I need help getting my 6 week old to sleep!

[Susie]

For the past 1.5 week or so, getting Hobbes to sleep has been an hour to couple hour production at night and for every nap. Getting to sleep sometimes lasts as long as the sleep.

The good: She has slept in her crib since day 1, and that's still going fine once she's asleep. Last night I woke up on my own after 5 hrs for a dream feed + pump because my boobs were bursting. She went 6.5 hrs without actually waking up.

The bad: ...But the getting to sleep? The only thing that works is holding her and walking laps around the house. Kitchen, dining room, living room, foyer, kitchen, dining room... If you stop too soon, before she's deeply enough asleep, you start over. If she's asleep, but not deeply enough, and you set her in the crib, within 10-20 mins you start over. I'm going insane doing this routine several times a day, and even at only 9.5 lbs, my arms and back are tired. I've been at it for 3 hours now, trying for her afternoon nap. (She would sleep fine if I was willing to carry her all afternoon.)

I've tried the swing, a bouncer, the stroller, and a RNP. All of those are usually only good for a 5-10 min break. I've tried rocking her in the glider, which is only ok if she's already just about out. I've tried wearing her, which works but only if I keep walking. She hasn't nursed to sleep since this phase started. I really need a break from the walking. When does this get better?! What else can I try? Is spending 2+ hours soothing in advance of every sleep normal?

[sookie]

How is she with swaddling? Swaddling + swing was heaven sent for us.

ETA: Around 5 or 6 weeks was when I read Happiest Baby on the Block and it helped us transition from me having to hold her for her to sleep to her sleeping on her own.

[dcn]

How long is she awake before you try a nap? Ds1 did this, especially if he was overstimulated or overtired. I missed his drowsy window all the time. At 6 weeks 45-60 min is probably as long as she can/should be awake.

Other than that, I think time is the only thing that helps. I remember telling the pediatrician at two months that I felt like all I did was try to get him to go to sleep she said you probably are at this age . :/

[dcrunnergirl52]

I agree with the PP--what's your swaddle like and how long are you keeping her awake?

I know not everyone is a fan of a routine/schedule for a newborn, but I found it really helpful to at least know how long my babies should stay awake, knowing their specific sleep signals, and trying to keep them on a pretty decent routine/schedule from very early on. I really liked charts like these:

www.preciouslittlesleep.com/are-you-keeping-baby-awake-too-long/

www.ngala.com.au/files/files/118_Ngala_Sleep_A4_2012b.pdf

But please know that what you're going through is normal. Sleep doesn't really regular/get into a pattern for another few months.

[humpforfree]

Welp, mine is 13 weeks and it takes an hour + to get her to sleep at night (nurse, hold & back pat until deep enough asleep). Naps... she doesn't let me put her down. If I'm lucky I can get her to sleep in the swing for a half hour, otherwise all naps are while being worn, in the car, or my arms. L was like that too until 6 months, so I assumed it was normal to not have a nap routine, or nap in the crib until later. Lol. Sorry, no help, hopefully just making you feel better about your newborn

[vtdiamond]

My kids went through a phase of this between 4-8 weeks where it would take hours to get them to sleep. We would so the 4 Ss from Happiest baby in the block. Basically I would swaddle them and rock them in the dark nursery until they finally passed out. Our pedi recommended gripe water, which helped somewhat. I agree that it helped to be more aware of their awake/ sleep time to be sure to put them down before they were overstimulated/overtired.

[lauren170]

Try everything swing, swaddle, rocking, moby wrap, white noise. Maybe something will work, but nothing ever did with our DD. 10 weeks was the magical turning point.

[Susie]

She sleeps swaddled snugly in an A&A blanket. It is a must-have for her sleep! I usually nurse right, change diaper, swaddle, nurse left, then soothe to sleep. She used to fall asleep on her own while nursing left. Ah, the days.

I haven't timed how long I'm keeping her up, I will pay attention to that. I would think not more than 1 hr because honestly there isn't a lot to stay up doing at 6 weeks. But I'll take note. When I struggle to achieve sleep she's up a lot longer and I do think she's overtired, which starts an ugly cycle. Pretty sure we are there now.

ETA: I think my swaddle game is pretty strong

[preppy]

We added a white noise machine and switched the the fleece halo swaddle (which we found to be tighter) around 4/6 weeks and it helps immensely.

