9 Week Old and Morning Naps

Um, Shelly, she is 9 weeks old. She cannot put herself to sleep yet.

Try something different now if your "routine" is not working.
When she starts fussing, what else can you do? Rock her, sing to her, put her in a swing, feed her more, engage her in play time.

Try different things, maybe she is not tired, but bored? Gassy? since she just ate. But if she is not sleeping then maybe she is not really tired.

Unfortunately, not all kids go by the book. LOL

Good Luck
God Bless

Are you sure the fussiness is from sleepiness? Is she hungry? Do you feed her when she gets up at 8? At that age my son ate every 3-4 hours. Also, at 9 weeks she might not be ready to totally self-soothe. I know all the books tell you not to let them fall asleep in your arms or while eating or whatever, but at that age I had to rock my son to sleep. We never had lasting problems because of it. Does she fall asleep like that other times of day?

My granddaughter is that age and she doesn't always have a morning nap. It's OK to let them sleep when they want and be awake when they're not able to sleep. My daughter says that often she thinks her baby is tired but still won't sleep or else goes to sleep but wakes up in 15-20 minutes. So she holds her. Babies this age need lots of time with mommy.

When I've been with her, I've rocked her to sleep and then just continued to hold her and she sleeps longer. I'm right there to put the pacie back in her mouth which also helps.

I wholeheartedly agree with Lesley B. This is the age when they respond to many different forms of activity/non-activity. Try different things until she's happy again. She needs you to soothe her.

When we remember that a baby's brain is just barely beginning to make neuron connections it helps us realize that they really aren't able to do much of anything until those neurons kick in. At 5 weeks, she's literally totally dependent on you or another adult. Gradually her brain develops and she's able to do some things for herself, such as self soothe. You helping her to soothe now is allowing her to know what soothed feels like so she can eventually do it for herself. It's a learned skill just like talking.

Perhaps you've begun to notice that she is making some sounds that are different than the ones she made when she was first born.

she is real young.
They do not have regular patterns yet, for sleep/naps.

A newborn also gets over-tired and over-stimulated, VERY quickly.
They also feed a lot and often.
Your baby is also at a growth-spurt time. 9 weeks. Every 3 weeks is a growth-spurt, and then at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and every 3 months.
Their feedings increases in frequency and they feed more. Their intake needs to keep up with them.
Babies also 'cluster feed" meaning they will even need to feed every single hour. Normal.

Always feed before nap/sleep.
Not according to a schedule.
Feed before naps.

My kids as babies, had GINORMOUS appetites.
They fed, every 3 hours or less.
And also cluster-fed.
I fed on-demand.

I fed: upon waking, on demand after that, before naps or sleep, upon waking, on demand after that, before naps/sleep, etc.

She may just be hungry. Or gassy.
Do you burp her?

Do you feed her when she wakes at 8:00am????
That is 3 hours, from 5:00am until 8:00am. She needs a feed.

It is 'time' for feedings, when a baby is hungry. Not according to a clock or a schedule.

A full and satiated baby, will fall asleep, after a feeding.