What's your LO's Nap/Sleep times like?

[deny_zoo29]

Hi There Mamas

DD is about 7 weeks old now and she sleeps in her crib very well through the night, but during the day I have a terrible time getting her to nap. The only way I can is to hold her/snuggle with her the entire time. If I put her in her crib she wakes up after about 10 mins and starts crying. And this is the case whether I put her in the crib awake or hold her until alseep and then put her down. And if she doesn't nap then she is very grump/cranky from about 6-9pm. Which is hard for DP as she works and is gone from the house from 7am-5:30pm so she only gets to see her grumpy in the evenings (unless I nap with her and then I don't get anything done that I need to

Her "schedule" right now is roughly
Up at 8:00am
Nap from 10-11:30am
Nap from 3-4:30pm
Bed at 10:00pm

Again she only naps at thosee times if I'm holding her, otherwise it is 10-20 min cat naps. Any suggestions from you veteren mamas? Thanks

[ShwarmaQueen]

DD was a light napper and wanted to be held all day too (much more than DS). I never got anything done nor figured out anyway to meet both of our needs. Eventually she grew out of it but it was very difficult. I wish someone would have told me about a wrap! DS will sleep in it and I can do almost anything (except potty)!

[beebalmmama]

This one is luckily a sleeper and we were hoping he would be because ds 1 didn't sleep much and never for long.
What saved me with ds 1 was my wrap. He slept for so much longer and I still was able to do a few things....be on MDC mainly. He also slept a bit longer while in a swing. Otherwise I napped with him or was constantly nursing him backdown.

[jess152]

Originally Posted by ShwarmaQueen

I wish someone would have told me about a wrap! DS will sleep in it and I can do almost anything (except potty)!

It doesn't stop me!! Just watch those tails! lol

DS is still in the newborn sleeping stage, so sleeping 22 hours a day. I highly recommend a wrap, as it lets you do whatever, dishes, laundry, etc with baby content and asleep, happy to have mama. It can get a bit tiresome if you're feeling 'touched out', but if not, can be a lifesaver for a baby that doesn't want to be put down.

[MamieCole]

I totally agree with the wrap idea. My Hugabub is the only thing making it possible for me to spend time with DS1, cook, eat or basically do anything with two hands.

The yoga ball is a lifesaver too. The baby loves it when I bounce with him. It often puts him into a deep sleep and then I can put him in the swing and he'll sleep much longer than if I put him in w/out the bouncing first.

Of course, my best advice is to just nap with your babe. My life got way easier when I just said "Screw it." and started napping with DS1 when he was a newborn. Now the baby and I nap with DS1 every day from 2-4. It is bliss.

[MamieCole]

Originally Posted by jess152

It doesn't stop me!! Just watch those tails! lol

\

I've had my share of wet tails because I'm just not talented enough.

[Siennaflower]

Dd2 is 5 weeks and not on any kind of schedule as far as I can tell, lol. She fights sleep but is slowly getting better, the last couple nights she has slept longer stretches but is no where near sleeping through. As far as daytime goes, I have a moby wrap but just like dd1 she will only tolerate it for a few minutes and then gets upset because she prefers to be able to wiggle around freely. She will nap in the swing though, so I nap when she does and so far that's about as good as it gets. As far as getting stuff done, I either make due one handed or use her bouncy seat, she loves to watch me do whatever it is that I'm doing.

[elisheva]

I think I would die without my wrap. Dd sleeps TONS and is in the wrap or ring sling nearly all day. I put her in my didymos-style wrap today and enjoyed the extra support (I generally use my moby-style wrap but it's dirty and finally HAD to be laundered).

[JohannaInDairyland]

My Moby wrap has been a lifesaver with Liam as well - especially for afternoon naps. When he's clean and dry and fed and cranky/fighting sleep, I just pop him in and go about my business. He'll either chill out and watch me, or conk out in a few minutes.

[belltree]

They are supposed to have regular naptimes by now? Our little guy (almost 8weeks) just started to have somewhat regular nights (bedtime between 8.30-9.30, feeds sometime between 11.30-12.30, again 2.30-3.30 and 5.30-6.30).

He just naps when he needs to; usually he get cranky when he is up more than 2hrs in a row. He sleeps about 5-7hrs during the day alltogether I'd say. If I put him down he often stirrs and wakes up every so often, it helps when I put a arm on him and shush him; he just seems to need confirmation, that I am still there. If I really want to get things done and want him to stay asleep, I just carry him in a sling/wrap/softcarrier.

I can only put him down, when he is really well asleep.

[Rose-Roget]

Schedule??? No schedule here! DD is a great sleeper at night, and she has been waking only once during the night, giving me 4-5 hours at a time, since about a week old. During the day, she has been sleeping only when held lately, which has made it hard to get my holiday decor up (much less the laundry put away!). I can't wait until my diastasis recti is healed so I can put her in a wrap and get things done while letting her snuggle! For now, though, I guess I just need my mom to come hang out here and snuggle her all day. I also think dd's going through a growth spurt right now because she was eating every hour for most of the day today and was fussier than usual.

