Baby sleeps in bassinet only at night. Refuses daytime naps unless held or cuddled.

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evgreen

Registered User
So my 8 week old girl sleeps fine in her bassinet at night. She has her last feed at around 6pm and bedtime by 7pm. She'll normally wake at 10pm and 2am for a feed and up for the day at 6am. The only problem is that she refuses to lie down in her bassinet during the day. If held or in a sling she can map for one or two hours at a time. But if I put her down in her bassinet she will sleep for 20min max. I don't have blackout curtains in the room and I have a feeling she might just be sensitive to light!?? At night when I put her down drowsy she can usually sleep on her own (on most occasions). Btw, I am exclusively breastfeeding her and her bassinet is in my room. Has anyone else experienced this???
 
Hi evgreen,

I was experiencing exactly the same. My son is 13 weeks now. He used to start crying the moment he was put down to sleep during the day, whether he was drowsy or completely asleep. At night no problem at all.
I bought the book 'no cry nap solution' and there are some interesting information and tips in it.
I used some of it but eventually ended up nap training last week by putting him to nap, sat down next to him and picked him up every 5 minutes to soothe. First time it took one hour, second time half 'n hour, and now 5-10 minutes until he falls asleep. He always cries a little, guess his mantra cry. He naps approx 20-45 minutes each time, 4 times a day, still not very long, but I have good faith that he will get used to napping longer eventually. He was never a long sleeper anyway, never longer than 14 hours a day when he was newborn.
Also I balance sleeping on his own with sleeping in the carrier because I think he still enjoys the warmth and closeness.
The reason I started last week is because I noticed a change in his napping, he didn't nap as well as he did a few weeks ago, as if he wasn't that comfortable anymore. Also his weight was starting to be quite a pain for my back.
Dunno if this is useful for you, I believe every baby is different, and you can try things to see what works.
Best of luck!

BTW I am open for tips too to get my boy to take longer naps!
 
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Thanks for the reply! I called my pediatrician today and she suspects gas. Ever since she mentioned it, I have noticed a lot of gas in my baby...wonder if this could be exacerbating the problem. I'm not sure if nap scheduling is appropriate for an 8 week baby? I usually just follow her sleepy cues but even that doesn't seem to be working unless I'm holding her for a nap.
 
Are you using infacol? That might help. And I also think 8 weeks is too young for nap scheduling. I don't schedule either at 13 weeks, I just wait for sleepy signs. Furthermore, at 8 weeks your baby just loves to be held and carried, why not continue until you see this change? I saw it change around 12 weeks with my baby.
 
I'll ask my doctor about infacol. Curious to know if you are swaddling your baby? If so, do you do it both for naps and nighttime?
 
I tried but my baby really didn't like it.
But that's the thing, you have to try things out to see what suits your baby. I use a nap time routine, give a cuddly toy, give a paci, and make the room darker. You could try white noise, a t-shirt with your smell, swaddling, warming the bassinet to see if it works.
Though, breastfed baby's tend to have more need to be close to mommy, so she might not be ready yet. Or did she nap well on her own before?
 
She has her good days and bad days with naps. Some days she will nap incessantly, but must always fall asleep in my arms or in my helper's arms. If she's super sleepy, she can put up with napping in her bouncer once she's in a deep sleep. Other days, she barely naps. Yesterday she probably had only 2-3 cat naps and today she wants to sleep all day long. I really don't see any discernible pattern during the day. We don't have a nap routine cause somedays like today, she'll fall asleep for a nap, wake to feed every 2-3 hrs and go right back to sleep. Hopefully we can start a nap routine when a pattern starts to emerge. Nighttime routine is pat down. Bath, 10-15 minutes of quiet play, feed, swaddled and rock until drowsy/asleep.
 
Yes! My 13 week old is exactly the same. I thought it was to do with closeness to me but have realised that sleeping on his back, he is more likely to wake himself up by flailing around. My solution was to try his front and it's worked a treat ever since, and we're managing up to two hours during the day. I know and have read into the risks of sleeping baby on their front but mine has good head control and I am able to check on him constantly during nap times. I know this solution isn't for everybody but it has certainly made my day feel like less of a battle!
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I hope she gets a good nap soon. My baby had a very set bedtime & naptime routine by 8 wks old and she started sleeping through the night at almost 4 mos. We never used a bassinet or moses. For naps and bedtime I swaddled her and put her straight in her crib. But up until 4 months old she was taking a nap in her swing set and started getting used to napping in her crib gradually but I had to use a sleepbag on her, keep the room dim, and play a music for her to nap longer but fewer (instead of taking naps 3x but shorter) and also feed her before her nap. Try everything - swaddle, music, white noise, swing, nursing before naptime, whatever works, etc. But still she only dozes off when I rock and cuddle her. I guess, she just love that physical warmth and feels secure about it before she can go to her dreamland. She is now 6 mos and rocking her to sleep only takes less than 10 mins and so carrying a heavy baby for 10 mins isn't so bad.
 
Thanks for the replies! I have tried swaddling, swaying, humming during naps but as soon as I put her down (or shortly thereafter) she wakes up cranky. It's super bright in my room during the day and I think it might be too stimulating. I'm going to try taping up the windows until I can get blackout curtains installed. I've tales to another mom who had the same problems with her girl, so I don't think it's too uncommon. As for tummy sleeping I have considered it for nap times only but I don't feel comfortable trying it, well not at least she's able to roll over on her own.
 
It might be a bit of a pain, but have you tried carrying her in a sling for a while? During REM sleep, babies can easily wake up, but since you said she can sleep in a sling, could you try carrying her about as you do something around the house, and when her eyes stop fluttering (going into deep NREM sleep) try putting her down then? My son had an awful time with sleep, and carrying him in a sling did the trick most of the time...I just had to carry him in a sling for about 15 minutes while I washed dishes or vacuumed or something, and then I put him down on his bed, still in the sling but with his face uncovered of course. darkening the room will probably help too, as you said.

Good luck!
 
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