2 month old won’t nap during day

[themadbaron]

My son turns 2 months old this Friday and he has been STRUGGLING with day time naps for almost two weeks. He won’t go down for more than 45 minutes at a time (if that). He then is either up and alert or crying. We allow him some self-soothing (which he was getting really good at for a while) and pick him up if he cries. From there it can take a long time to get him back down to sleep. He sleeps wonderfully at night and always has. We’ve tried so many tips (car rides, carriers, holding, singing, reading, rocking, outside) and none of them seem to work. He does appear to be light sensitive so we are looking into blackout curtains. It’s been so hard. My wife is on leave for a few more months and I work from home as a therapist, so I have short breaks which we are so grateful for. That said, this is emotionally draining for us and we worry he is not getting enough sleep. Any suggestions I am missing? Or even encouragement/validation would go a long way.

Thanks all!

 

[moriarty777]

@themadbaron We did contact naps until 6 months for thIs reason.

He’d sleep 2 hours if we held him and that was easier than dealing with Mr Crab

 

[edtkw]

@themadbaron Unfortunately, that’s normal. Mine only would nap for 15-30 min at a time, and I wasted so much energy trying to fix it, but nothing worked. I would recommend rolling with it for now, and then once LO is 4 to 6 months, you can try sleep training and it will likely be effective. In our case it only took 3 days once son was 7 months.

 

[catzetier]

@themadbaron Totally normal. Mine was the same. The naps will get longer as baby develops.

 

[fighttheflesh]

@themadbaron That’s normal. And don’t do cio, especially at such a young age. He won’t be sleeping longer for a while. The 4th trimester is hard.

 

[katrina2017]

@themadbaron That's normal, don't worry it gets better around 12 weeks , u can always check "safe sleep and baby care evidence based" group on Facebook. It was SO much help to me when I had my baby, I learned what to expect, how to deal with it and how to keep my baby safe during sleep

 

[katrina2017]

@themadbaron That's normal. A sleep cycle is 45mins and they don't link cycles until they gone through the "4 month sleep regression" which happens between months 4 and 6, when they gain more adult like sleep cycles and even then it's still going to be hit and miss. You cannot expect a newborn still to nap for long or consistently. They just won't.

Best bet is to download the app Huckleberry. It used to be free, it's pay now but you can input age and sleep times and it will give you a "sweet spot" for the next nap so you aren't trying when baby is over tired or under tired. At first it's just a general "at 2 months it's X" but over time it will learn your baby and suggest a more personalized schedule. For example our dude has always has longer wake windows then average. But know that your baby can't read and won't necessarily stick to a schedule anyway.

And don't bother with curtains. You need black out flim. The curtains still let in tons of light around the edges.

 

[themadbaron]

@katrina2017 Thanks for your feedback. I totally forgot we downloaded Huckleberry but never used it. I’ve read it’s normal for the short naps and inconsistency. It’s just hard to see how much he should be sleeping per day but isn’t. Thank you again for your feedback!

 

[empt2]

@katrina2017 I’m sorry the 4 month regression can happen at 6 months? My baby is 4.5 mo and so far her sleep seems to be getting better and better, she sleeps through the night 7/10 nights and I thought we just didn’t have the sleep regression or that she just connects her cycles. Is is possible is had not happened yet?

 

[gabjensnsn123]

@empt2 We didn't have any change for the 4 month one, and we're all good until 8 months where we're back to 4 wake ups a night

 

[tom9820]

@themadbaron Google the fourth trimester. It’s completely normal, I know it’s not what you want to hear when you’re so exhausted/ sleep deprived but he should eventually start to nap in the day for longer periods of time. It’s fantastic he’s doing so well through the night!

 

[seth4000]

@themadbaron We’re dealing with the same thing with our 3 month old who is very alert and is not a good sleeper. She only takes 30 minute naps but if we catch the end of her nap before she’s too alert and awake, we can hold her and extend the nap for up to another hour. It’s been tough and feels unsustainable at times.

Definitely try the blackout shades. We bought some on Amazon that cover the entire window opening so there is literally no light coming through. Most advice tells you to have your baby take day naps in bright light, but that really wasn’t an option for our alert and sensitive baby. We needed to remove all stimulation or else she won’t even close her eyes.

One of the hardest parts is seeing our friends with babies around the same age that seem to nap anywhere and all the time. We’re so jealous.

 

[escaconhump1984]

@themadbaron I would check out r/newparents, r/sleeptrain, or find your babies month bumper group!

 

[tom2014]

@themadbaron This is normal. My son only napped 40 minutes at a time for the first 6 months or so. Then they got longer as he got older.

 

[gabjensnsn123]

@themadbaron At 2 months we also went through a phase of no daytime sleep - 45 min naps are much better then we were getting then. But they will start to lengthen again before long.

If baby isn't upset & is getting good sleep at night, then you don't need to worry about how much sleep they 'should' be getting.

 

[divine37]

@themadbaron That’s normal, doesn’t make it any easier but he’ll learn to nap. I put my son on a schedule pretty early on and while he didn’t sleep “well” until he was 9months it paid off majorly in the end, for naps and bedtime.