8 Week old and naps

[poorlittlefish]

Hi everyone,

I am hoping for some advice. I just went back to work 8 weeks after my DD was born (boo hoo) and DH is home with her for 2 weeks and then she is off to daycare. When home, I nursed her to sleep, she napped in my arms or I napped with her. Now though, DH is having a hard time though getting her to stay asleep. She will fall asleep easy but only stay asleep 5-10 mins if he isn't holding her. By the time I get home from work she has slept less than an hour all day and as soon as I begin nursing, her eyes roll back in her head and she is out like a light.

I feel horrible about this from both her perspective and my DH. I also want to figure this out because I know once she starts daycare, she will need to be better. Our daycare, while I love love love them, they have a higher tolerance for crying than I do(not CIO though) and she won't be able to be hold her while she sleeps due to the other children needing help.

She hasn't taken a pacifier but I bought one for her yesterday to see if that helps. We have tried swaddling, white noise etc and nothing helps. When I am home at night and nurse her to sleep she sleeps unswaddled in the crib in our room for 5-6 hour stretches--I just don't have this issue.

I am missing her so much and knowing that things aren't going smoothly at home is making it even harder. I didn't have this issue with my first DD so hoping for some thoughts and advice.

Thanks

[Knitting Mama]

I would try wearing her. Would her daycare be open to wearing her if you provided a sling or baby carrier?

[tzs]

it may just be ok, yk? somehow those daycare people just know how to get it done. my babe just started at 11 months for a few days/week in the babyroom of the school where i work. at home she nurses to sleep, has her own room, there can't be anything "more exciting" going on, she fights sleep...the whole shebang. i wasn;t sure how they were going to be able to get her to nap in a room with other babes, with sunlight, with noise and toys and excitement....but they did! and since i'm in the same building i know they don't resort to any evil tactics.
i think sometimes it's just that different people other than parents can put babes to sleep with different methods in different settings that might not work if we tried it ourselves.
the last two days she was even in the toddler room where they nap on COTS and it was a teacher who had never worked with her before. i thought it would be a total fiasco trying to get this active crawler to nap on a cot with no rocking or anything. but she did it. i was shocked, amazed, and proud of both my babe and that amazing teacher.

[poorlittlefish]

Thanks for your help, ladies. I know it will all work out. It is just so dang hard to be away from her while she is so little.
My DH said that yesterday was better.

[tzs]

i know. i have total respect for moms who have to go back to work so soon. i think i am way too much of a weakling just to be able to do it physically. you get big props from me!

[bdoody11]

Going back to work is hard. I did it at 12 weeks with DD#1. My DD also would only sleep being held and after nursing when she was with me. She did not take a bottle or a pacifier. However, after a few weeks of transition, she slept just fine at daycare in a bouncy chair. Like a PP said, providers really do know how to get things done. In fact, they taught DD just to go to sleep with a back rub on a cot around 18 months. I still can't put her to bed that way, without nursing, and she's 3 1/2!

Hang in there, Mama! In about a month you'll be surprised and how smooth everything will seem.