8-Week Old Not Napping

Actually he is bein.g a normal 8 week old. Hang in it will get better. Might
take a bit longer since he is colicky.

Elevate one end of his crib mattress....
do this by putting something under his mattress, not directly under him or his head, because it can be a safety hazard.
He has reflux.... so lying down flat, probably makes him uncomfortable.
And he has colic.
Have you tried infant gas drops? Gas problems alone, can make it hard for a newborn and/or cause gas pain. Which may seem like colic. My daughter was like that. And the Mylicon infant gas drops helped a ton.

Or try swaddling him in a sleep-sack.
It might make putting him down, easier.

all the best,
Susan

hi! in europe, especially scandinavia people swear by osteopathy for colicky babies, apparently when a baby is born the skull plates get adjusted as it comes out of the birthcanal, sometimes they don't click in right and especially with cesarian babies it can create a lot of discomfort for the baby as tension spreads through their bodies... you can try google it and see if there is an osteopath/cranio sacral person that does babies in your area. the people i know who have done it all swear by it.... good luck!

Please do not leave your baby to cry. At 8 weeks old, it is his only way of communicating and rest assured he is absolutely telling you something -- and that something is that he needs you! If he is sleeping perfectly well while you are holding him, then he is not a poor sleeper. He wakes up when you put him down, because he knows you aren't there anymore and to him he is no longer safe. Try a sling; it will support him so he can sleep, close to you where he wants to be, and give you your hands and arms back.
I know it's hard now, but this too shall pass. Try to remember that very soon he is going to be too big and too independent and too 'old' to be held like this. Try to cherish it. My babies are 8 and 5 years old and if I had it to do over again, I would hold them more and not feel guilty. They do not start really developing habits until close to a year.
Obviously you need to put your baby down occasionally to get things done. And letting your baby cry for a few minutes isn't terrible. But letting them cry for more than 10 minutes can be detrimental. Not only in terms of their oxygen level because of poor breathing while crying; but in terms of his trusting you to be there when he is communicating to you.
Good luck to you!

I had the exact same problem and stumbled upon the solution by accident.
I had to get to an appointment one day and the baby would not sleep long enough for me to take a shower so I put her in her car seat, strapped her in and ran to take a shower. She was just a few feet outside the bathroom and I could hear her fuss & cry for about 3 minutes and then silence. When I ran to get her, she was fast asleep! So I kept doing it! Every time she would fall asleep, I would put her in her car seat. Inevitably she would wake up, cry for 3-5 minutes and then fall asleep for hour, hour and half.
I disagree with the person's post below about not letting a baby cry. I think its perfectly OK to let your baby cry for up 7 mins. Past that, chances are they aren't going to sleep and need your attention for some reason. A little crying NEVER hurt anyone and you aren't doing it to be cruel. You're doing it to help them sleep which is critical to development & your sanity. You're baby will appreciate it & you'll be happier with the break!
I also recommend swaddling, Happiest Baby on the Block, Dr. Weissbluth's book - Healthy Sleep habits, happy baby. I don't agree with all his strict rules, but I feel like it gave me the courage & knowledge I needed to get those naps in. 11 mths down the road, naps are NO problem at all & I credit that book.

Reflux maybe what wakes him up. Try having his mattress propped up so he is on a slight slant. Call you pediatrician they will give you safe suggestions for slightly raising the crib mattress. We had the same problem with our son who could only sleep while being held because in that position his head was always slightly raised.

My son who is now 7 was very colicy (spelling?) and didn't sleep well either. he feed every 2 hrs.and was very fussy after eating. The only thing that would settle him down was my husband rubbing his back in a quick vibrating motion while holding him in a football position. If your son has acid reflux as well, once he is laying flat he is probably very uncomfortable!
I finally tried proping my son up in a boppy pillow in the bassinet. he was in an up position and scrunched a bit to sooth his stomach. It's worth a try, hopefully it wil work! I can relate to how tired you must be!
JC

He is used to being curled up inside of you and misses this. I would try a front carrier, I use ERGO Baby, that will keep him close and allow you time to get things done.

My daughter was a very poor sleeper and also had to nurse often (every 2-2.5 hours). I started just letting her CIO for daytime naps early on. The first week or so, she cried the ENTIRE nap, every nap. I didn't rock her or anything. Start that habit, and it will be very hard to break it. So our schedule around 8 weeks old looked like this:
Let's pretend that I fed her at 8:30 AM
8:30-9:15 feed
9:15-9:30 wake time (this will get longer and naps will change he gets older)
9:30-11:00 nap (in bed, I only went in to check on her every 20 minutes or so if she was continually crying)
11:00 feed
Start schedule over
It was very hard to do but after about a week to two weeks, she started going right to sleep for her naps.
Also, make sure you're watching for his "tired" cues. As soon as you see a yawn, get him ready to be put down. It was almost impossible to put my daughter down if I let her get too tired (which happens VERY quickly)

I know it's hard now, but I promise things will get easier from here on out.

You r not alone i went through the same thing with my daughter for 11mths. We lived downstrairs of my mom in law & she never like hearing the baby crying so wen my husband left to work 2mths i was alone with the child. I made sure & lock all of the doors so that the mom couldnt get in. We did head scans blood test, gave calming medication all teethin tablets etc everything to calm a baby. i started to put her in bed at 8pm & leave her to cry for half an hour then pick her up then put her back down. Till she was fed up of crying & eventually fell to sleep. I did this routine for 1week & now she's sleeping better on her own she's 15 mths old. Try it will work.

all good answers. look for the sleep cues and put him to bed swaddled and in an inclined sleep positioner. he has to learn to fall asleep in the crib on his own. And at 8 weeks he is still in the '4th trimester' stage so he needs to sleep a lot. Good luck. If you do this, things get better at 3 months.

Try the Weisbluth book. I did not subscribe to everything he suggests by any stretch, but he had some great ideas that really helped me understand my baby's sleep needs. It's been a few years but it was something like a newborn shouldn't go more than 2 hours between naps and you should start putting them down about 1.5 hours after their last. This was an epiphany for me as my daughter was not giving signals that she was tired. Once I tried this things changed so much for the better. But I will also say that at 8 weeks your child is not really on a schedule yet and when they do hit a stride and you start getting used to those habits, boom, it all changes! I think it was always attributed to "growth spurts" and this became something of a joke in our house. The nap thing can be frustrating and far from perfect, but I did find that Dr. Weisbluth's book helped shed light on some things. Good luck to you. Hang in there, it does get better!

PS: I agree with the baby carrier idea, too. My daughter LOVED being on me for naps for a good 3 months. It wasn't always possible, but at this young age, they really are used to being near to you, hearing your heart and breathing, smelling you. It can be really frustrating because they seem to be sleeping so deeply and you so need a few minutes to yourself, but this too shall pass. And then you'll miss it!