2 1/2 month old, short naps

[Lydia's Mommy]

Hi all,

I'm new to this site, and I just wanted to ask...I am a first-time mom of a beautiful, happy, cooing, smiling, etc. 10 week old daughter, Lydia.  She doesn't ACT sleep deprived, and she sleeps well at night (except for the odd odd occasion) but her day naps seem short, or none at all, here's how it goes....

she goes to sleep around 7 or 8 at night, and wakes up for the day around 5 or 6 am.  (with some, not much, night waking/feeding) I breastfeed at night.  Then, we put her in her carseat on a wide stool in between us at breakfast, during which sometimes she falls asleep.  Sometimes it's for 45 minutes, sometimes it's only for 20 minutes.  THen later on during the day, if we go out, she falls asleep in the car in her seat, if she's tired.  Or she'll sleep during functions, wehn I am holding her.

If I am home all day, sometimes she sleeps during/after breakfast, but sometimes she doesn't.  For the most part, she is needing to be held, or rocked, to sleep, although sometimes she falls asleep on her own, actually more and more she is, but it is still few and far between.

Anyways, so I breastfeed her, she falls asleep, but about 5 minutes after I put her in her crib, she wakes up.  (thankfully, she's a happy waker, not a fussy, crying waker)  ANyways, I'm just worried that these short naps when we're out, or short naps during breakfast are enough?  How can I keep her asleep longer in her crib, or is she still young yet, and still needs to feel "attached" to me.  Some tell me she's still a baby, still very young, and she'll nap better later on, and others tell me she naps ok, because she never has a meltdown, and is always happy, so she's not overtired. 

I don't think I mentioned, she will nap if I am holding her, until I put her in her crib, during which she wakes up shortly after.

In the night, I put a receiving blanket on her back as I am nursing her, so her back doesn't have to touch a cold crib and wake her up, and it works at night. (nights are not a prob)  but during the day that doesn't work....help??

Sorry if this is majorly long and confusing, let me know if I need to be more clear on some aspects or whatever, just thought I'd voice this.

Thanks for reading, sorry it's so long....

Krista

[GraceKellysmom]

It sounds like she just hasn't learned to go to sleep on her own yet. What happens if you lay her in her crib when she is tired, has she ever fallen asleep? What happens if she wakes up after being laid down, but you just leave her to herself if she isn't crying? (sometimes a little "fussing" or "moaning" is ok here, that is how they get back to sleep)

Another thing you could try is keeping your hands on her when you go to lay her down so when she startles she is reassured. You could wrap her up in a swaddle to keep her from startling awake. You could pat her back to help her transition. Does she take a paci or has she tried to suck her thumb yet to self-soothe herself to sleep?

At 2.5 months, a 45-60 min nap is pretty typical depending on how long she can stay awake. I have a friend with a 5 month old who seriously only needs 11-12 TOTAL hours of sleep every 24hrs, the baby is happy and healthy. Some babies just need less sleep.

[alex and danny]

Hi!  My 11 week old son also usually takes short naps, occasionally a long one.  Look at the whole day rather than the naps... if she is content and sleeps well at night ... I wouldn't worry too much - although I did so as well!  How long does she sleep in total / in 24 hours?

[Lydia's Mommy]

well, I have tried a pacifier, she hates it, and doesn't take it whatsoever, even when I hold it in her mouth.

She has found her hands and sucks on them and "talks to her people" (as we call it) constantly, plus drooling.

She is always happy, and easily goes to sleep and stays asleep during the night.

I have tried just leaving her in her crib once she's awake during the day, and only once has that worked, other times she starts fussing harder then she cries after about 10 minutes, she usualy doesn't fall back asleep.

I have tried the "hands on tummy" thing, and I wait until she is really sleeping, then I take them off, but as soon as I (slowly and gently) start to even move my hands, her eyes open and she's smiling at me.

So I pick her up, put her on my shoulder and pat her back, then put her back down again, and she'll wake up again.

I've also tried holding her away from my body while I"m putting her to sleep, so she doesn't get used to the warmth of my body and then the cold crib, and that works at night, but not during the day.

What I'm starting to think it is is maybe the room is too light during the day, or something?

Well, on a 24 hour day, she'll typically go 3-6 hours between waking and feeding during the night, and during the day she eats (whether on me, or formula) every 1-2 hours during the day, or sometimes 3.

During the day, all her naps probably total about 1 hour or so, I haven't timed it yet, that's just a guess.  I"ll try timing it.

I'll also try more of your suggestions,

Thanks, and any more advice would be ok, too, if anyone has any more ideas, or whatever.

Happy but Confused Mommy,
Krista

[Lydia's Mommy]

p.s.  I forgot to add....yeah, I totally agree with the 'hasn't learned how to fall asleep on her own yet"  and I agree that I have to try and teach her that, I just don't know quite how yet, none of hte stuff seems to be working....could it be that she just doesn't need much sleep during the day if she sleeps well at night??  She is pretty content during the day, never cries unless she is hungry, adn even then she fusses first.  does she need much sleep during the day if she sleeps well at night?

[GraceKellysmom]

Before knowing my friends baby, I would have said that all babies *need* sleep during the day, but now I'm not so sure. Sleep is important - it renews the body, helps the immune system, allows the brain to process the day, etc. This would be a good question for your pediatrician!

With Max, I started pat/no shhh around 8 weeks and he really did it well. He started falling asleep by himself for naps and nighttime within a week. But he was obviously tired at the 1 hr mark for being up. He slept about 45-60 min and then was up to eat again. Like a machine. My first lo had unmedicated reflux and screamed through her first 8 months.  :roll:

[Lydia's Mommy]

My baby is definately the quiet type, most like a textbook baby, so she SHOULD be falling asleep on her own by now....what is the pat/shh method?  I put my baby to sleep on her back...

Today I tried to nurse her and lay her down to sleep on her back, but when I laid her down and put my hands on her stomach, she stirred and woke up....how do you guys do the hands on the stomach thing?  it only seems to wake her up.

this is such a problem for me!!!!!!!  I'm beginning to think maybe she just doesn't need all that much sleep, maybe she's just not tired.

maybe the little during the day and the approx. 8 or 9 hours at night (broken up) is all she needs.  Otherwise, why isn't she staying asleep when she's not in someone's arms?  I wish I had a mentor to be here to teach me what to do, because it must be something I'm not doing right.

she probably gets about 12 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period, but most of that is nighttime, or when she's held.  She is, however, starting to sleep for little spurts in her crib during the day, but she has to be really sleeping in order to stay asleep...I'll just keep working on it...thanks for all your input, and some of you are probly rolling your eyes right about now and saying "now what?"  because of the constant posting.  :oops:
I must say, that I'm thankful for all your advice, and I'll just keep trying it, and eventually she and I will learn how to wrap this thing!

p.s. she doesn't like being swaddled anymore, although she loves being cuddled!!