Day Sleeps - HELP!

[Mel's Belle]

My 3 month old DD is pretty good at night and sleeps through the night but she hates her day naps. I'm lucky if she gets an hour and a half during the day and that usually consists of 3 naps ranging between 30 and 45 minutes.

Does anyone have any advice for encouraging day naps? DD is tired but fights it and has taken to screaming when I put her in her cot even if she's already asleep... :banghead: Is it separation anxiety?

Her routine for day naps is pretty much the same as nighttime.

[Foxy]

Hi Mel's Belle,

Have you considered swaddling? I went through similar issues at that stage, and a lovely Bub Hub member suggested a thin muslin wrap to help calm bubs and stop the startle reflex. The trick is to wrap quite firmly, so bubs cannot get out of it. It worked wonders for us, taking sleeps from 45 minute naps to 2 hours of quality sleep.

I don't think it would be separation anxiety at 3 months.

I hope this works for you, good luck. :)

[Mrs Little]

Swaddling is a great idea.

How long are her wake times? Maybe she is awake too long and therefore overtired.

Is she in a routine?

Mrs Little & Son.

[amelias mum]

hi
im having the complete opposite my 4week old sleeps in the day but come night time she has me up every 2hours im totally exausted i dont get to nap in the day as theres always something need doing.

[misskittyfantastico]

Hi Mel's Belle,
I don't really have any advice - I just wanted to let you know you're not alone. My Amelia only naps for 40mins tops during the day too:banghead:
When she really needs a sleep I take her for a long walk in the pram...this is the only thing that's been working for me lately.
Good luck with it all:thumbsup:

[reAllytee]

Hate to say it but everyone baby is different *ducks* :o
Every baby is different & for the first 3 to 4mths our bubs never really slept all that much but with persistance & a few things in place that worked for us we worked it all out. Its often a case of trial & error ( lots of errors LOL )
But just keep being persistant with putting her down when she is tired but make sure you catch her straight away i found if i even made bubs wait 10mins longer he would fight it to the death. So straight off to bed when she is tired should help & maybe try the swaddling as everyone has said this can often be a lifesaver.
Otherwise a walk in the pram before a nap could help calm her down & teach her to slow down before a nap.
For me i would give bubs a big cuddle & we would sit & talk then a bottle then off to bed for a nap. I was also keen to show signs that it was time for naps by doing this & closing the blinds & pulling curtains over placing him in the cot.
This isnt always the right way but it was "right" for us .... Shame its a different story now LOL :rolleyes:
The joys of parenting right LOL:D

[Smurfette]

Oh, the dreaded day sleeps. I had no idea babies did not sleep during the day and came as a complete shock that Olivia was no different. I thought you popped them in the bassinett and they just casually dozed off. I DONT THINK SO :mad:

Anyway, I used to lay in the rocking chair in her room until she was just dozy, eyes closed, but not asleep. I tried to have her room as dark as possible. I never rocked her, I just cuddled her, patted her bum and stroked her head and face.
She always went down fine.

At about 5 months I started putting her down in her cot wide awake, thinking it was about time. I honestly thought it would take awhile for her to get used to this arrangement, but first time she went to sleep on her own and still does.
We have had no problems since in her going to sleep, staying asleep....well, thats another story, but I think we are finally there too.:smiliedance:

[Natasha Wells]

At 3 months if they are sleeping a good 11-12hrs at night then 3 naps is usually the go totalling approx 4-5hrs in total and an awake time of 2 hrs. Sounds like youe little one is over tired and that is why she is not taking long naps. The key is to try and put her down around the same time everyday so she knows when to expect her naps. She will still probably wake after 45mins (babies sleep cycle at this age) so you will need to help her get back into the next sleep cycle to have a longer nap. To do this first leave her to see if she will go back on her own, if she starts crying though go in and calm her until she stops, i use to turn my DD on her side and pat her bum/back. When they have stopped crying go out of the room, they will probably start crying again so wait 2 minutes before going in again to comfort until stopped crying again. Continue doing this waiting 2 minutes longer each time to go into her however don't go past 10 minutes. If after 30mins she still isn't asleep pick up for a quick cuddle (just to reasure her) then put her down and continue. If she still hasn't gone back to sleep and it is time for the next feed get her up and try again at the next nap. You will find everyday the amount of times you have to go into her will get shorter and within a week she will not need your help to extend her nap. Good luck i hope this is helpful and makes sense :thumbsup:

[SilverStarfish]

I'm in the same boat as amelias mum... if only DD would sleep at night as well as she does during the day!

During the day she has really long, settled naps of 3-5 hours. Longer, I'm sure, if I'd let her. I usually try and gently wake her around 4 hours if she's starting to stir. I'm finding that feeding time goes a lot smoother for both of us if she isn't coming to my poor breasts like a starving pirahna :D After meals she is content to kick back in her rocker and quietly watch the world go by for a while and much of the time she just drops off to sleep by herself. I know the old saying of "Sleep when your baby does and housework be damned" but as I'm sure you all know there is a base level of things that HAVE to be done at least some of the time - like the laundry. Else I'd be running about the house naked!:p And sleeping during the day has always made me feel really dopey and ick when I wake up.


But at night!! Eeek. She can wake (and usually feed) every 30 minutes to 2 hours. She doesn't seem to feed as well and it can seem to take forever to get back to sleep. And then I crawl back into bed, only to lie there awake, expecting to hear her cry or worrying about stupid things - as you do in the middle of the night. We've found that swaddling helps, but she wakes up the second she manages to get her arms free! She's a regular little escape artist.

I have some wonderfully supportive friends with little kids who assure me that things will get better. And DH is also great at helping me at night to burp and settle her. It's going to be harder when he had to go back to work next week, but I'm sure we'll muddle through it somehow :)

[Mrs Little]

Faeml..

sounds like your little one has it's nights and days mixed up.

At 3 months I'd encourage her to have only 2 hour sleeps during the day...with about 1- 1.2 hours wake time.

Mrs Little & Son.

[Mel's Belle]

Thanks everyone!

I ended up calling Ngala yesterday and they suggested putting DD in her cot wide awake and rocking the cot (luckily it's got wheels). Plus making sure she hasn't been awake more than 2 hours.

Well it was a long process yesterday afternoon but she went into her cot wide awake and didn't really complain and then dozed off after a while of rocking. DD woke up about 2 or 3 times during a one and half hour period but hopefully we'll get there :)

Natasha - I'll definitely try the 2 minute thing rather than rocking her each time she wakes.

Thanks again all! :hugs: