Problems with 3 week old daytime sleeping

[jenjams]

DD is just over 3 weeks old. We have been pretty much letting her choose her schedule right now. We have a big problem with her sleeping during the day... she really doesnt do it.
At night time we get to between 8-9 and bath her feed her and put her to bed. She sleeps really well at night and wakes 1-2 times for a feed then straight back to bed. She has been getting sleep in great 5-6 hour blocks.
During the day we try not to stimulate her too much before bed. We feed her before putting her down. If she is not tired after a feed, we will bounce her on the fitball until she is just about sleep and then put her down in her basinette. She will go to sleep then will wake 10-20 minutes later. We go in, rock the basinette and she sometimes falls asleep for a short time again. We try the dummy and she will perhaps go for a little bit again. if we are lucky we will get a 4 hour block in the afternoon.
She is tired, she yawns but she cannot put herself to sleep. We have low music playing in the background during the day.
She is wrapped otherwise she will fling her arms around and wake herself up. She also raises her legs. She doesnt scream a lot and doesnt look in pain. She may get a small dose of wind and thats why she raises her legs.
I would like her to get some good daytime sleeping in as I dont think she sleeps enough but during the night we get great sleep.
Any ideas?

I know she is only 3 weeks old but shouldnt she be sleeping a lot more than what she is?

[Arimeh]

Hi Jen, from what I can remember, DS slept pretty well during the day (its a little hazy those first few weeks!!). I think most of the time, I had him on the couch on a sheet, so then when I could hear him start to wake up I would go over and pat him on the back to help him drift back off. He also had a dummy. We also had one of those chair rocker thingys for babies that helped him go to sleep. My sister swears by hers for her kids, says they basically live in them during the day!!!!! Its just trial and error really, see if something works for her. But its fantastic she is sleeping well at night
Hopefully someone can give you more helpful advice cos I re-read my post and its really not that helpful!! Sorry!!!

[~Trish~]

Congratulations on your little girl, she is so gorgeous!

Daytime sleeps are one of the hardest things I have dealt with in my bubs! I'm just wondering how long you are keeping her awake before you put her down for a sleep. Babies as young as yours can only handle a very short wake time, say around 45 minutes give or take (including a feed). If babies are awake for too long they get overtired and it is much harder for them to fall asleep. Watch for her tired signs (yawning, grizzling, jerky movements etc.) and whisk her straight off to bed.

For my bub I would wrap him, pop a dummy in his mouth, put him in his cot on his side and pat him on his back until he was calm and could go to sleep. If he rewoke I would just go back and pat him again until he was calm. Don't be afraid to give her a bit of a cuddle though, she is still little and needs lots of them!

Regarding wind - This would keep my bub awake (he would also pull his legs up) so I started giving him Infacol before a feed and he was a different baby! This may not be your issue, but if you are stuck for ideas it is worth giving something like Infacol or Brauer Colic Relief a go.

If all else fails, talk to your MCHN, I'm sure she will have lots of great tips for you to try.

Best of luck

[LisaBear]

hi, my DS is 7 weeks and he has never really slept during the day..
i have tried everything - but he only has 30-45 min naps 3 times a day.... hes not a big sleeper at night either...

tho we have just gotten a highchair and he goes in that in its recline and tends to sleep in that during the day when im potterign around..... he used to sleep in a rocker with vibrate - it helped with his wind...

dont know if thats been any help tho...

[MantaRay]

I agree that is sounds like maybe she is too tired before you start the bedtime routine, or maybe your routine is too long for her at that age.

The other thing though, is that a long block of sleep during the day as well as great night sleep is very rare at that age. If she is sleeping well at night, usually you would expect shorter day sleeps and often they have more feeds during the day too. So don't be too concerned about not getting 4 hour sleeps. If she can go down easily and sleep for an hour or two, that is a good aim.

GL, it really does get easier. And it sounds like you are already doing an amazing job. Well done.

[jenjams]

Thankyou everyone for great replies.

Yesterday, we had her down for perhaps a couple of one hour sleeps. She went down at 730 for 2 hours. We then woke her to bath her, feed her and she went to bed at 10. She woke at 2 for a feed, back in bed at 245, woke at 630 for a feed, back in bed at 7 and then up at 9.

We had some time with her this morning before her feed and DP rocked with her for a bit. She went back down at 10 and so far she has not cried!
We try not to keep her up for too long. The last thing before bed is a feed. If she is not drowsy after the feed we will bounce on the fitball and we then put her down when she is yawning or her little eyes are nodding off.
I will be happy as long as she can get a couple sleeps in during the day. I am not asking for a huge chunk all of the time. But enough to know she is getting enough sleep.

If she cries after we put her down, we will go in there and rock the bassinette for a bit or try the dummy. We leave the room when she is asleep or very drowsy. We dont talk to her to stimulate her.
Be nice if babies have a manual.