I always feel so sad for LO (7 weeks), and frustrated for me, when it comes to naptime because she cries hard every single time. I feel like she is basically CIO while I am holding her because nothing I do really soothes her! This might sound bad but I have basically stopped trying - I know she is just tired & will fall asleep in no more than 15 minutes, so I just rock her while she cries, but those 15 minutes feel like forever! I feel like she shouldn't cry every time she goes to sleep but no matter how I try to catch her sleepy signs & start putting her down, she fights it tooth & nail. Only on occasion will she drift off in her swing or in the car with just some light fussing instead of crying. Is this normal? What can I do?
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@daniellemybelle: have you read this article? It might be interesting to you--I find it to be true of my LO, in that he often needs to cry a bit to relax, as counter intuitive as that is.
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This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think 7 weeks is really young to expect crib naps on a regular basis. At 7 weeks, my DD would wake up and fall asleep wherever she was - usually on my chest, in the Moby, in the stroller, in bed with me, or on the couch next to me. Not so handy for getting things done, but I spent a lot of time just following her rhythms. She did not take consistent naps in her crib until about 4 months, and didn't *need* to nap in her crib until about 9 months. If your baby just wants to be near you, don't take it too hard. If you need the baby to nap in the crib, you might try putting a heating pad on the mattress for a few minutes before you put the baby down - it makes the body --> crib transition less intense, especially during the winter.
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@hilsy85: Wow, that's fascinating. That is totally LO! I feel a little better. Still, isn't she too little to CIO, even if that's how she releases tension? I want her to know I am there for her! The few times I have put her down before she's totally asleep, she wakes up & cries hard until I pick her up, and then settles slightly, so I feel like she wants/needs to be held.
@septca: Sorry if I wasn't clear! We don't do naps in the crib - she sleeps in a RNP but I am happy for her to sleep wherever as long as she sleeps! She will not fall asleep being held or worn without crying. I start "naptime" as soon as she starts yawning & squinting or else she will get really worked up.
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@daniellemybelle: oh i definitely think you should hold her/rock her, whatever you need to do--she's way too little for CIO (as in let her cry by herself in her crib/rocker/whatever). I just think it's good info to know, so you don't think that she's necessarily in pain/you're doing something wrong. She's just letting off some steam
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@daniellemybelle: Gotcha! My baby was a good napper until about 4 months, but she used to *scream* before falling asleep at night. I do not miss those days.
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I need to read the article but this is my daughter. She is older now, 5 months, but for the longest time and even now she fights sleep tooth and nail. The problem is she is a relatively happy baby when she is not hungry or tired and can stay awake a long time (at like 2 months old she could easily stay happy for 4 plus hours) so its hard to realize she is over tired til its too late. Ive tried to stick to 2 hour max thing but she is my 2nd so life moves more with her as my older one has school and stuff so we cant always set down a time for her to nap. Sometimes, short of nursing her down, nothing I do can get her to stop crying once she is over over tired. I rock her hold her to me pat her try to give her her pacifier and Im just met with a screaming arching back baby. Sometimes I just have to put her down and let her work it out. It breaks my heart but she wont accept any kind of comfort. After a few times of her crying though she settles on her own and falls asleep on her own without me.
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@daniellemybelle: have you noticed a pattern yet of how long before her sleepy cues? Some babies are already overtired by the time they show their sleepy cues. So say if you are noticing she needs a nap every 2hrs maybe try putting her down for a nap every 1:45?
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@daniellemybelle: just adding in that my LO did the same thing when he was a newborn. I read so much baby sleep stuff, followed his cues, tried a schedule, tried everything under the moon. He would just cry and scream while I rocked him. Wouldn't fall asleep nursing, in the carrier, in the carseat. If you turned on the light and left the room, he'd stop crying (not colic-y). He just fought sleep tooth & nail, no matter what, until he was maybe... 3.5 months ish? Then he didn't hate sleep, it slowly got better, and his sleep got WAY better at 6 months after no cry sleep solution. I would get so frustrated reading about people trying to get their newborns to sleep in the crib when all I wanted was for him to sleep without crying, anywhere! Hang in there.
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My daughter is 9 months and bedtime was always a battle. She would cry every night. Now she talks to herself. I think some babies need to let it out!
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@daniellemybelle: NORMAL! I hope
Mine cried before every sleep. In fact, it was our most clear signal that she was ready to to sleep up until about 9 months. I even wrote in in her daycare intro book- if she seems inconsolable, try laying her down -
My friends son did this. Cried everytime for his nap until he was like 6 months old...so I guess it's normal!
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It's good to know we're not alone!
@hilsy85: That's good to know, but it's still so sad!
@Mrs. Chocolate: Eventually I think we will have to do that, but she is too little now. It is sad, and frustrating, to just sit there holding a screaming baby!
@locavore_mama: My goal is to put her down every 1.5 hours, but we're not always able to for different reasons. When she shows signs of sleepiness varies, but at the first yawn or squint I start winding her down. It doesn't seem to make a difference! I feel like if I tried to put her down before then, she'd just stay wide awake and get irritated - she's very alert & active for her age. But maybe I will try!
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@daniellemybelle: Yea, lol. I'm definitely no sleep whisperer. But I remember reading that when trying to get through the infant days!
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My son always cried himself to sleep a little too. He just needed to release a little tension. At 18 mos he still cries before his nap and bed. Even if it's just a little fussing. For some kids I think it's normal.
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Crying is a stress reliever for young infants. My son would cry a bit even if he was getting to sleep with me in bed with him, in my arms, in the stroller, etc, etc.
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@winniebee: @looch: She doesn't cry "a bit" though - it's red faced screaming with real tears
is that still normal?
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@daniellemybelle: C was a very, very alert newborn and she's a tension released who cried a lot as well.
I will say, napping on a strict schedule was the best thing I did. I put her down after an hour of awake time, every time. It works way better than you'd expect. She had indistinct sleepy cues and was always overtired by the time she displayed them.
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Sounds like a tension releaser, and it sounds like you're doing all the right things already.
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My baby needs to release tension, too. And she is almost a year old. She doesn't cry every time, but definitely for at least one nap a day she will do a few cries before sleeping. She even does this before falling asleep in the car so I know it's just normal for her.
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@daniellemybelle: normal in my experience.
Mine cried before every sleep. In fact, it was our most clear signal that she was ready to to sleep up until about 9 months. I even wrote in in her daycare intro book- if she seems inconsolable, try laying her down 
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