Help! Spirited 5wk old!

[TB9]

OMG!  This kid does not sleep AT ALL during the day!  Yesterday she got 4hrs of sleep between 8am and 8pm , needless to say bedtime was bonkers, lol.  Today she's trying to do the same, she was just up for 2hrs (couldn't settle due to hiccups...) took a 30min nap in the swing and now she thinks she's good to go for more A time!

She self settled for two naps today, then woke from them early for various reasons (poop, etc), but she hates the swaddle and seems to be trying to find her thumb...DD1 was the exact same but I was hoping the universe would give me a break with this one 

Any thoughts/advice on getting spirited this young onto some sort of EASY or even just get them to sleep during the day?

I started BW with DD1 around 3months, and even then I had to do EAEAS a nd give her crazy long a times to get good naps...so I'm clueless, lol.

[anna*]

Can you just put her in a sling for part of the day? Even if she doesn't actually sleep she'll likely be calm/quiet/relaxed from being close to you...

[ZacsMumme]

Yup I second the wrap or a sling. Does she have a dummy? Persevere if you can. It will help the colic/reflux too and helps them drift off.

[TB9]

I think I'm going to have to try to get her to accept the swaddled and wrap...the wrap basically has the same effect as the swaddle , it just makes her mad.

I really can't AP her unless she's really really tired so I think I have to get the swaddle to work since she tends to flail about.  I'm trying her swaddled with one arm right now and she's asleep in my arms, but she is very ovrretired so we will see how she accepts it tomorrow morning...

[ZacsMumme]

How are you swaddling? Arms by side? Or arms across chest? Or in a woombie type one? Sometimes you have to try a few different positions

Hugs. Ikwym about OT and APOP. My boys were similar xxx

[TB9]

I've tried lots of swaddles and her arms in various configurations, lol.  I'm  sticking with one arm swaddled because she's still trying to get her thumb, and I want her to asap so she can chill herself out, when she needs to.

I've discovered this weekend that she likes 1.5hrs A time, sometimes 2hrs...so we've been getting short-ish naps   But I have been getting naps out of her now that I've figured out her a time.  I was definitely trying to put down too early before so she would fight big time and I would get frustrated.

Not sure how to get good naps out of her since her little tummy can only hold so much food and she wants to stay up smucha long time for her age (not even 6wks old yet...)    Will we just have to wait it out until she is older and her tummy can hold more 

[ZacsMumme]

Mmm how does she fare with a top up before a nap? Probably not good if suspected reflux aye
Glad you figured her A. It is long but some babies are like this how long are the naps? Can you resettle?

[TB9]

I might try a top up tomorrow morning.  We switched to a formula for sensitive tummies and changed bottles so her night last night was much better (she went 8hrs straight  ) so i think a top up might actually be sucessful now!

She's in the carseat sleeping this morning, I can hear her stirring now that she's getting close to the 45min mark...its like she wakes up if she's going to need food within the next sleep cycle, so she generally only sleeps for 45min if her a time is 1.5hrs...and she definitely isn't ot since she's happy as a clam, but then definitely gets ot by the end of the day

She's definitely trying to get her night sleep in order, so even if her days don't get sorted for awhile I can deal, especially if she can keep up with 8hrs between feeds

[TB9]

So yesterday she had some good sleeps, but then wanted to eat all evening and was difficult to settle between feeds.  I didnt top her up this morning because yesterday morning went well and she woke up from her first nap hungry I have been topping her up since and she has been sleeping much better    I've even been able to get her to sleep in her crib instead of the carseat!

I think she's also in the 6wks growth spurt...so hopefully topping her up before naps helps get her through

[ZacsMumme]

great work mumma! You sound like you already know her well
6 weeks is crazy time. Wonder week too, GS and they 'wake up'. Keep an eye on behaviour as its this time reflux often makes itself obvious xx

[TB9]

Hmmmm....so things aren't going that great, she still isn't sleeping much during the day.

BUT I know what the issue is, it's just a matter of how to fix it, wait it out if I can't fix it.  DD2 is sleeping through the night, and although I love that my 7wks old feeds at 11pm and sleeps through to 6am, I just can't get enough food into her at any point during the day to get good naps.

I'm trying a faster flow nipple tomorrow with the hope that it will help her get enough food before she gets tired of sucking, so she will hopefully eat more each feed, but I'm resigned to her not sleeping during the day until she can chug back 8oz bottles, lol.  She also only takes 2-3oz at 6am when  she wakes, so I'm hoping the faster nipple will get more into her for that feed....

She's also still trying to find her thumb, and has started refusing her paci in favour of jamming her hand in her mouth to soothe herself, unfortunately a fist isn't that soothing, hahaha!  I'm only laughing about this so I don't cry...

[ZacsMumme]

Hugs. Is so tough when they don't sleep but they need it aye!
I hope the change in teat helps.

Re the paci we had success dipping it in gripe water before trying to go it to our boys. They took it because they liked the taste