Resisting naps?

JulyMomma2U2

So, LO for the past 2 days has decided he does not require sleep during the day.. I mean, yesterday he was awake from 10:30am until almost 8pm.. ALL day.  He wasn't super cranky.. just wanted to be held/played with the entire time (took him to Kohls for a shopping trip -- bad idea!! Talk about a meltdown in the store!!). So, then he slept from like 8-11, and then put him to bed around midnight -- he slept until 4am, woke up, fed, and then I couldn't get him back down (he had a belly ache -- it happens quite often with him..).. Anyway, so then he was up from 4am until 3:30pm today -- finally at 3:30, I just let him cry (and, it was more like scream!!) for 10 minutes in his crib before he finally fell asleep..

I thought they don't fight you on naps until 4 months?? 5 1/2 weeks seems awfully early for him to be staying awake 10-12 hours at a time, right?? He's clearly exhausted.. I'd even say OVER tired.. just not sure why he's not napping anymore?

Also -- I'm thinking maybe a growth spurt?  He's also been eating a lot more these past 2 days.. I formula feed, but he's been crying for a bottle at 2-2.5hr marks as opposed to 3-4hr marks.. and, he's actually been taking a good 1/2 ounce or ounce more than normal.. maybe could the two be related?  Just not sleeping well because he's going through a growth spurt??

Phew.. honestly.. I think the most difficult "job" as a Mommy is all the learning I'm having to do!!! I'm not used to "not knowing" as much as I feel I don't know with motherhood!!! 

Ernie52408

DS was the same way. He still isn't big on naps.

We went for lots of car rides. I'd drive around until he was asleep then I'd park in the driveway and read or nap myself.

luvmyducks

Are you trying to put him down at the first signs of sleepyness? Maybe he is fighting it bc of overtiredness. Sleep begets sleep so if he's not getting enough it could make him sleep worse when he does. What are you trying to get him to sleep? Swaddling, paci, white noise, shushing, rocking, etc? At that age I nursed DD to sleep and it was no problem at all to get away from it once she learned how to go to sleep on her own. Babies at your DS' age don't usually know how to put themselves to sleepwe need to help them.

LoveOfMikesLife

luvmyducks:

Are you trying to put him down at the first signs of sleepyness? Maybe he is fighting it bc of overtiredness. Sleep begets sleep so if he's not getting enough it could make him sleep worse when he does. What are you trying to get him to sleep? Swaddling, paci, white noise, shushing, rocking, etc? At that age I nursed DD to sleep and it was no problem at all to get away from it once she learned how to go to sleep on her own. Babies at your DS' age don't usually know how to put themselves to sleepwe need to help them.

this. It makes me sad thinking about a 5 1/2week old screaming himself to sleep

JulyMomma2U2

luvmyducks:

Are you trying to put him down at the first signs of sleepyness? Maybe he is fighting it bc of overtiredness. Sleep begets sleep so if he's not getting enough it could make him sleep worse when he does. What are you trying to get him to sleep? Swaddling, paci, white noise, shushing, rocking, etc? At that age I nursed DD to sleep and it was no problem at all to get away from it once she learned how to go to sleep on her own. Babies at your DS' age don't usually know how to put themselves to sleepwe need to help them.

1.  I think that might be part of my problem -- sometimes, I notice he's a little tired, but I usually will try and keep him up until his next feeding before putting him down for a nap.. like, if I feed him at 9, he'll stay wide awake until 11.. then, he'll start getting tired.. I'll try and hold him off, because he's due to eat by noon, so I always hope that if I feed him at noon, then he'll go right to sleep.. that was working before, but now, not so much.. it's only been this last week or so where he's awake a lot more.. prior to that, he napped after almost every feeding.. now, not so much (which, I enjoy!! I actually get to spend more awake happy time with him!!).. today, what I found was that he ate.. 2 hours later, started to get sleepy.. instead of keeping him up, I just heated up a smaller bottle (2oz) and gave it to him early.. before the 3 hour mark.. it was a little over 2 hours since his last feed.. he took the 2oz, filled his belly, and went right down.. but, is this a bad habit to get into?  Feeding him smaller bottles in between?  Granted, after I did this, he slept for 3 hours.. woke, and then ate his normal 4oz bottle amount.. I'm just always so worried about doing something "wrong" that will create "bad habits" in the future.. sigh..

 2.  DS requires me to put him to sleep.. he definitely will not fall asleep on his own if I put him down.. I need to rock him, shush him, etc and get him to fall asleep in my arms before I can put him in the crib.. again, people keep telling me this is an awful habit to get into.. but, he will just SCREAM if I put him in his crib, or swing, or pack n play when he's not asleep yet.. I keep hoping that in time, he'll get better at this, and that I'll eventually be able to feed him and put him in the crib and he'll keep himself content until he falls asleep.. but, right now, it feels like we are VERY far away from that point..

