8 Week Old- Naps?

I think the trouble is that you are expecting something that isn't age appropriate for an 8 week old. At that age, their sleep and wake cycles are still extremely immature, and ANYTHING can alter them.

A professional day care with educated teachers and caregivers will understand this, so you don't need to worry about 'sleep training' your baby.

At this age, I wouldn't worry about setting her down while she naps. I used to carry mine around in a sling at that age; they took most of their naps ON me until about 6 months!

You can create a regular schedule of waking and napping (babies that age usually need to sleep three to four times during their waking hours) but don't expect her to GET it right away.

So say you'd like her to nap from 8-9:30 AM. Nurse her/bottle feed her a full feeding at 8 AM. Turn off the lights, shut the shades and rock her until she falls asleep. If she wakes up again, rinse and repeat, but don't turn on the lights/open the shades/turn on the radio until 930, when you actually WANT her to be awake. Just don't leave her to cry! At this age, they need to be parented even when they are sleeping.

Hi J.,
At this age, your baby loves to smell her Mama. It actually calms and soothes her. Try laying her down with a t-shirt or night gown that you've recently worn and not yet washed. If she can smell that you are nearby, she may sleep a little longer. At this age, pretty much everything is normal and she will adjust to her new daycare routine as if she'd been doing it forever.

Even though you are returning to work in a month, I wouldn't worry about it. Remember, 1 month is a full third of her life! She'll change so much between now and then. As a working mom my advice is to enjoy the snuggling now if you can because soon you'll be away from it. If sometimes the snuggling is more annoying than wonderful (which it certainly can be) try an ergo carrier or the like. My one other piece of advice is to get a breathing monitor and let her sleep on her belly. She'll likely sleep better and be more likely to hold onto the paci. You might want to check with your daycare provider first, though. Sometimes they don't let kids belly sleep and then she'll be a really unhappy cookie. Good luck!

buy one of those swaddle blankets that has velcro or snaps or make your own.

Why not just put her down with a pacifier? The whole "pacifier falls out, you have to run and put it back in" is normal...or at least it was for my son.

He adored his pacifiers to sleep with...and they would fall out, he'd stir and cry, I'd go in and pop it back in his mouth and he would usually fall back asleep. Sometimes I'd have to lie with him until he fell back asleep..no biggie.

Your daughter is still small, so it's natural for her to have sleep interruptions. I wouldn't get too crazy about it. Use your motherly instincts and you both will be fine.

Good luck :)

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I went through this recently with my daughter (now 4 1/2 mos old) The most useful thing to remember is that after 1-2 hrs of awake time they are ready for a nap. Sometimes if you miss this window it is harder for them to fall asleep or stay asleep. They also seem to stay asleep better when they fall asleep on their own which of course is difficult to do at this age. Maybe you could try a swing. This is how my daughter is able to nap well- swing, swaddle, and paci. They are habits that will need to be broken later on but for now I am able to put her down when she's tired and she stays asleep. Worth a try- Good Luck!!