Screaming before a nap

[veus]

DD did that too & still does sometimes.
I know sometimes it's overtired. But for a long time I fought her to sleep. I realised at some point she just isn't ready to sleep. I thought she is. Even though she's sleeping not as much as other babies. Because I thought that's how much she needed to sleep I tried to get her to. I think she was screaming coz she wanted to 'play' more. By the time she's done screaming, it's when she's tired anyways. I'm not saying that's what your baby is doing. Just something to think abt. And as madb said a bit of trial & error sorta got there. So your best bet is to try different things. Don't let what's supposed to be 'norm' restrict you, just follow LO's cues. Good luck!


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[forshelby]

Ah, Ladylove. MadB is right. Everyone has BTDT. Everyone who's ever had a 9 week old, that is

My DS was like this with his day sleeps. I never did figure out the reason for his screaming. He just kind of stopped doing it every single sleep, then not every single day, then before I knew it a week or two would go by without any screaming at naptimes.

When he was little like your DD is, I had a few tricks up my sleeves. I too couldn't find a way to avoid the crying no matter what combination of things I tried. So I came up with ways to ease my stress and make life easier for myself instead.

-Use a sling wherever possible. I'd even pop him in there in the cradle hold and sleep sitting upright if I'd had no sleep and was going insane.
-Co-sleep if you feel the need, any time of day. If I wasn't in the mood for sitting upright holding DS while he snoozed for hours, I'd lie down with him. He would wake if I moved the tiniest bit, so I decided I'd take advantage of having to be so still and have a much needed sleep. Sometimes we'd spend two 3 hour blocks napping on the couch for days at a time.
- Build a nest. Have your favourite pillow/s, blanket, slippers, on hand wherever you find yourself sitting the most with bub. Other things I also had in my goody basket: Various remotes, my phone, a tablet pc (to chat on BB of course!), reading glasses, a cloth nappy in case of sudden spew incidents, something to drink, and I kept a small table nearby so I could keep anything I needed for DS close by. Dummies etc.
-Stay in your nest as much as you can on the hard days. At first I felt lazy for doing this. But then I remembered that while DP sleeps all night for an 8hr stretch or more, I was doing the marathon of night-feeds and wakings, sometimes getting up hourly or even less. So I cut myself some slack. Having a newborn is hard work, so give yourself plenty of time to just rest and cuddle with DD.
- The housework will wait. It really will. Mine did. In fact, some of it is still waiting for me. Yes, I transported a large basket of dirty linen etc when we moved house 4 months ago, and I still haven't gotten around to it. But whatever. I'm far too busy nurturing my baby to care about boring superfluous chores like that! (besides if I don't miss or know what's in the basket, can't I just throw it away??? lol) Basically, prioritize your chores into 3 categories. Hell yes, Maybe baby, and Hell no. Eg. Making sure there's at least one clean plate to eat from and a glass to drink from? Hell yes. Doing 3 weeks worth of built up laundry in one day? Hell no. Mopping the floor? Maybe, baby. Maybe I'll just sweep it and mop tomorrow. YKWIM.
- Follow DD's lead as much as possible. Try new things when you're feeling brave. Coocoon yourself in your nest when you're feeling drained and not up to a challenging day. If you're tired of the nest, take baby out for a walk, preferably past your favourite cafe so you can grab a coffee/hot chocolate/other comforting drink. Go easy on yourself!


That's about all I can think of for now. I hope there's something useful in there for you. These are just the things I did to get through some intense sleep-deprivation and prolonged bouts of wild screaming and unsettledness. Sometimes DS cried too. LOL, that was a joke. And remember, "This too shall pass". I chanted this for many months. It really did pass.