help please - 3 week old nap trouble getting started on easy

[deemum]

hi i hope someone can help me, i'm new but i've been through the faq and can't seem to find an answer. my little dd is 3 weeks old and from the start she has fallen asleep very quickly on the boob. winding, sitting up etc never worked you have to lay her down, strip her change her ect to get her to wake, then when sh'e taking the rest of the feed she falls asleep again. this week i managed to progressively get her to take more at the first feed so i was trying to put her down then after the nappy change etc- no dice! tried dummy for last two weeks but when it falls out she wakes , tried the getle removal thing but when i put her down she wakes. i feel at my wits end and she gets very cross then when she has missed a nap today and yesterday entire naps have passed just doing pu/pd and gentle removal - can anyone help?

[calebs mommy]

Okay, I am not an expert, so hopefully one of the moderators will jump in here to help.  Try not to stress, it is totally normal for newborns to fall asleep while eating. Awake time for ones that young is very very short.  Will she go to sleep without the dummy? Will you post your routine for us?  Also, Tracy suggests not doing pu/pd until your baby is 4 months old because it can be too stimulating.  Have you tried the shh/pat method?  Shh/pat is more soothing to newborns. 

[trowden]

i am in the same boat as you deemum. my 3 week old will not go down for a nap w/o nursing or being held or in his swing, also he has to have a pacifier.  If i try to lay him down before he is sound asleep he wakesup immediately, pats adn sh, and swaddling do not work at all any sugg for me too??

[deemum]

hi,
just back from a weekend away that my husband booked us as a treat- was that a bad idea! i think any semblance of a routine went out the window because she got to sleep so much while travlling. today i am so sore bacuse she has cried all day long aside from 2 30min naps (its now 4 pm) and feeding seemed to be the only thing to stop the screams. she's utterly exhausted and asleep now. don't know what to do. so far, she has still slept the same at night to her credit. i could have posted my routine for you a week ago...if it helps this was it and the trouble seemed to begin with her rejecting the 9am nap.

7.30-8am - up & feed
8.30 - nappy etc
9am - nap
10am - up and feed
10.30 - nappy etc
11am - nap
1.30 - up & feed
2pm - nappy etc
2.30 - nap
4pm - up & feed
4.30 - nappy etc
5pm - nap
6pm - up & feed
6.30 - nappy & bath
7.30 - 8pm - down
11pm df by dh with expressed
3am - feed
thanks,
Dee

[SylvieA]

I'm no expert but, don't forget that these babies were carried for 9months. It takes a while for adjustment to this so opened space. I think all babies are like this early on. Have you tried soothing by rocking, and as your LO gats sleepy, put your LO down, and maybe keep a hand on the baby until almost asleep. This is what worked foe us in the beginning. Oh and as for falling asleep while nursing, it is very normal.