2 Month Old Doesn't Nap.

i am a mother of 7,
3 of my children didn't really take naps,
but especially the last 2, even that young, did not take any long naps. i called them cat naps. do you breastfeed or formula. i have more info. let me know.

A. f.

For my daughter, wearing her worked like a charm to get her to sleep or nestling her on my chest.

My daughter didn't have a nap "schedule" until 1 year. Before that she napped when she felt like. However, that tended to be after breakfast and after lunch.

I think she is probably too young for a nap schedule, but I would definitely work on getting her to sleep more now. I highly recommend the book "Good Night Sleep Tight" by Kim West. We are using her approach with our 4 mos old twins and it is really helpful. She has chapters that are by age with suggestions on how to help them sleep better. Good luck - I know how hard it is!

Try soothing her to sleep every 1.5 - 2 hours. I used the Weissbluth sleep book. He emphasized that if an infant at that age is awake for more than 2 hours... he/she is overtired and it is harder for the baby to fall asleep. It completely worked with my son. At the 1.5 - 2 hour mark, I would nurse or sing/rock my son to sleep. After 2 hours (if I did not actively try to get him to sleep, he was more agitated... just seemed to want the breast... but wouldn't fall asleep). Best of luck to you! It is GREAT that your child is sleeping so great at night - ENJOY!

A couple tips:
1. At this age put her down at the very first sleep cue - one yawn and thats it don't wait she'll get her second wind.
2. She should nap after being awake about 2 hours each time - this should end up being about 3X a day.
3. Start to create a routine for her - gentle rub, a little bit of rocking, a short book or poem, a song, etc (we used our crib soother with nature sounds to signal time to sleep).
4. Can you still swaddle her???
5. Don't get her into any habits you wouldn't want to continue - if wearing her for every nap or rocking her to sleep is something you don't want to do for the next 10 months - don't start now.
6. Baby Wise and Healthy Sleep Habits Happy baby offer wonderful tips on sleep training and understanding HOW babies sleep and what their needs are. Babies typically start to get into a sleep routine between 6 and 10 weeks so now is a great time to start.

A. Guethler
www.snuggleandread.com

Hi K.! I feel your "pain". Just wanted to tell you that my first daughter (who is now 7) didn't nap until she was 8 months old. I thought I was living in a nightmare. I carried her around all day every day because otherwise she would be shrieking. One day when she was 8 months I put her down to try it yet again, and she slept for 2 hours. I literally cried with happiness. My second one wasn't as hard, but she didn't nap regularly (or anywhere but the car) until she was about 6 months old. 2 months is sooooooo young. You just might have to grin and bear it. But keep in mind, it WILL end. (I can't believe my own baby is 7!!!) There will be light at the end of the tunnel eventually.

Try wearing her in a sling or other baby carrier. My babies would be out cold after riding around for 10-15 minutes. Sometimes the only way I can get my 11 month old to go to sleep is to put her in my mai tai in a back carry and walk around the house. 2 months old is still a little young for a back carry, but a front carry will work just fine. I have a Maya Wrap ring sling (www.mayawrap.com) and I love it! If you don't have a lot of experience with baby carriers I recommend a ring sling as a good start. Avoid baby trainers like the Babywise books, etc. Babywise has been linked to failure to thrive because it takes things to extremes (For more info on why these books are bad go to http://www.ezzo.info/). For better information go to http://www.askdrsears.com/ He's an actual pediatrician.

At two months old I would just let her cat nap whenever and wherever. Let her sleep on your lap or take long walks in the stroller for her to nap there. It's tiring for you, but she'll get some more sleep. Our baby was the same. At four months we got the book The Sleep Easy Solution, and it worked incredibly. Now she is a fantastic napper. She does have to cry a bit when she's learning how to nap, but if you can help her through that part, there's a big pay off when she finally learns how to nap.

We had one who did the same - Dr. Harvy Karp wrote a book "The Happiest Baby on the Block" and he talks about the 4th trimester and how important it is to mimic the womb for the first few months. Put her on a routine - wake up, eat, play, then rest - and most importantly, swaddle her, give her something to suck on, shush in her ear, loudly if she's crying, and use a swing or something that makes motion. Worked like a charm for us - he's got a video you can check out at the library that helps explain, and helps with time since you probably don't have a lot of time to spend reading :) Best wishes!

I wish I had good advice for you but unfortunately I don't. I do however know exactly how you feel. My daughter who is now 18 months old wouldn't nap for the first 5 months of her life. I would be dead by the bedtime rolled around from her being awake all day. I would just lay her in her crib every few hours throughout the day for short periods of time and eventually she began to nap. Even to this day my daughter still isn't the greatest napper but at least she will lay down for at least an hour each day.

Hi K. and congrats on your new baby. I am the mother to a 2 yr old and a 3 month old. My 3 month old is very similiar in the fact that he sleeps all night - goes to bed around 7:30 and does not wake up until 5:30 or so but to get him to take a nap during the day can be challenging. I have a fisher price cradle swing (that I used with my first also) and love it. I feed my 3 month old, put him in the cradle swing when I think he should have a nap, turn it on to swing, put some classical music on and shut the door. He fusses for a little while (as mommys we now how long is too long) but usually he falls to sleep. This works for me most of the time. Neither my first or second son were much for napping in the day. I have come to realize that my 3 month old needs to get his pre nap fussing out before he will go to sleep - for some reason he wants to fuss which in the beginning I preceived as not wanting to sleep but then I look over and he was snoozing. Hope this helps!

Do you have a swing? That was the only way my daughter would nap during the day was in the swing.

