Over tired or Under tired?

[emmamw06]

I have an 8 week old. After an hour of activity I put her down (tired signs usually show once we start the process) and she will usually go down easily but only stay asleep for 20-30 mins. Am I putting her down UT or OT? Can someone tell me what the signs are of both?

[becj86]

Ok, so general rule of thumb is:
20min naps are typically pain or overstimulation
30min naps are usually OT
40-45min naps are mostly UT or developmental as the sleep cycles become more pronounced.

At this age and depending on how long she takes to feed, she may really only need to be awake for a feed and a nappy change, so maybe even 45min.

Does she sleep longer on you or with white noise? She's still in that time of transition from womb (which is NOISY) to outside world where we often try to keep the house quiet for sleep.

Do you have the TV on? I used to run it for 'company' as I was going out of my mind being at home with a baby but when I turned it off, L slept much better.

[emmamw06]

Thanks for your reply. Yes, she sleeps for two hours straight if I hold her. I have recently tried putting the radio on in her room for soft noise for her to sleep independantly. Do you think this isn't such a great idea? I just assumed that since when I hold her I have the TV on, that she might like the noise.
There is an Australian baby whisperer here that says an 8 week old should be awake 1.45 minutes. This is why I started questioning UT/OT but that long just seems crazy!

[becj86]

There is an Australian baby whisperer here that says an 8 week old should be awake 1.45 minutes

I have little polite to say about her so we'll just say that's not what I experienced even with my high A time kid.

At this age, I'd really probably get the sleep into her however you can, enjoy those newborn snuggles and work on getting the routine going and then worry about independent sleep when she's a touch older and your routine is a bit more steady. If she's sleeping in her cot for night and maybe one nap during the day, that's really plenty right now. White noise is a great idea, best to have it running through the last stages of wind down and through the whole nap. Check out how loud a belly is (put your ear on a belly and notice heart beat, etc.) - that's what she's used to. 

but that long just seems crazy!

I agree. I'd say if it feels wrong to you, it probably is.

[emmamw06]

Okay, thanks Bec. I know that white noise replicates the womb, but do you think there's anything wrong with playing the radio instead?

[becj86]

Not really, radio is fine. Depends if it helps. DS struggled if the music changed a lot - say from orchestral to opera he would wake but if it was all one instrument/collection of instruments, he slept the whole nap. I guess it depends on the child