2 month old - wakes early from daytime naps

[Prisca982]

My 2 mo ds won't sleep for more than 45 mins during the day. (Sometimes he wakes after 30 mins). This wouldn't worry me excpet that he is clearly still tired when he wakes. He cries in his cot but won't go back to sleep by himself. Sometimes he continues wailing even if I pick him up and carry him aound. Sometimes I can get him back to sleep but it usually requires rocking/cuddling etc.

I think he's waking himself up (arms flailing etc as new babies do). My first ds used to do the same thing. Once he went to two naps a day he slept fine.

Just wondering if anyone has any ideasr on how to help my son either to stop waking or to get back to sleep? It's stressing me out a bit (very hard to do either housework or play with 2.5 yo with a wailing baby in my arms) and also it's not good for baby -he keeps falling asleep while feeding and has no sleep routine in the day.

He sleeps beautifully at night, so I don't understand why he can't settle himself back to sleep in the day!

 

[ChildByGrace]

Hi.

My two suggestions may not go down well but they worked really well for me with both of mine.

As he flails his arms etc, have you tried putting him to sleep on his side or tummy? Both of mine would always wake after about 30 min if I ever put them on their backs.
The other is, have you tried a pacifier-both mine have used them and it helps settle them back down.

Also, if he falls asleep when feeding it's possible that he's not getting enough milk to make him sleep for a long time. You could try keeping him awake to finish feeding, then he may settle for longer.

 

[Jilly123]

Your baby is still very small. Most babies sleep cycles are 30 - 45min each. It is normal for babies to wake after that time, although many babies can go right back to sleep again. The key is to teach them to put themselves back to sleep, which is easier said than done.

What I found helped with my girls was to make sure the room was dark and cool (we live in a hot climate, and if the room was too warm they wouldn't be able to go to sleep).

Does your baby like to be swaddled? My first hated it, but my second loved it at that age and it really helped with the waving arms.

Try not to stress about it. They are little for such a short time so just enjoy the times when you do get the chance to rock and cuddle him back to sleep. Rather have him sleep badly during the day than at night. I'm a terrible parent if I don't get enough sleep at night

 

[tiredwalker]

Swaddling is the way to go if he'll take it. Both of my girls hated the first minute of being swaddled, but they would quickly calm down and sleep MUCH better. Swaddlers didn't work with either one, but the flannel receiving blankes worked like a charm.

 

[epiclesis]

Swaddle

Moby wrap and wear him for a nap,

 

[nstoddar]

Our daughter did the same thing at that age. We gave up swaddling her because she busted loose every time. Eventually we put her down on her tummy, but she never really slept a long time during her naps either. Oddly enough, now she won't sleep on her tummy at all -- hard to get that thumb in her mouth. I'm assuming she's not waking up for a simpler reason of being hungry or wet ... ? A Moby wrap is great, too.

 

[tiredwalker]

Oh, and white noise. Go to simplynoise.com. We all sleep wonderfully with it