Oh... reading infant minds is a terribly difficult thing to do sometimes! Several of my young friends have had excellent success with a change in the sleeping surface. I wold be delighted to talk with you further, with the possibility of setting up a chance for you to try the alternative sleep surface... Please contact me at: ____@____.com and we can see about setting something up... Hopefully, CandyS

Dear K.,
As a new Mom congrat's! But listen...don't stress about a schedule yet. Your baby is still so new. Since you are home try to enjoy this time, and along the way here are some tips. But first remember your baby is sleeping very well at night for 8 wks,. so maybe she is going to be an active kid. The sleep patterns will change Many times over the next 12 months.
A swing is the golden ticket and your baby won't get "addicted" to it so let the baby nap in a swing. Soothing music helps and rest while your baby can see you from the swing. Weather you you bottle or breast feed, don't end the feeding there, talk, snuggle and rock or glide in a chair or rocker with her so she gets drowsey. A full belly helps. it is not uncommon for babies to get cat naps. talk to your ped. for more tips and remember that when you think you have a "schedule" figured out the baby will change it on you, that's what they do while they grow. Try to find extra support while your hubby is away, it is hard esp. the first few months, but you will see changes! Enjoy as these days are long yet fly by!

Dear K. C.

My four month old daughter has never been one to take naps either. She will take a 15-20 minute power nap and she fights drifting off for that time. I have found that once she is cranky because she is tire, I hold her so her head is resting on my shoulder and I gently rub her back. After about ten minutes, she is asleep for at least 15 - 20 minutes.
At night, I feed her when she is hungry (usually about 7:30). She gets her fill. Usually she is so tired that she only drinks 3 oz. She starts to doze off. I put her back up to my shoulder and just rub her back. 99% of the time, she is down for the night, at least until aboun 5 or 6 a.m.

A little about me:

I work full time with rotating shifts. I am a mother to a beautiful and happy four month old.

Good luck
Jeannette S.

I, too, had a baby like that (my oldest) and it was a nightmare. Problem was, she was my first and so I didn't even realize how off-kilter things were; I just thought I was a rotten mother. You, at least, know what's up. No great advice, except to echo the swing suggestion. I used a Graco battery-operated swing and it saved my life (literally--I was going insane from sleep deprivation). I even burned out a motor on one and had to get a replacement Fed-Ex'd from the company. It was the only thing that worked. Good luck!--T.

Best book ever for sleep... Healthy sleep habits happy child by Marc Weissbluth. We had the exact same problem with our little one, but after putting in place the strategies discussed in the book, our son took 2 solid naps a day at 1.5 each nap and was only waking up once a night to eat and sleeping a total of 12 hours during the night. Since you're starting so early with her, you'll be able to make up her sleep deficit very easily. Just to give you a little idea of what you should expect your little one to be doing at this age in regards to sleep. Babies at 2 months are just starting to develop a morning nap routine, but the afternoon nap isn't going to be developed and predictable yet. My advice would be to focus your efforts on the morning nap since she that is the first nap that starts to develop into a consistent routine. Most babies are tired after 1.5-2 hours of being awake. My son was a difficult baby so I had to start his nap routine about 1.5 hours after he woke up to get him settled and ready to go to sleep 2 hours after he woke up. Once you get this morning nap established it will be much much easier to get a routine for the next one because she won't be overtired anymore. Happy sleeping!!

Hi K.. My daughter was also like this - she would only nap for like 45 mins at a time. I would say take a week to watch her cues. What time does she wake up in the morning? Typically, within 2-3 hours of her waking up, she should be ready for a nap but don't force her - just watch her cues. She will start yawning, or seem uninterested in the things around her, etc. At that point get her ready for a nap and start to use some sleep cues (eg, words you say, stuff toy, etc). A white noise machine or other soft music may help. Also keep in mind that she is still adjusting and it will take at least another month or so before she is on a regular schedule. You also need to see the total amount that she is sleeping throughout the day and night. If she is getting all of the sleep she needs then she should be fine.

I would recommend the No-Cry Sleep Solution book. It has great ideas for sleep solutions, schedules, etc. I wish I had that book when my daughter was young.

Good luck!

My daughter is the same way, hates napping, but can't handle not napping. She is now 5 months and I have just figured it out (I'm still crossing my fingers though). Here's what is working for us: I figured out that I was waiting until she was TOO tired to put her down and at that point she was unable to soothe herself to sleep. Now, I put her down as soon as I think she's tired and she falls asleep. Often by the time she is rubbing her eyes, it's too late, so I give her her favorite blanket before then and she pulls it to her face if she's sleepy. Every child has different cues, I think the hard part is figuring out what hers are. Also, I put a noise machine (a fan would work too) which helps her take longer naps. Hope this helps, I think a lot of Moms struggle with this!

K. ~
My little guy didn't sleep well either but he had colic. I really like what Alexis wrote, and I would say much of the same. I ended up putting my guy on a 3 hour sched. which included no more than 2 hours awake before putting him down, which had to be in a swing chair due to reflux or whatever it was. Also, I couldn't feed before nap - it just upset him when he tried to sleep. Good luck.

I never had a problem with our daughter going to sleep during the day. I think it is because we used a swing and the Fisher Price vibrating chair. Our daughter would sleep in there all the time, sometimes at night too. Having something to sooth the baby, like rocking, swinging, vibrating, reminds them of how it was in utero. So definiately give the swing a try. And put the swing in the nursery where baby can not see you. She may fuss for a little bit, but if she fusses more than 15 minutes or so I'd try something else. She is still "fresh" from the womb so be patient, it will all work out.
Good luck and congratulations on your new baby girl!

H.~