Author Topic: 3 Week Old Wont Nap  (Read 882 times)

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Offline AZmom09

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3 Week Old Wont Nap
« on: January 25, 2016, 17:52:09 pm »
My 3 week old is breastfed and during the morning hours he usually naps between feeds 1.5 hours or so. The issue is that once it hits 7 or 8pm he falls asleep but won't sleep in the crib. He hates being fully swaddled so I just swaddle under the arms. If we pick him up he will sleep in our arms, but once we put him in the crib he wakes up crying. I am almost 100% sure he is fed well and I even try to nurse him again and he either doesn't show interest or he starts to nurse and falls asleep.
He does not yet take a paci. Not sure if that would help. I am trying to push it off since I want to be sure it doesn't mess up the nursing as it is finally going well.
Any advice?

Offline trimbler

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Re: 3 Week Old Wont Nap
« Reply #1 on: January 26, 2016, 14:35:49 pm »
Hey there, congratulations on your new LO :) Please could you post what's happened on a recent day with his EAS routine, just in case anything jumps out?

Any signs of discomfort, eg reflux or wind? Some LOs are more uncomfortable lying flat - when he falls asleep on you, is he more horizontal or vertical?

I personally wouldn't use the paci just yet if feeding has only recently started to go well, although some may disagree with that, I just feel that establishing breastfeeding is really important and if there have been issues previously then best to help him concentrate on the sort of sucking needed for nursing, rather than the different sort of sucking needed to keep a paci in. Out of interest, what were the bf issues, and have they completely resolved now, do you think?

Finally - don't feel bad about having him sleep on you at this stage, especially if he's settling well in his cot at other times. Many newborns struggle in the evenings and if holding is what you have to do to get through, then enjoy those snuggles :-* But perhaps we'll think of a few other things to try, once we have a bit more info in response to those questions...
« Last Edit: January 26, 2016, 14:38:28 pm by trimbler »



Offline AZmom09

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Re: 3 Week Old Wont Nap
« Reply #2 on: January 26, 2016, 16:04:42 pm »
Ok here is his routine sort of...
7/8am- awake and nurses
naps and wakes up at 10/11 and nurses again
Then sometimes he is up for a little then naps again.
He basically is either nursing or up being held or napping
But once it hits night he stops napping and everytime i put him down he wakes up.
He is definitely more comfortable held in arms, not flat. He does have some gas issues, nothing major though. He needs to be burped often when nursing and sometimes it does hurt him.

We didn't have any major bf issues, just making sure he got the right latch, which he has now for majority of the 3 weeks of his life :)

I just find myself stressing if maybe he needs to nurse more during the evening and that is why he won't sleep so i find myself nursing on and off a lot and end up exhausted.

Offline trimbler

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Re: 3 Week Old Wont Nap
« Reply #3 on: January 27, 2016, 15:43:59 pm »
Ok thanks - sorry what I meant by posting your routine is something like:
Up and E: 7am
S: 8-10
E: 10
S: 11-12
... Whatever it looks like for you - I realise it won't be the same every day but if you just give me one day's routine then I can have a think and perhaps something will jump out at me...

I do wonder about possible discomfort - the evening is a classic time for newborns being really unsettled, I'm afraid. Sometimes it's digestive, eg gas or reflux. Sometimes it's just the build up of tiredness from the day actually making it harder for them to settle. Sometimes it is just that they are hungrier - our milk supply can often drop a bit around that time of day so it's quite common actually for LOs to want to spend the whole evening feeding - so make yourself comfortable on the sofa or wherever and go with it, if that's the case (I'm not saying it is - you will know that best :-* ) - I know it's exhausting but if you know that you're going to be feeding for ages then try and treat it as a time when you can 'relax' and have everything you need nearby. Does he seem happy feeding, or uncomfortable at all? Do work hard at burping him - I was never all that good at it, but found that putting them in lots of different positions would often help something to come up eventually.

Another thought I had was how he's getting to sleep? During the day, does he fall asleep in your arms and then stay asleep when you put him down? It's really up to you when you decide you're ready to start teaching him to go to sleep in his cot, but you may find that sometimes you either have to wait until he's in really deep sleep (usually takes around 20mins from first dropping off) before putting him down, or else you need to get him to fall asleep in his cot in the first place. If that's really not working, you could try using a sling/wrap and letting him fall asleep in that in the evening. I think I remember reading (and experiencing) that this fussy period can tend to peak around 6-7 weeks (I know, it feels like an eternity!) and then gradually get better - so hang on in there, he's still really little, so make the most of any support you have at home, take shifts during the evening if you can.

You might find this useful: Starting EASY with a newborn-What to Expect
« Last Edit: January 27, 2016, 15:47:50 pm by trimbler »