[charleysmama23]

For us it's helpful to focus on the length of time ds has been awake. This worked really well for dd too, who only took about 45 min naps until 6 months (and since then has been a great napper!). Instead of thinking about a certain time of day being his "naptime" I put him down to sleep after he's been awake for 1-1.5 hours and it works great. As he gets older (he's nearly 4 weeks now) I'll move that to 2 hour wake times (based on his cues). Dd was 6 months before she could tolerate more than 2 hour waking periods! We didn't start thinking about a specific nap time with dd until she started taking 2, 2 hour naps/day (again, around 6/7 months).

[KaliShanti]

I usually put my baby for a nap (if we're at home) in her crib after she has first fed, then had awake time of about 30 minutes-1.5 hours (though it's not that long usually(. I just watch to see if she has tiredness signs. She will then sleep for about 1.5 hours-2 hours. I swaddle her and use white noise, which helps.

[Cellist]

I have had great success with the swaddleme wrap (thank you JohannainDairyland!!!) to calm and settle Ethan.

We also use the swing for naps during the day; put him in there asleep or awake and get it started...sometimes also with an offer of a pacifier (if you are not against trying that) and he usually sleeps pretty well during the day there.

Our LO is also grumpy in the early evenings and in the late morning, but pretty good otherwise.

Does yours sleep from 10 pm to 8 am, deny_zoo, because maybe that is also partly why she doesn't want to nap as much...that is GREAT nighttime sleeping!!!

[Sleepyheaded_Mama]

Nothing even resembling a "schedule" here yet, unless generally sleeping more by day and less by night can be considered a "schedule", lol.

[BeckyBird]

Sleeping by day! I love it! That's what I do

Usually, my little one is awake for a few hours at night. We go to bed together, around midnight-1am (which is my normal bedtime) She wakes up to nurse through the night, but usually falls back asleep.

I wake up at 7am to send my son off to school, then it's back to bed! I will sleep with Aries until she finally wakes me up, which is usually around 11am. Then, throughout the day, she sleeps and wakes until it is bedtime again.

[maisiedotes]

Deny, I have no advice... Kieran sleeps in the sling or in my arms. He wants to be held allll the time. He usually sleeps through the night (sometimes we co-sleep (he and I, on the futon) , sometimes he is in the basinette which we put up against my side of the bed since DD sleeps in our bed too). Occasionally he wakes up during the night because he is hungry.

DD slept through the night starting when she was two weeks old. I think Kieran is getting there too.

Deny, do you swaddle your little one? I do find that Kieran sleeps longer when he is swaddled. I think they like to be held and swaddling gives them a comfy cozy feeling...

[JohannaInDairyland]

Originally Posted by Cellist

I have had great success with the swaddleme wrap (thank you JohannainDairyland!!!) to calm and settle Ethan.

You're most welcome.

We've used the swaddleme with great success as well, mostly in keeping Liam asleep ... once he's out, I wrap him up in it, and it helps him sleep longer at night.

[ExuberantDaffodil]

I haven't even tried to determine my baby's "schedule" yet.

I do know a few things:
1. She likes to be swaddled
2. she likes sleeping in either her daddy's or my arms
3. she sleeps in our bed with us.
4. Our Arm's Reach co-sleeper makes a great catch-all for baby blankets and the boppy

other than that... I do notice that she is up from about midnight to 2am every night. It's her "fussy" period, but I can keep her calm if she just nurses the whole time. If I'm out and about during the day, she's in the sling sleeping soundly. If I am just at home, she is wanting to be held. She fusses quite a bit if I put her down for longer than 5-10 minutes if she is awake. I try to remember that it must be weird for her to be separated from me for long periods, considering she was inside me for nine months. Besides, now that I realize this age/stage is for just a very very short time, I do not mind spending it snuggling with her in my arms. yeah, my house is messy and sometimes i can't shower for a couple days. but ah well.

[SunShineSally]

Glenn sleeps when he's tired and he sleeps a lot it seems he is awake for anywhere five minutes to one and a half hours at a time. He will sleep in the arms reach for about two hours at night. once in a while at night he will be up for a few hours but for the most part if I hold him to me while he nurses he will fall back asleep during the day he will nap in mine or his Daddy's arms or in the swing or in his Great Grandfathers bassinet. He loves to be held so that is when he sleeps the best.... my advice is snuggle and hold that baby as long as possible because she babies grow up faster than you think I do not even know how Ds got to be 5 he was just a baby what seems like yesterday and my nephew ohh my goodness he is going to be 12 I just turned around and they all grew up! I know it gets annoying but just breathe in all the baby sweetness snuggle her and love on her and let the dishes go longer than you would like and kiss her little head and nap together