Please help...getting desperate and nothing seems to work

[Babybula]

Hi -

Our baby is 6 weeks old and we've battled naps and sleep since the day he was born. I've read BW through twice and I'm ready to read it a 3rd time because I swear I'm missing something. We can't get our little guy to sleep for anything. It usually takes one hour to an hour and a half to get him down for a nap, only to have him wake up 10 to 20 minutes later most likely from a jolt. And it is such a struggle to get him back down again, that now I just feel like giving up. Thankfully he is a pretty good sleeper at night.

With shush-pat do you keep them in the crib? Our DS is so mad and screaming that I can't help but pick him up. He will generally calm down, but when I try to put him back in the crib he cries and squirms out of control. I feel like I've forgotten everything I read in BW and now I'm resorting to rocking to sleep, the swing, etc. just to get him to sleep. We are truly at our wits end and don't know how to proceed. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks.

[chell]

Hmm,  I'm not an expert, but it sounds as though your lo may be overtired or overstimulated. This could be the reason for the jolts that you see. My baby, would often do this, and I adjusted his awake time, by very carefully watching for the first signs of tiredness. I would recommend swaddling, which helped Jacob a great deal. Initially I thought he didn't like it, but his behaviour was more to do with him being overtired. To begin with I would stay in his room waiting for the jolt to happen and then pat/sshh in the cot. As time went on, I found that generally he would jolt at the same times - 12 and 20 mins. So I could then intercept it by just placing my hand on his chest and applying gentle pressure. It did take a while but we got there in the end.

let me know how you get on.

Cheryl

[Matthew's Mommy]

Hi there..

Don't worry.. this is normal and typical newborn behaviour.

Just adding to what Cheryl mentioned.

1. Keep awake times short-- a feed, diaper change and swaddle up for sleep-- at first yawn, initiate wind down routine and settling. If you wait too long.. the body releases cortisol which is a stimulant that interferes with calming and relaxing.

2. Calming methods--Pat-shush.. Using a soother (sucking can be soothing)

3. Swaddle, swaddle, and swaddle some more! May not appear like they like it.. but it helps with the jolts.

4. Some newborns and young infants need darkness in order to shut down.

5. It is normal for a newborn and young infant to cry a lot before falling asleep.  Keep yourself calm, and provide support.

6. Lastly.. remember the window of sleep is very short for a newborn.  And learning how to fall asleep takes time.. it's a process.

If you are going to resort to a prop.. do it towards the end of the day.  Naps are a lot easier in the beginning of the day.. as the day progresses, it's harder for a newborn/young infant to settle into sleep due to overtiredness and overstimulation.  So, a prop cat nap at the end of the day, is fine.

Hope this helps!