Sleep question

[Jodie8]

Hi! I have a 10 week old daughter and a 3 1/2 year old son. My son nursed to sleep his whole life and we had major sleep (or lack thereof) issues. (awake every 1-3 hours for 3 years, only going to sleep with me-I was very, very burned out).

I vowed that I would get on a better track with my daughter. Initially she was a great sleeper; she would fall asleep independently and had glorious long naps!!! Around 4 weeks of age though she started to react to something in my diet (mucousy poops/green poops) and became so incredibly gassy. She would nurse for comfort and then would only nap for 30 minutes if she was away from me. She would nap longer if she was with me and latched.

Now, at 10 weeks, she will only go to sleep if I put her to bed with nursing-she will sleep for as long as I  am in the bed. Then she will only have cat naps throughout the day-she is not fussy at all, just uncomfortable with gas (grunting alot). It is apparent that she needs longer naps though -lots of eye rubbing etc.

I guess I am just wondering if anyone has advice for how to lengthen her naps and maybe suggest a routine other than nursing. Has anyone out there had an issue similar to this and resolved it???

Thank you!

[Knitting Mama]

I would suggest wearing her, but it sounds like you want her to sleep independently? I'm not sure if that's doable at her age, frankly.

[Buzzer Beater]

 Yeah, at ten weeks I think it's perfectly normal... just now at 8 months we're trying to figure out how to get GG to sleep a bit more independently, especially during the day.

[LadyCatherine185]

My first was a horrible sleeper too (up every hour until I nightweaned him at 20 months old). I have not done anything different with DS2, and he is a much better sleeper!! Sleeps 3-4 hour chunks at night. That said, he is still a terrible napper. Has to be held or worn for every nap. I have tried many times to put him down, and he only stays asleep for 5 minutes, if that! And when he is held or worn, he still only naps for about 30-45 minutes at a time. How is she sleeping at night? I think it is normal for a lot of babies to catnap during the day. A few things you could try--

*wearing her for her naps

*nursing her to sleep in the bed, then giving a binky and rolling away

*put pillows around her in the bed so she feels "snuggled"

*swaddling

*white noise

*blackout curtains

i actually wish DS2 would nurse to sleep, but he won't. my letdown is too fast and he has to work at nursing and it is uncomfortable for him.. so to get him to sleep I have to rock him (or bounce him, walk him around, or wear him) with a binky in his mouth.. he will NOT nurse to sleep, and gets mad if I try to nurse him when he is tired..

Also, you can just try to go with the flow for now, and change things when she gets older. With DS1, I held him for every nap until about 4 months old, then I started working on putting him down. He had to be dead asleep, and I had to lay him on his belly, but after a couple weeks of working on it, he finally started staying asleep when I put him down. So, there is hope!

hope you can figure out something that works for you and your family!

[Knitting Mama]

Originally Posted by LadyCatherine185 

Also, you can just try to go with the flow for now, and change things when she gets older. With DS1, I held him for every nap until about 4 months old, then I started working on putting him down. He had to be dead asleep, and I had to lay him on his belly, but after a couple weeks of working on it, he finally started staying asleep when I put him down. So, there is hope!

hope you can figure out something that works for you and your family!

This is really good advice. By 4 months old, Cecilia was able to sleep on her own in the swing, and by 8 months old, on her own in the bed. I just worked at them very slowly and patiently, until she got the hang of it.

[Jodie8]

Thanks everyone

Catie, Evie is a great sleeper at night-5-6 hour stretches! It's just the naps are difficult, as I am sure you can understand!!! It is tough keeping up with an older child and trying to make sure the baby gets as much sleep as she needs!