DS is formula fed, so nursing until he falls asleep isn't an option.. when I was nursing (only for the first 2 weeks), he would fall asleep feeding and it was super easy.. but, that was early on.. even when I had switched to FF early on, he'd sleep right after eating.. it's just, like I said earlier, these past week or 2 he's been more awake.. which is fine, but it's hard to know when to put him down to nap.. 

I hate feeling so.. unsure of everything!!!  I keep telling myself.. we're learning with him.. baby #2 (if we're so blessed in the future) will be much easier.. I'll have experience and knowledge under my belt!!

Junebug060609

6 weeks can be a tough time.  Belly issues can be at their height and there is also often a growth spurt around then. 

For us growth spurts seem to fall in one of two camps: He'll either sleep a ton, or not at all.  Usually the later.  On the non-sleepy spurts he seems to wake up every hour or two.  Sometimes hungry, but often I swear he's waking up in pain (crazy fast bone & muscle growth I'm guessing).  FWIW, we've only had two of the sleepy spurts.  I love the sleepy ones, lol. 

JulyMomma2U2

LoveOfMikesLife:

this. It makes me sad thinking about a 5 1/2week old screaming himself to sleep

DS has had major belly issues.. he's been on multiple formulas (he's allergic to milk proteins, but took us a while before figuring this out), several medicines for gas and bloating and reflux and such.. he has required constant attention these past 5 weeks.. which, I am perfectly fine with.. anything I can do to help make him feel better.. it's been REALLY tough emotionally seeing him struggle so much.. when I said I put him in the crib for 10 minutes.. I didn't realize how bad that sounded until I read your response and went back and read my initial post.. this was after holding him, rocking him, etc for hours.. sometimes, he's just inconsolable.. as a poster after you mentioned, lots of times I think it's still belly related.. the general consensus from my Dr (and, I was on the phone again today..) his digestive system just needs to learn how to work properly.. right now, it's not..

Sigh..  it's just hard because if he doesn't nap, then he's even more cranky than normal.. and, then that means the next several hours will just be him screaming in my arms inconsolable.. sometimes, I do have to lay him down.. walk away for 10 minutes.. and yes, he'll scream.. but he'll either fall asleep on his own, or in that 10 minutes, it allows me to re-collect myself and go back in without letting my frustration be sensed..

JulyMomma2U2

Junebug060609:

6 weeks can be a tough time.  Belly issues can be at their height and there is also often a growth spurt around then. 

For us growth spurts seem to fall in one of two camps: He'll either sleep a ton, or not at all.  Usually the later.  On the non-sleepy spurts he seems to wake up every hour or two.  Sometimes hungry, but often I swear he's waking up in pain (crazy fast bone & muscle growth I'm guessing).  FWIW, we've only had two of the sleepy spurts.  I love the sleepy ones, lol. 

Yep -- my ped told me this also.. and, we're sort of at the point where his belly needs to play catch up and start correcting itself.. so, basically, it means we need to find alternative ways to keep him comfortable these next 2 weeks and see if things improve on their own, otherwise, he'll have to go in for some testing

Glad to hear that this does sound like it could be growth spurt related.. every time I feel like we're getting into a groove, something changes, and we're back at square one!  I will be on the lookout for those sleepy spurts!! I definitely do think it's growth spurt related.. he's taken almost 30oz of formula today -- normally, he takes 24-26.

SharonB222

I looked forward to LOs naps, so as soon as she was tired, down she went.  The baby chart I refer to says at 1-3 months expect 15-16 hrs sleep total (7-8 awake); it suggests 8-10 hours overnight and 5-7 hours for naps.  At 5w0d my LO had a growth spurt, eating every 2 hrs or so (BF), so you may have something there.  Even so, she took lots of nap (just shorter).  The first sleep pattern chart I did for her was at 11 weeks: she would be awake 1-2 hours between naps.  My friend swore by the first nap being 45 min after waking in the morning (for her twins), 1.5 hours worked best for us.

Even now at 1 year with 2 naps, LO is still only awake a maximum of 3-4 hours or so at a time (e.g. awake 7-10am, 11am-2pm, 4-8pm).  The same chart says to expect 14 hrs of sleep (10 awake), so she's right on target.  That said, "normal" is a bell curve - with some babes getting more and some less ---- but if I were in your shoes and see that LO is tired, I would definitely give him the opportunity to sleep - sleep is as important as food in my book.  In fact, don't be afraid to skip one feeding --- especially with a growth spurt babes can tend to sleep more afterwards.