My 10 week old naps way less than everyone else's

[greenmulberry]

Ruby could go all day without a nap if I didn't put serious effort into getting her to sleep.

There are some days that she is up all day with only two or three 20 minutes naps, where she fell asleep nursing, then just woke up after 15- 20 minutes. She is 10 weeks today and never really wanted to nap in the day much although she took more catnaps when she was younger.

I can only get a good nap (longer than 20 minutes) in if I put her in the swing, and then only sometimes.

She sleeps at night from 8:30 to 6:30, waking every few hours to nurse and then crash right back out. But this lack of napping kind of worries me. It seems bad for her brain to be up so much?

We do sometimes have days where I can get her to take a two hour nap in the morning and a three hour nap in the afternoon in her swing, but this is not the norm (although I am trying hard to make it her routine). Probably 3 days of the week I can get two real naps (at least an hour) out of her in one day.

Seeing the nap poll about how often babies nap is worrying me. She is otherwise actually a happy baby though and is meeting all her milestones ahead of schedule. She just seems always ready to party!

[JudiAU]

How do you help her go to sleep? My first just crashed during nursing but that didn't work for #2.

If the swing sometimes works have you tried other movement? Rocking in a chair, putting her in a sling and bouncing on an exercise ball, taking a long walk in a sling?

Is she on any type of schedule? I don't mean something strict but my kids slept much better have I began watching the clock much more, then nurse, and then if necessary bounce on the ball. Made a HUGE difference by following a not-so-progressive not up for more than 3 hours. Both kids would fall asleep more easily and with less work on my part when I made sleep time predictible.

[greenmulberry]

I have been trying for a schedule of a nap around 10 and a nap around 3 for her formal naps. She does those little "cat naps" while nursing that I don't know how much she benefits from randomly.

I originally wasn't intending on putting her on a schedule since I figured, hey, if she is tired she can go to sleep any time! But I am realizing that she doesn't go to sleep on her own and I need to help her. So I have been putting her in her swing twice a day and sometimes it works, sometimes not.

What is strange to me is she will reliably go to sleep next to me in bed at 8 or 830, but I cannot get her to go to sleep for a nap longer than 20 minutes in the daytime under the same sleeping arrangement (we co sleep).

She have not been able to get her to sleep in her sling, she gets fussing in the sling unless I walk a lot outside, the few times we have been able to be outside she is just so interested in looking around I don't know if she could sleep, but anyways it has really been too cold this last week to try it out more.

I do have to say, that since I posted this, I commented to DH about her needing to sleep more. I just had an hour long phone call for work and she was so fussy for him he just sat down in the glider and rocked and rocked her, after about the full hour, she was asleep, and we laid her in the crib and she has been sleeping for about 15 minutes. Previously she awoke as soon as her head hit the matress!! (which is why we co sleep LOL).

Oops. there she is, gotta go.

[PrincessWinnie]

A 10-week old baby shouldn't have more than 1-2 hours of wakefulness before overtiredness sets in. Everytime she wakes up, watch the clock and aim to start settling her down to sleep after an hour of waking up, then just try to gauge her tiredness level. DS is 12 weeks and in the morning can settle back to sleep easily after an hour, as the day goes on he can withstand a little more wakefulness but no more than 2 hours ever. After that point you may have an overtired baby that CAN'T be settled to sleep then begins the cycle of chronic overtiredness. A day full of catnaps that properly avoid the overtired window is better than scheduled naps at that age.

[greenmulberry]

Originally Posted by PrincessWinnie 

A 10-week old baby shouldn't have more than 1-2 hours of wakefulness before overtiredness sets in

Really?  Now I feel just terrible for not being able to get her to sleep. My goodness I would never have expected a her to need that much sleep. I wish they told you this stuff at the hospital. I was just thinking that if she was tired she would sleep, we spend a lot of time in bed nursing and watching TV.

She isn't grouchy, she seems contentedly awake, looking around, laughing.

[SallyJ]

This sounds exactly like my DD! She is now 7 months old and has never been much of a napper. Like yours she sleeps quite well at night (waking up to nurse but then falling right back to sleep).  However, during the day I am lucky if she naps for more than 20 minutes at a time.  She also is not grouchy -- but always wants to know what is going on.  At first I was really concerned since I kept on hearing that babies needed a lot of sleep. However, now I am more relaxed about it. She is doing well, is hitting milestones as she should and is good tempered.  I figure that some people just need less sleep than others!

[greenmulberry]

She does get plenty of time when she could easily sleep if she wished.

I normally WOH, but I am on maternity leave, we spend most of our day laying in bed together, she either nurses or just hangs out and looks around, (I watch netflix). When she has a diaper change I put her in her crib for it and give her some 'naked butt time' and she enjoys talking to her mobile for 20 min or so. I pick her up when the conversation with her mobile turns argumentative and we go back to bed or I try and put her in her swing for a while and if she is agreeable she will nap, but if she complains I take her out and we go back to bed and nurse. DH hangs with her when I need some time to get something done and he either rocks her in the glider or walks around the house with her or maybe just sits and holds and talks to her.

I put her in a sling occasionally and walk outside when it is nice. So I sort of feel like her whole day is preparation for a nap if she happens to need one, she just never seems to need one!

[ann_of_loxley]

DS2 is a very awake baby!...And whilst I never 'worried' about it - I did certainly find it very hard.  I remember sitting here when he was two weeks old thinking 'You have been awake for five HOURS!...this is NOT normal for a newborn!'...haha...DS1 was your typical baby who slept all-day-long...so it was quite a shock to my system (especially as DS2 would not be put down either!)...

I can assure you that your baby's brain and development will be just fine though!  By 7 months, DS2 could climb the stairs...and hes fast!  At a year old he just took his first steps and can sign 'milk' (aka boob haha), 'cat', 'potty' and 'happy'...he is a very clever baby...amazes me everyday!

What did help though was continously wearing him in a sling.  Literally.  I clocked up 11 hours and 30 minutes when he was 4 months old - thats not continous...he would be in arms for some feeds and for potty/nappy (we do EC).  I mean, I am pretty big on babywearing anyhow - I have a decent small stash of various slings and he has never been in a pushchair...but I had to go all out with him!  It certainly does not hinder their physical development! haha... 

At a year now - he can have anywhere from 4-2 naps a day.  Usually 2 naps a day now - with one being 2-3 hours long.  But if we are out and about, he has more naps - smaller naps. 

All naps are still in the sling - usually with boob and sometimes need pacing or I just move about or hoover the house and hes out like a light! haha...Around 10 months old I could slowly start to put him down and walk away giving me a bit of a breather.  Eventually he will be too heavy to wear like that - but eventually he won't be needing a nap either.  So we just take every day one day at a time!  It works - so theres no point in 'fixing' it! 

Take your baby's lead and go with it!  Don't worry about what other people say they 'should' be doing and what other babies are doing - other babies are not your baby!   

[tessie]

Originally Posted by PrincessWinnie 

A 10-week old baby shouldn't have more than 1-2 hours of wakefulness before overtiredness sets in.

All babies are different. Mine certainly didn't nap that much! If they're happy but awake then trying to get them to nap can be more stressful than leaving them to do their thing. I wasted hours trying to get my kid to sleep and looking back it wasn't worth it. Obviously if they're unhappy then work on naps.

My kid still sleeps less than the average toddler and increasingly doesn't nap at all whereas her friends are pretty much all still having a two to three hour nap. I have absolutely no concerns about her development as she's achieved every milestone early or on time.