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View Full Version : HELP ON DAYTIME NAPS for 7 WEEK OLD



NewMomOnTheBlock
10-04-2005, 10:56 PM
I'm new at this forum and I have a question. I have a 7 week old that won't nap unless I lay in bed with her and she's in my arms. I know how to read her cues but everytime I put her down, she cries and screams until I pick her up. The only way for her to nap is to sleep with me but I'm afraid I'm starting a bad habit. I've tried swaddling her, putting her in a dark room and even running a dryer but nothing seems to work. She does fine at night and she doesn't fuss at all when I put her to sleep... Can anyone please help on what I should/need to do. Thanks!

kelly_austin
10-05-2005, 10:40 AM
I had the same exact problem with mine, she's 3 months now and things have improved greatly. one thing that worked was swaddling her, turning on a noisemaker (on a clock radio) and putting her in a swing. it was the only way i could get her to sleep without holding her, and even then sometimes i'd have to go in and jiggle the seat while it was swinging. Putting a heavy blanket over the window to block out the light seems to have helped too.
she's getting better about sleep every day, so don't worry about spoiling her. my pediatrician is in the same practice as dr. brown here in austin and said we can ferberize her at 4 months if she still has bad sleep habits - so just hang in there! good luck..

mamatomax
10-17-2005, 07:27 PM
I wondered why my DS didn't nap much, and it was because he slept so much at night (not straight through). Start a routine for nap time. DS loves lullabies on a free disk that we got from BRU. It's like a sedative! Some babies are just like that until they get a little older. It's good that you're working on fixing it now. Pick up the 'Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems' book, it's great! HTH!


Jill
Mama to Baby Max

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mdistefano
10-22-2005, 07:39 AM
I agree with the other suggestions - very dark rooms, swaddling, swing, white noise could all help. But at this point it still might not work. So I wouldn't worry too much about starting a bad habit. My baby was the same way until almost 4 months -- he only napped on my lap. Now he naps just fine on his own. His morning nap appeared sometime around 3 or 3 1/2 months and gradually got longer, and then he started taking regular afternoon naps too.

I recommend the Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child book for advice on sleep routines. But the truth is, if your baby is really fussy (mine was) there's not much you can do about it until 4 months. Until then, just get as much sleep as you can, any way you can.