[Susie]

Dec 29, 2015 16:38:08 GMT -5 @rainbowdash said:

6 week olds don't sleep! lol. This is a really rough time for them. There's a mental leap and a growth spurt. I know you're nursing, could she still be hungry? Do you swaddle? Use white noise?

Do you have a baby carrier? Moby, k'tan, tula, anything?

Both of mine were difficult. They needed a bounce, pat, white noise, & paci combination. Hang in there, okay? We've all been there.

On hunger, anything is possible, but she's been gaining >1 oz/day, I'm pumping more than she takes by bottle, and she dozes off at the breast, so those things suggest satiety to me.

I wear her in a ktan pretty frequently, but it doesn't satisfy her unless I keep moving - so I can vacuum, but not wash dishes, return emails, etc. The other challenge it presents is, if I'm lucky enough to get her to sleep in it, I can't get her out without waking her.

[bananapancakes]

Have you tried the Happiest Baby on the Block 5S method? At that age I spent a lot of time in the bathroom as the loud fan was soothing for him. I'd swaddle him, hold him on his side tightly against my chest, use one hand ti hold the soother in place and then I'd bounce him up and down, getting a good head wobble going while shushing loudly in his ear. And yes, it was a production every time.

[bexporter]

I think you're doing all the right things and it's just this age. Try to hang in there for the next couple of weeks and hopefully it will get better.

[ssmjlm]

Dec 29, 2015 17:14:27 GMT -5 jenny1980 said:

Six week olds are assholes.

This. Also my kid didn't nap unless held until 7.5m at home when we nap trained. Let's not even talk about not napping at daycare. It's really not uncommon for them to want to be held for naps for a good while.

[Susie]

Yes, we've done the 5S's, and they do help a lot. That's a big part of getting her to sleep in my arms (esp the shushing right in her ear).

Confirmation that this is a rough age helps too - I am not totally incompetent, she's just a cute, tiny asshole.

At this point I think I need to suck it up and let her have a walking nap on me so we get a reset. I've been trying for 5 hours to get her to actually go down for a real nap, she's way overtired.

[hski2349]

Could you try to put her down before she seems tired? That may help. I also wore DD2 a lot. She would fall asleep and I am able to then put her down of that.

[Deleted]

6 weeks sucked. It got better at 8. Try white noise that helped us.

[luv2rn4fun]

Dec 29, 2015 17:01:19 GMT -5 Susie said:

Dec 29, 2015 16:38:08 GMT -5 @rainbowdash said:

6 week olds don't sleep! lol. This is a really rough time for them. There's a mental leap and a growth spurt. I know you're nursing, could she still be hungry? Do you swaddle? Use white noise?

Do you have a baby carrier? Moby, k'tan, tula, anything?

Both of mine were difficult. They needed a bounce, pat, white noise, & paci combination. Hang in there, okay? We've all been there.

On hunger, anything is possible, but she's been gaining >1 oz/day, I'm pumping more than she takes by bottle, and she dozes off at the breast, so those things suggest satiety to me.

I wear her in a ktan pretty frequently, but it doesn't satisfy her unless I keep moving - so I can vacuum, but not wash dishes, return emails, etc. The other challenge it presents is, if I'm lucky enough to get her to sleep in it, I can't get her out without waking her.

6 wks sucked big time.  I got a little break night sleep wise 8-11.5 and then it sucked til STing at 17 wks.  Naps were horrible til sleep training.  The first 12 wks were in the baby carrier (literally for most naps)...I quickly learned he would nap this way and not much else.  He had me trained though...I had to keep moving and be outside or he would wake up.

At 12 wks I was determined he would sleep in his RNP for naps LOL...it took longer for me to get him asleep than the naps lasted.  It sucked...worst part by far but it does get better.  Also, to be fair, C had reflux and colic so not your "typical" newborn.

Hope she starts napping better soon .  Hang in there....it gets much better.

[sparkythelawyer]

White noise baby app

[hbomdiggity]

I never got reliable naps at home. Everyone told me how much work they were able to do while on maternity leave and that was just not me. I spent a lot of time running errands and walking in the mall because that put him to sleep.

