7 week old won't nap well

[auburn]

I'm having a terrible time figuring out my newborn's nap routine.  I've been trying BW technique for a couple of weeks now & she's finally putting herself to sleep in her crib and bassinet with a little assistance from a pacifier.  In fact, she sleeps very well at night.  I'll usually feed her at 7:00 and put her down sometime before 8:00 - usually right after her bath.   She's tired by then. She'll usually squirm for about 15 or 20 minutes and may or may not use her pacifier before heading off to dreamland.  I demand feed at night and she usually only wakes up around 12:00ish and 4:00ish (give or take an hour).  This works well for me now & I probably won't initiate dream feeds until I want her to sleep through the night.  And, of course, I don't want to attempt that until I get this nap thing figured out....

This is the problem.  Baby's on a 3 hour EASY.  First feed is usually 6:00 or 7:00 ish - depending on how she did the night before.  Once waking up, she's only good for about 45 minutes before she's yawning again (30 min feed + 15-20 A).  Then we go to wind down... I rock her for about five or ten minutes in her nursery, I swaddle her, pop in the pacificer and lay her in her crib.  She may fuss some but usually doesn't cry (if I time it right), and will drift off to sleep either 5 minutes after I put her down or 30 minutes after I put her down (after a good bit of fussing and spitting out her pacifier).  That would be fine if that was the end of things, but unlike at night... she won't sleep during the day.  She will proceed to wake up every five or ten minutes.  She will either cry immediately or play (kicking and squirming) in her crib for 10-15 minutes before crying.  I'll usuallly go in, replace the pacifier, and pat her on the head.  She's then back to sleep within a minute or two --- but She's then up again shortly thereafter.... This goes on over and over for the whole sleep period.  I'm usually good to get one 30-40 min spell of sleep during a two hour period.  On a really good day, I might get two 30 minute spells in one nap time - but never back to back.   

WHAT AM I DOING WRONG ?  WHY DOES THE METHOD WORK SO WELL AT NIGHT, BUT THE SAME THINGS FAIL DURING THE DAY ??  The only difference in her routine is that her night-time sleep is in the bassinet in my bedroom and the daytime sleep is in her crib.  Her poor napping has got me accidental parenting at least once if not twice during the day - popping her in the car to get a solid 1 or 2 hour nap for her in the carseat (she'll sleep there for hours).   Her poor napping also causes HER to want to sleep as she nurses, then I spend the whole A time (15-30 minutes) waking her up good, only to spend the next two hours getting her to sleep......  THIS IS CRAZINESS I TELL YOU.  ANY ADVICE for this first time Mom?

[olliechicken]

I would love to know the answer to this as we are in the EXACT same position. Our little girl is 7 weeks (8 weeks on Monday) and for the last three days WILL NOT NAP. We follow her cues, and get her down for her nap, and IF she goes down, she only stays asleep for about 30 - 45 minutes (actually we are lucky if it is even that long!)

She used to be such a good napper - to the point where when I first got Tracey's book, I thought "How will I keep my little girl up for 1.5 hours!!??" and now I can't get her to sleep!

She sleeps great at night time. Still waking for a 2/3 am feed, but I don't mind that.

What am I going to do!!??

Help please....

[Meg's Mom]

First you are not doing anything wrong.  What you are describing is totally normal.  Day sleep and night sleep are totally different sides of the brain.

In an infants sleep cycle there are exact partial awakenings at the 10 min, 20 min and 40 min marks of young infant sleep. When you are teaching sleep, be prepared to support your newborn/young infant, so that these partial awakenings don't become full awakenings back to consciousness. Shielding eyes, body contact/pressure will help. Stay with your little one until past 20 mins.. even if you think she/he's completely asleep. As your little one gets used to falling asleep and staying asleep past these jolts.. you won't have to stay as long.

It sounds like he is having trouble with the awakening at the 20 min. mark-- which sends an infant into full deep sleep. It's a bit of a jolt, and if he is really overtired, this jolt can cause him to cry out and fully wake up. So, once he is asleep, stay in or near his room and wait for the stir at 20 mins. Put your hand on him to help him settle-- but be as subtle as you can, just let the pressure of your hands settle him. In fact, I would put my hand on him before the jolt. Be prepared for the first few naps to be tough, because he is used to fully awakening at this point.  This isn't something that will be solved in a day.. more like a few weeks. But if you are consistent and persistent, he will get past it.

Lastly can't see if you said you swaddle, but it will help w/ the jolts greatly.  So swaddle tight!, Dark Room, white noise and be prepared to help dc thru the sleep cycles.

Hope that helps!  We are here for support if you need it! :wink: