overtired and not napping durng the day

[aat27]

Olivia is six weeks old and is not napping during the day.  After being awake for 30 minutes she is tired and when we put her down in her crib she starts crying after five minutes.  Attempts to calm her take 20-30 minutes and when we put her down again she starts crying again. 

Her first four weeks required a lot of soothing to get her to sleep, but at 4 weeks we stared putting her down and she would fuss for 5-10 minutes and fall asleep on her own.

At night she eats between 9 p and 10p and then falls asleep, she goes down no problem and sleeps about 4-5 hours and then eats and then sleeps for about three hours.  The last couple of days she has stared waking up at 6 crying and will not go back to sleep.  Seems her days are starting earlier.

We have tried putting her in a swing which helps get her to sleep, but only for 40 minutes and if I turn it off once she is asleep she is awake 10 minutes later.

I am frustrated and she is clearly exhausted, she no longer wakes up smiling (she had been doing this for two weeks) and often will wake up and cry. 

I need some advice.  I am so sad for her becuase she is exhausted and by the end of the day is a wreck!

Thanks

[KellyC]

Hi

Just an idea but I wonder if this is a feeding issue and she's going through her 6 week growth spurt?

Kelly x

[mommyof2boys]

A growth spurt is a definite possibility.  Also, she may be ready for a tiny bit more activity time--40 or 45 minutes.  I'd try to "stretch" her (maybe just 5 minutes at first) on a day she's had a decent night's sleep so isn't too overtired.  When my ds starts to fuss before naps again after going down fine for a while, I believe he's telling me--I'm not quite ready yet!!

Overtiredness feeds on itself and can be hard to overcome, but steer towards longer awake times and some of this may take care of itself.

Let us know how it goes.

[mommyof2boys]

I wanted to add that, with an overtired baby, I'm all for holding her for naps for a day so that she'll get "caught up."  Sleep training is extremely difficult when a lo is overtired; at this point her getting the sleep is most important.

For the first 12 weeks, I always aim to do it "right"--going down independently, etc.--but if that doesn't work I'm all for the baby bjorn, swing, a walk, etc. so they don't get overtired.  Stay focused on the goal, but realize that it may take a while to get there.  You won't "ruin" all your work by being flexible occasionally so long as things don't become too habitual.

6 weeks is still very young and she may just need a bit more coddling--my little guy did.  He's now progressing along through sleep training at 4 mo.

Let us know how things are progressing...

[aat27]

Yesterday was bit better but seemed to be her catch up day, she took two and a half hour naps and then at the end of the day woke up aafter 40 minutes.  She did sleep 11 hours overnight though.  Today we had a bit easier time going to sleep, which was improvement, but each nap was only forty minutes and if I could get her back to sleep with a passy, she would be up 15 minutes later.  By then end of the day she was sleeping in the swing.  Still cannot turn it off without her waking up and screaming. 

I don't understand why I can feed her at night have her get very drowsy on my shoulder and put her in bed not swaddled and have her fall asleep no problem, but each nap is a brutal fight.  How long does it take for this to get better?

Also, 30 minutes of being awak and she cries with exahustion,  when does this get longer?

[Mia & Scarlett's Mummy]

Hello


You are not alone!!

My dd is almost 4 months now and goes down pretty easily at night for her big sleep (12-13 hours) and often doesn;t need her dummy but will just drift off.  During the day though it is another matter.  I have to use the dummy and cuddle her until she is drowsy and then pop her in her cot.  If I put her down in a more awake state she fights sleep and lies there chattering away.

To be honest I've accepted it.  Whenever I've tried to intervene and lenghten her naps it always ends up affecting her nightime sleep.  I've decided I would much rather have a dd who sleeps brilliantly at night but only for 45 minutes at a time during the day than the other way round.

Like your LO she is wacked by the end of the day but there's not a great deal I can do at the moment.  I'm confident she'll lengthen her naps herself eventually.

HTH Louise