Author Topic: 4-5 weeks old no naps!  (Read 1574 times)

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Offline Kimbayley

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4-5 weeks old no naps!
« on: May 06, 2017, 21:26:21 pm »
Hi ladies
Please may I have your help. My LO is fighting his naps. I look for signs like wide eyes, yawning, fidgeting & try to get him down within an hour of waking. He just fights sleep. He has a dummy & often wakes every time it falls out. He used to just spit it out when he was asleep. Lately he won't sleep anywhere... in us, in pram , bassinet. Yesterday if he had an hour all day it was a lot. Feeling helpless as nothing we do seems to settle him 😫

Offline Buntybear

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Re: 4-5 weeks old no naps!
« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2017, 11:48:43 am »
Hello and congratulations on your new LO!

Sorry your post has been missed, I shall bump it for you now.

How have the last 48 hours been? Has your LO got any signs of reflux/wind maybe?

Offline Kimbayley

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Re: 4-5 weeks old no naps!
« Reply #2 on: May 08, 2017, 22:52:39 pm »
Thank you
The next day he was like text book angel baby. I am not sure if it was slight constipation as his poo was a bit more solid than usual. Yesterday ok, sort of in between the two.

Offline KBolton

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Re: 4-5 weeks old no naps!
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2017, 16:15:53 pm »
Congratulations on your new arrival!

In the first month you are both getting to know each other and naps are very temperamental! It does become easier and you will be able to get a routine going. Constipation can impact sleep, also gas, hunger and being over stimulated.

I used a sling in the early days and it worked amazingly. My LO was an awful napper until she began self soothing  and I don't think I would have survived without it. Not sure if your swaddling but this helped me a lot.

Hope this helps!

Offline Kimbayley

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Re: 4-5 weeks old no naps!
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2017, 19:47:16 pm »
Thx so much. It is reassuring that it is quite normal. I am trying really hard to get him to self settle but not getting anywhere at the moment. I am using sling occasionally but also trying to get him to take naps in his crib

Offline Kimbayley

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Re: 4-5 weeks old no naps!
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2017, 23:35:41 pm »
Hi again K Bolton

How did you get your little one to self sooth? Also, on 3 hr routine, if he can only stay awake an hour before fussing, then does he need 2 hours sleep every cycle? on a 3 hour routine that would mean over 6 hours of daytime naps surely? I do have to clock watch a bit as I am struggling to read any sleepy cues so trying to get him to bed between1-1:15h. If he wakes early, it is often easier for me to resettle him on me to take the rest of his nap. Is that setting up bad habits? Sorry for all the questions, just a bit confused right now. My LO is now 7 weeks.

Thanks so much.

Offline KBolton

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Re: 4-5 weeks old no naps!
« Reply #6 on: May 22, 2017, 03:59:17 am »
No problem! I had a tough time in the first few months and I'm no expert but can just give you advice about what worked for me.

For self settling I started with Shush Pat. I would really recommend this. I ended up using white noise instead of shushing, as my baby was very spirited and I was going light headed. After a while I moved on to an approach called hands on, I still used shush pat (I was still using white noise, so I also used to speak reassuringly), but once baby was in the crib, I didn't get her up until 20mins (she often fell asleep from 5-16mins). Even with soft sleep training methods, there will be crying, so you really need to decide what you are comfortable with. I started shush pat around 8weeks. I had heard leaving it to long made the process harder (more tears) but I also didn't want to have my baby cry and prescribed to the 4th trimester idea. Therefore, cuddling your LO to sleep might start a bad habit but it's lovely and comforting for both of you. Decide what you are comfortable with, everyone has an opinion on what is best, I remember feeling totally overwhelmed.

Other tips to get self settling going would be:
1) get a wind down routine - getting a predictable routine in place before each nap and a longer version for bed time. Have some sleep cues such as a nursery rhyme, shutting the curtains, specific words. That way your LO won't be surprised when she/he is put in their crib.
2) some babies need short wind downs, some need quite a long time. 20mins before nap time, I take my LO away from stimulation and have quite cuddles and kicks. I think she's prone to overstimulation and this gets her to relax and go down easily.
3) think about swaddling - if your baby has a big jerking reflex this will really help, some do not need this
4) always check nappy before being put in crib (even if you not long changed it). my LO, always does secret poo's 2 minutes after a fresh nappy. 😂 Therefore, the last thing I do before placing her in the crib is check her nappy. It is so frustrating when your baby doesn't settle and you give up trying, just to find a poo in her nappy! Or if she did go to sleep, you pick her up and feel awful at her little red bottom!
5) allow time for baby to fall asleep. If your working on a 1h15min awake time, maybe put baby into their crib with 5-10mins before the deadline for them to take them self to sleep. (Every baby is different, so you'll need to figure out what works for your LO)
6) my baby cried loudest just before falling asleep. She would let out one last big effort of complaint and within a second be asleep. (I think this is pretty normal)

It sounds like your doing a great job reading your baby cues. Best of luck!
« Last Edit: May 22, 2017, 04:02:10 am by KBolton »

Offline Kimbayley

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Re: 4-5 weeks old no naps!
« Reply #7 on: May 22, 2017, 04:31:38 am »
Thank you so much. Yes, believe it or not this is my second. My first is 5 but I do struggle a lot with this stage.

My LO also seems to have a big cry when I try to put him down and kicks & fusses just before he relaxes.  ;D
I tend not to do shush -pat as it seems to be more stimulating for him and it seems to make him fuss, but do hold my hand on his belly so he knows I am there? I do pat his back or leg before I put him down though. I play womb sounds for night and whale sounds for day naps in his crib.
I have to use a pram twice a day for school run and for that have got myself a shusher as I can't keep my hand on him. That sometimes helps.
Do you think it matters that some naps are in a pram so won't have same routine as going into a darker room etc for naps in his crib?
My baby is swaddled. He does fight it. I tried a hands up swaddle today but he kept knocking his dummy out so not sure that one will last long.
My wind down routine takes about 5 minutes only. Perhaps it is too short? I close blinds, swaddle, turn on sounds, cuddle, put down till his eyes are closed and he is relaxed for a while. He is quite a fidgeter, even when deep asleep at night.