[rbp]

M really only napped in my arms or in the car until 10-12w. Things got a lot better around 12w. You can't really expect to get anything done while they're napping at this age.

Do you use white noise?

ETA: I remember many times on mat leave when H would come home from work and say "what did y'all do today?" Just trying to make friendly conversation. I would break down in tears and scream "I spent all day trying to get him to sleep, and I FAILED!" It sucked.

[zarapipe]

How do you good advice givers remember this crap? The newborn stage fried my brain. All I remember is that I barely survived.

Good luck op, sleep sucks. I will Ditto lower your expectations. If she naps on you great, anywhere great really.

[Blue Moon]

I spent the entirety of my 4 month maternity leave trying to get my baby to sleep. I remember feeling so defeated when I would bounce, shush, etc for an hour and then she'd sleep for like 8 minutes. I basically held her for all naps at that age. Mine would sleep in the car seat so I went through a lot of drive thrus or walks in the stroller. Sorry OP, sleep stuff is so hard.

[t]

The only thing that worked for us was swaddled in the swing for naps and the first leg of nighttime sleep (sleep suit overnight starting at 12 lbs). I'm devastated because this weekend we learned the hard way that my 6mo is too big for the swing and flipped to her belly in the sleep suit overnight last night.
So tonight we will likely Ferber.

[Deleted]

Susie, are you wearing a step counter? I'm just curious about the laps you're walking, not trying to be an asshole.

Could you hold her and bounce on an exercise ball, to simulate walking? At least then you could watch TV?

I have no other advice, other than wine.

[Deleted]

Dec 29, 2015 17:14:27 GMT -5 jenny1980 said:

Six week olds are assholes.

I was just coming in to say this.

Keep in mind that your baby will be different next month/week/tomorrow. Ditto the making sure she's not awake too long but that all sounds pretty normal newborn shenanigans.

[kdubs923]

Dec 29, 2015 18:31:32 GMT -5 zarapipe said:

How do you good advice givers remember this crap? The newborn stage fried my brain.

Seriously! I've done this before - and only 2 years ago and I can't remember a thing! I know DS used to cry from 4-8 pm, but I don't remember when it started, when he grew out of it... I just hope we missed that this time around.

OP, following this thread. Nighttime has been brutal. At least an hour, sometimes two to get DD back to sleep. But then she's up and ready to eat again an hour or two later. So exhausted. I miss her falling asleep while nursing....

[sookie]

Dec 29, 2015 17:24:58 GMT -5 Susie said:

Yes, we've done the 5S's, and they do help a lot. That's a big part of getting her to sleep in my arms (esp the shushing right in her ear).

Confirmation that this is a rough age helps too - I am not totally incompetent, she's just a cute, tiny asshole.

At this point I think I need to suck it up and let her have a walking nap on me so we get a reset. I've been trying for 5 hours to get her to actually go down for a real nap, she's way overtired.

If the close shushing works, what about either moving her white noise machine (if she has one. If she doesn't go buy one!) or getting a clip on one that will clip behind her on the swing or whatever it is at the time? We got a great but cheap (maybe $10) one at Walgreens that we did that with and even use it for traveling still.

Eta: it's this one - www.amazon.com/myBaby-MYB-S100-9CTM-HoMedics-SoundSpa-On-The-Go/dp/B0097D4ZMU

[Susie]

Dec 29, 2015 19:11:00 GMT -5 @idaholakelady said:

Susie , are you wearing a step counter? I'm just curious about the laps you're walking, not trying to be an asshole.

No, but I am curious how far I walk in a day.  Mostly so I can enter the exercise into MFP and earn myself more cookies.  

[patbutcher]

My dd would only nap in my arms until i sleep trained her at 5.5 months. Before then, she would wake up as soon as I tried to transition her. It was annoying.

I did get her to sleep in the carrier a lot especially if I did a YouTube barre workout but if I tried to stop and sit down, she would wake up. Even in the car, if I stopped at a red light, She would wake up. Fun times!

[cheeseandcrackers]

We had(have) a white noise machine www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=397861&catid=185787&aid=338666&aparam=397861&kpid=397861&CAWELAID=120142990000031931&CAGPSPN=pla and I did the super swaddle. Are you doing the super swaddle?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiDbS0Fxtm4

she is a cutie by the way!