Napping - Baltimore,MD

If she's not cyring or fussing while she's awake that whole time, I wouldn't worry about it. If she is, she might be hungry or gassy. Right now, a friend of mine has a 5 week old who hadn't been sleeping and was always crying. She was breastfeeding, and come to find out, the baby wasn't getting enough milk, so he was always hungry. It was just so hard for them to tell how much he was eating. They've started supplementing and he's much happier and sleeping longer, now that he's got a full belly!

Drea - I feel for you!!!! My now 9 year old daughter never needed much sleep. She still doesn't - she can go to bed at 10pm, get up at 6am and go go go all day long. She didn't nap in her crib until she was 8 months old. I remember the moment like it was yesterday. I think I might have even cried with joy! At 7 weeks, she did exactly what your daughter is doing. I even slept with her in the guest room and held the pacifier in her mouth all night b/c if it came out the shrieking would begin. I have to say, it was quite a nightmare for some time. She also slept well when I put her in the stroller and went walking. Seriously, the minute we got home she'd start howling again. One benefit, I lost the baby weight really fast b/c I literally walked more than 5 miles every day (why bother going home, you know?!) So funny I'm reading your post today b/c just yesterday I was talking to her about when she was little and how her eyes were always WIDE OPEN - for hours on end - when I knew she should have been sleeping! Anyway, I know I'm babbling a little here, I just wanted you to know that completely relate, and that some babies are just like that. I lucked out - my second baby was a much better sleeper (good thing, b/c with a newborn and 2 year old I would've lost my mind if I'd another non-sleeper!) Try to focus on the fact that it won't be like this forever. You'll get through it, and then end up like me - wondering how you became the mother of a NINE year old!!

First of all, I am so sorry for you :(. My second child (daughter) also did this and I had a 2 yr old son to take care of too. She would only nap if I was holding her!!! People told me to take a shirt I had worn and put it in her playpen/crib so she could smell me as she napped - didn't work. I swaddled her, white noise and all and it didn't work. She was a fiesty one and even rolled over @ 3wks old!! Then once she started getting more baby fat, hmmmm like around 3mo old, she started to settle down a bit. She settled into a routine by 4mo old. To this day though, she is still my little pistle!!!

Hello, I am also a first time M.. I have a 11 week old son and his napping varies. Some days he will nap in 30 min in the morning and nothing in the evening. Some days he will nap 3 hours. I'm not sure if this is normal either, but you are not alone. One thing that I have noticed is that he sometimes gets tired after a feeding. I try to seize that opportunity to rock him to sleep. I also try to notice if he's yawning a lot and try then. I don't know if any of this will be helpful for you, but just know that you are not alone in your worries.

That's not much sleep for a baby that young , I wouldn't worry yourself , nothing is wrong with her , they just sometimes stay awake longer than they should , and then get so tired that they are "wired" and cannot fall asleep. Do you have a bouncy or swing chair? I found those really good for napping when they were this young , also try swaddling , my kids loved to be swaddled and slept so well when they were. As hard as it is try not to get her into the habbit of being held so that she sleeps , especially if this is not a road you want to go down.

My first did this--I called her a "power napper"--and I had no idea that many babies actually nap for hours until she was a year old, and I was comparing notes with a friend. All that time, I couldn't figure out why this baby thing was so exhausting for me and not for the other first-time moms I knew......The baby swing was our sanity-saver. We got one of the motorized ones and used it so much that we burned out one motor and had to get another one Fed-Ex'd to us. (The guy at Graaco sounded sympathetic--I bet I'm not the first to have this problem.) With my second, I sometimes put her on top of a running clothes dryer (warmth, soothing background noise, etc). Just experiment and do whatever works. That's what parenting is, in a way: one great big experiment!

And yet, you had the strength to write! She sounds like my first-also a little girl. Call her pediatrician-he'll be able to help-there are many books written on this subject and a myriad of info available online-try a baby swing-they really help. Don't use one of those sling thingsthat you wear around the house so you can, God forbid, eat or go to the bathroom -the baby's head tips forward and they can suffocate.

Same thing happened with 2 of my children. They out grew it though. I don't remember how long it took though.

My daughter went through a similar thing around that age. She grew out of it. I, too, can't remember how long she went through it. Never fear, it won't last forever!! :)

Drea- If I was reading this 7 months ago, I would say it is not normal- HOWEVER, my now 7 month old daughter does this every day!! She has never been a nap taker, even if I hold her for the whole nap or lay her down- nothing will get her to sleep during the day. She takes about 3 "power naps" (20-30 min each) a day and that is it! My son was a fantastic sleeper and would take 3 2-hour naps a day, so I was totally not prepared for my daughter to not nap. But, every child truly is different, and if she is doing great otherwise, then I would not worry about how much your little one is napping!