I'm at the end of my rope. Help!
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Could it be an early growth spurt? I remember right around 4 weeks things got a little bananas with DD going on nap strike and wanting to feed all. the. time. Is there cluster feeding happening too?
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@sslm: What's your naptime routine at the moment? Also, our girls are in their first wonder week, which can definitely throw things for a loop.
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I remember people always saying how babies just sleep all day. Well mine didnt! She was just always having to be awake and seeing whats going on. I remember the nurses saying at three weeks there is a growth spurt so maybe thats what is going on? Do u use a swing at all? I hope you can get a break soon!
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Have you tried just holding her? R will sleep for two hours if I hold her. Annoying but I want her to get one good nap a day.
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Mine was like this too. At this stage, do whatever it takes! Nurse to sleep, hold her, swing... Nothing is off limits!
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@hergreenapples: I have no nap time routine :S what do you do?
I've been trying to nurse her to sleep, holding her, the second I put her down she wakes up! I just took her for a drive and she did fall asleep in the car, so I'm hoping this sticks.
I didn't really realize how hard this would be...
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@Lindsay05: she hates being put in the swing awake
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@sslm: do you have a sound machine? Baby sleep in semi darkness? Is she full and burped? Have you tried a swing?
Hope her sleep gets better! -
@sslm: hang in there
You will find out what will work best.
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@chopsuey119: I have a sleep sheep and the fp aquarium, when do you turn them on? It doesn't seem to soothe her at all but maybe I'm approaching it wrong
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you're not doing anything wrong! some babies (like mine) just have a much harder time sleeping than others.
does she fall asleep in a carrier? that would work sometimes for my LO.
i think after babies first fall asleep, their sleep is pretty light for the first 25-40 minutes, so that may be why she's waking up when you try to move her to the crib.
i've heard people say great things about rock n plays--i swore with my next baby (if we have one) that i would try it because man...i know how you feel...
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@SSLM: we had the same problem at this stage. People always have some nostalgia about a sleepy newborn stage and I certainly didn't experience that. She slept pretty well at night but NEVER during the day. Eventually I decided I needed to recreate the nighttime sleep situation as closely as I could (lights out, swaddle, turn white noise on, put her down, rock her forever in the rock'n'play). I don't know that any one of those things (except the rocking) was soothing her individually, but the routine became a cue to tell her that it's time to sleep.
Honestly though it took a long time for her to take a real nap. We got by with little cat naps in the swing or the vibrating chair - but it's rough. And then one day you'll realize things are a little easier
ETA: Like @Edelweiss just mentioned, yes to the rock'n'play. Best money I ever spent.
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It takes babies about 20 minutes to fall into a deep sleep, so that's why they wake up so easily!
Does she sleep well at night? i have days where E doesn't nap during the day and then at 6pm that night, she is OUT hard and will make up for it the next day.
Do you swaddle her during the day? If mine gets real wound up and seems tired or due for a nap, i bind her up all tight
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@sslm: I have the dohm sound machine and I have it running in his room when I put him down. My daughter still naps and sleeps with white noise too.
I think at 3 weeks old I may have nursed my son to sleep..? Actually. I bottle fed him pumped milk, nursed him (usually he'd fall asleep), would hold him for 10-15 mins until he was in a deep sleep and put him down.
When he was a bit older (6-8 weeks old) I started putting him down drowsy.
At 4 months he falls asleep on his own beautifully.I've never heard the sleep sheep, but I'm guessing it's not as loud as a normal white noise machine..?
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@sslm: Newborns are tough when it comes to sleep issues. I was tearing my hair out during the newborn stage. I had to hold her in my arms a lot. Do you have a baby carrier like a baby bjorn? that is good for newborns
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Thea sometimes has days like this. Last week she was napping all by herself in the co-sleeper w/a swaddle. Yesterday and today she's not having it at all!
She will always sleep in the car seat, so I take her out in the stroller at least once a day which gives us an hour or so. Yesterday I nursed her to sleep in the side-lying position and fell asleep with her for an hour. Right now I just nursed her in the laid-back position, and she is sleeping with my nipple in her mouth (perfectly still!).
Whatever it takes, I guess!
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I highly recommend the rock n play. My LO loves it and during the times he is awake during the day, I love that I can bring him from room to room so he can see me and watch what I'm doing.
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@Silva: yeah I've heard that it's basically just surviving for the first little while!
She slept for 3 hours in her carseat! Maybe that's a bad habit but I just needed the time.
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Is she swaddled? I would try a good tight swaddle, like with a halo swaddle or a swaddle me. Have you watch the happiest baby on the block dvd?? He talks about shushing right in their ear and jigging/rocking them while swaddled...it really helped us! Also, babies don't enter deep sleep until after about 20 minutes, so if you can hold her for 20 minutes and then put her down that might work!
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@sslm: 3 hours is awesome! Good job
i wouldnt worry too much about the habit thing right now. You have to do whats best for you and baby. You needed the 'break'and baby needs to nap.
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@Lindsay05: thanks
that makes me feel better!
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at 3 weeks I remember a lot of holding, nursing, swaying, car rides (and we let him keep sleeping a few times in the carseat, it honestly got the longest nap), swinging, and we also started co-bedding nightly (it was more like - he'd only sleep on me, so I'd fall asleep with him on me).
Hang in there!
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