 2 girls overlap. Since she wakes early she is fussy and wants to eat early which throws off our whole day. I'm trying to be flexible but it's hard when I gave other things to do with dd1

[ZacsMumme]

Have you considered trying W2S? I am not sure it will work on your LO as she is so young, however if you dont have time to work on shh/pat and you suspect her A times are right this method could help if it works

Have a read and let us know what you think? (Basically you go in and barely stir your LO 10mins or so before they usually wake to pull them out of deep sleep and into a light sleep, the intention is that they then miss the jolting transition and continue to sleep, over time they learn to transition themselves)

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=649.0
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=213387.0

Does your LO have a paci and do you use white noise? YOu may find white noise in her room helps too
the last thing that can affect LOs nap lengths at this age is OS. Do you think your LO could be OS?

[kayasmama]

Thanks! I definitely think OS due to dd1. We were home alone today and I had time to put her to sleep the right way and she slept 1 hr 40 without waking! Not sure how I can avoid it when dd1 is home but at least I know it's contributing. Since I had more time today I was also able to stay with her until she was in deep sleep. Wish I could do that for every nap.

[ZacsMumme]

(HUGS) I struggled with short naps for months with DS and I only have 1...and that was hard enough! You are doing fab I would try the same A time tomorrow with a longer WD and see how she goes. If you think DD1 may be waking her with noise you can try White noise in her room.
Not sure if this would hep but you could try her in a sling or wrap/carrier while you are with DD1 facing in, or out while you do things like the washing. I found this was a good way to keep the really stimulating stuff at a distance, you can also move and hum etc to keep her stimulated but not OS IYKWIM? If it is coming into summer the outdoors are great too, hopefully your DD1 could kick a ball around or play on the grass while she has a kick in the shade

[kayasmama]

So my 6 week old lo is now 12 weeks and we are still with short naps and sometimes no nap! Her routine is basically the same eating at 6/9-12/245/530 and 730 with one NW at 2. She wakes early at 5 and usually DH can get her back down 530-600.  We have been trying 6/9/12/3/6 and df at 10 with dd on the weekend since we though maybe getting her to bed earlier would help. She still wakes at 2 to eat and wakes at 5. Also that routine doesn't work right now since I have to feed her at 230 to pick up dd1 from daycare and DH does not get home until 6. It will work whe I go back to work in a few weeks.... I think.
Her naps have been 30 min and I know she is sooo OT. By the end of the day she can't even go down for her catnaps. She is sometimes up for 4 hours at the end of the day. I am trying to wind down with her at 1 hr 10 sometimes sooner but she does not go down easily. She takes 45 min to eat so it takes up most of her A time.  I try to hold through jolts when I can, but when I've tried she still wakes completely and will not go back to sleep. She will only sleep if I hold her which I do for her pm nap just to get her some sleep.
I am at a loss and not sure where to go from here. At least before she would sleep for a good nap or go back to sleep. And she gets some good stretches at night but definitely not enough night sleep. She does have reflux and it's controlled. I really think it's an OT issue but don't know how to get over it.

[ZacsMumme]

Are you sure the reflux is controlled? I am only asking because I thought my DS reflux was controlled once he was on meds, but it really wasnt until he hit about 4 months. Prior to this he was still waking and crying into his naps, and still had a lot of discomfort...if was just a bit less than before IYKWIM?

Your DS just reminds me of what Z was like then which is why I am wondering about the reflux?

[kayasmama]

Im pretty sure. She barely spits up and doesn't seem uncomfortable but I could be wrong. She is on the highest doses of 2 meds so there isnt much more we can do. Her bed is inclined  She just woke again after 30 min and httj didn't even help. She lifts and slams her legs, tries to break out of her swaddle and wakes up fully. She will relax if I hold her but continues to jolt hard. It's almost impossible to put her back down.