HELP! refuses to nap at 7 wks old

[Cora Marie's Mama]

Our little girl sleeps well at night (thanks to tanking up and dream feed) despite her current growth spurt & increased feeds.

HOWEVER, she refuses to fall asleep to nap during the day. 
We've noticed that she has a very strong need to suck (and sometimes depsite pat-shh-ing she'll fuss until a finger or paci is given).  Despite pat-shh-ing for 45min-1 1/2 hours, she will NOT fall asleep and stay asleep.  We're incredibly frustrated and she's super fussy.  HELP!  :x

[GG]

You have a beautiful daughter!  :-)

What is your daughter's temperament?  She sounds like she may be a spirited or touchy baby.  A baby's temperament has something to do with how she falls asleep.  My DS is the same way (I wants something in his mouth when he's falling asleep  :?), so I know how frustrating it can be.

Have you tried giving her a paci just before she's going to sleep, so that she can get some of her frustration out on it before you put her to bed?  Also, how old is she?  Has she 'found' her hands yet?  It'll really help when she does.

[Cora Marie's Mama]

Thanks! 
She is 7 wks old.  So, no she can't consistently find her hands, though it happens occasionally.  Thus far we've been letting her suck our finger or a pacifier until she's almost asleep... she typically won't fall asleep unless we let her suck something.  And she will FUSS EVEN WITH SHH-PATting unless she's sucking!

Up until she was 6 wks old, I (and everyone else) would have said she's an easy baby, an angel or at least textbook!  And she is not hyper-sensitive to stimuli in general.  But she does startle herself awake very, very frequently. 

We have been doing a consistent wind-down routine and leave soft, lullaby music playing into her naps.  We've continued the shh-pat method and find that we can get her to into true, deep stage 3 sleep, but she will wake after 45min- 1 hr.  I know that can't be enough sleep for her!

Any other suggestions/clarifications?

[Jaime]

you may have the dreaded 45-minute nap on your hands.  it happens cause a typical sleep cycle is about 45 minutes.  at that point, they are in very light sleep & very easily roused and it's sometimes difficult for them to learn how to go back to sleep.

you may want to check out the nap board - there are lots of posts with suggestions & help on this.