How do I get my 10 week old to nap during the day?

Question

My lovely 10 week old daughter sleeps very well at night but duing the day she will not nap longer than 40 min and NOT in her cot. She will only sleep if she is allowed on the sofa or if I cuddle her. This is getting to me as she wakes up at 6am, has a bottle, plays for an hour and then naps for 45min and then plays again... no chance for Mummy to have a nap:((( Any ideas?

Answer 1

Her schedule sounds just like my daughters,,,,wake up at 6, eat, stay up a while and go back down for an hour or less.  My baby also takes very short naps, but sleeps well at night so I can't complain.  

i think your daughters schedule is normal.  Thank your lucky stars you have one that sleeps at night!

Answer 2

If she doesn't want to sleep then you can't make her.  My daughter is the same, she hardly sleeps at all through the day, maybe a quick 10 minutes once or twice a day.  But through the night she is great, unfortunately due to medical reasons she has to be woken and fed through the night.

You will just have to do what you can, if shes happy to sleep on the sofa, I say let her!

Answer 3

There are some new mothers who would be extremely grateful that their baby slept at night, stop moaning and be thankful you get a good night's sleep.

Answer 4

I haven't had a daytime nap since my baby was born 8 weeks ago! She doesn't sleep all night either, she wakes at 1am then again at around 4am for a feed. She's breastfed so will eat approx every 2 hours during the day.

When she naps I shower and catch up on housework. She rarely naps for over an hour. A five hour stretch of sleep a night sounds like a luxury!

Anyway, if you're desperate to nap during the day can't you get a friend or relative to take your baby out for an hour or so?

Unfortunately little catnaps throughout the day can be enough to refresh a baby. If this is her sleep pattern there is little you can do to change it.

Answer 5

She sleeps all night, so she is obviously contented, must be that she gets enough sleep then, go to bed when she does for the most amount of sleep, housework will still be there later, don't worry about that.

Really, 6 or 7 hours sleep a night with a new baby is excellent, there must be new mums out there screaming at your question.  Be grateful you've got a 'good one', not sure what you were actually expecting it to be like.  Will put your shortness down to lack of sleep not rudeness then?

Answer 6

i'm sorry i have no advice i just want to say you are lucky she sleeps at night i have a 9week little girl and we are up most nights like right now plus i have a 4 year old so i cant nap in the day.. lol

Answer 7

Well, make her exhausted. Make play a bit more, but don't torture her! If she can't sleep that means that she isn't tired. Right?

Answer 8

You can't force a baby to sleep but if she is happy to sleep on the sofa then she must be tierd she has obviosly got to used to sleeping with you. I would let her fall asleep with me so i could have a cuddle to then put her in her cot. With my little boy, when i knew he was tierd i would put him in his cot in a dim room with his music box on and i would let him self settle he would be hppy there for a little while then he would realise im not there and cry so i would let him cry for a little while then go in and settle him and leve again he soon realises its ok i'm near by then fell asleep its not nice to do cos you have to listen to your baby cry but its worth it because it works try it for a week or so you may feel like its to much effort and it won't work but i done it when i went in his room he he his dummy and i left the baby listeners on

Answer 9

Unfortunately, that's a common problem and there's probably little you can do about it as some babies only want or need to sleep that much at a time. Does she sleep when out in the buggy or car? Whenever I was desperate, I took mine out for a walk and she'd usually sleep the whole time. However, that doesn't let you rest and i'm sure you need it.

You may find as time goes on she'll start sleeping more at a time, but for now, i'm afraid you'll probably just have to get used to it.

  Sorry not much help! Good luck.

Answer 10

Whoa, first of all, congrats on getting her to sleep through the night!  That usually doesn't happen until much later...

Second, no warm milk.  They say cows' milk shouldn't be given to a baby under the age of 12 months.  

Third, my daughter (who is now 6.5 months) is the same way.  The best advice, take a nap with her.  This was the only way that I could stay sane.  I slept with her.  I know people are all trippy about SIDS and stuff, but that didn't even exist like 20 years ago...I can't say it will work for everyone, but it worked for me.  Still does.  I am currently living in Korea, and SIDS doesn't exist here, so we co-sleep anyways at night.  Why not during the day?  :D  

Good luck!

Answer 11

I remember we had this problem with my son, and when I mentioned it to the health visitor, she did say that at least he slept through the night.  But as you say, you need a break too.  I know this sounds silly but have you actually tried putting her in her cot at another time of the day and seeing what she does?  I used to think that a baby would show me signs when they want to sleep, but they don't always, and I used to be surprised when I would put my son in his cot quickly whilst I went to the loo or something, and come back to find him asleep.  

She is also at that age where it is difficult to put them down to sleep once they nod off on you.  It takes them longer to fall into a deep sleep so are aware if you move them.  I remember having trouble with my son around this age, but you have to remember you will get through it and this stage won't last forever..  It's such a shame you don't have family close by for support, to give you a break here and there.  The good news is it sounds like she will sleep well at night so once you get through this, you will get a good night's sleep with no interruptions - like I do!!  Something only some mums dream about!!  Good luck and congrats on your little bundle! x

Answer 12

Seems like your child is really developing some troublesome habits. The first 5 months can be horrible for your sleep but warm milk contains something (a naturally produced chemical which i cant remember the name of) that will definatly help to get her into a longer deeper sleep, shes probably not at an age where she will take comfort in a stuffed animal but thats definatly worth a shot. Hang in there, pretty soon you be sleeping full 8-9 hour nights