Sleep Probs :(

liitlemissb · Jan 26, 2011 6:45AM

Hi girlies

Not been on for a while life with a newborn who never sleeps is time consuming lol. Hope you and all the beautiful babes are well. Just had a little nosey at your pics and I must say didnt the due in December ladies have thee cutest babes

I have attempted to upload a pic of Jessica Rose but it hasnt worked

Just wondering if any of you new mums can offer any advice regarding my little Jessica's sleeping or rather lack of it! Basically she doesnt sleep at all during the day not even a 15 minute nap!

Today for instance she has been awake since 7am. I have tried all day to try and get her to nap but she refuses she is a happy little girl and always smiling but gets overtired and will not settle. Then at around 5/6 she likes to fall asleep till midnight then comes alive again all night long.

Last night I tried to break the routine so after being awake all day i kept her awake till 7pm bathed her, massaged her gave her a bottle then she slept till 4am. But although shes had 8 full hours i still feel she should be sleeping more? she woke at 4am drained a 5oz bottle then fell asleep at approx 5.30 till 7. She has now been awake for 11 hours and showing no signs of sleep. This surely isnt normal for a 7 week old baby haha. Am just worried that the lack of sleep may be bad for her. Any suggestions or anyone in the same boat? x

mn88 · Jan 25, 2011 3:13PM

Do you have any idea why she won't sleep? When you try to put her down for a nap are you putting her the same place as you would at night?

liitlemissb · Jan 25, 2011 4:00PM

Thanks for the reply

I have no idea why she doesn't want to nap. She is wide awake and laughing, playing and kicking all day long. She is always so alert and just wants to be spoken to and entertained. Come naptime when I feel she should be having a sleep i calm her down and put her in her crib but she won't settle. So I have tried rocking her, putting her in her swing or pram but yet she won't give in. So I take her out after trying for about half an hour. Then i will wait a while longer and try again. But she never seems sleepy. Then without warning she will cry because she is overtired so again I resume the settling , swaddling, rocking she will eventually fall asleep but once I think shes in

A deep sleep i put her down and she's wide awake again. Sorry for the ramble but I just feel like am

failing her because I know she needs sleep to be healthy and don't know

why she doesn't want it! I must add she is fast asleep now and will probably sleep a good 8 hours i hope so anyway she needs it

mn88 · Jan 26, 2011 4:04AM

Are you trying to follow a routine? Have you heard of the E.A.S.Y routine?

http://community.babycenter.com/journal/noobmama/560175/e.a.s.y._routine_from_the_baby_whisperer

It's a good lose routine and easy to follow. It also means that after a feed it's play time so your lo will get what she's looking for straight away. After a little play time it might be easier to put her down. It probably won't work straight away but if you take some time following this and keep trying to put her down for a nap after her play time I think there is a good chance you'll see the results you want.

I started this routine when dd1 was around 7 weeks. We were having the opposite problem to you, she slept fine during the day but would not sleep at night. After a few days of following this during the day, not only did she sleep at night but she was sleeping through the night. I know this isn't the problem you're having but just wanted to show that this simple routine could be all you need.

Sorry if this isn't great advice and not what you were looking for, but hopefully it will help.

Also you are in no way a 'failing her'. You aren't doing anything wrong, in fact you're doing what you can to fix the issue, so you are actually being a great mum and doing what you can to help her. You simply have a baby who doesn't want to sleep during the day (much rather spend time with her amazing mum!).

MrsRainbowUK · Jan 26, 2011 5:00AM

Also you are in no way a 'failing her'. You aren't doing anything wrong, in fact you're doing what you can to fix the issue, so you are actually being a great mum and doing what you can to help her. You simply have a baby who doesn't want to sleep during the day (much rather spend time with her amazing mum!).

We should have a 'like' button for this!

I was having great trouble getting DS off to sleep in the day, he would just nap for a few minutes then be awake again and overtired. I tried the crib, moses, swing and although he would often fall asleep on me it didn't last long. Then I got a vibrating bouncer and it has been a life saver! It lies back quite far so he's not sat and scrunched it and will sleep quite well in it after a little bouncing with my foot and with vibrate switched on once he's asleep and I'm doing something and can't bounce it for him.

xxx

BeckyWoo1 · Jan 26, 2011 6:45AM

Hi hon, have you discussed this with your Health Visitor? They might be able to offer more advice or get you in touch with a sleep specialist if you're that worried. I know your concerns as my LO went through a stage of not sleeping during the day but that was because she was in pain so not quite the same. I had also read that babies should be sleeping at least 16 hours (i think that was the no) a day so was really concerned she wasn't getting enough.

I'd definiitely follow the routine suggested by mn88, we flollow that and it seems to work well but also have a word with your HV xxxx

Sleep Probs :(

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