Not a Napper

It sounds like he might just be uncomfortable, maybe gas? My son had severe acid reflux as an infant, and always had gas pains as well. I used an herbal supplement called kid's tummy helper, by Wild Oats. You just put the drops in his milk. It has cammomile in it which is very soothing and I swear by the stuff. It helped my son Landen so much, he rarely got any gas pains after we started using it, and the cammomile really helps with relaxing.

He definitely needs more sleep, for himself and you. Have you read the book, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer? That was very helpful in setting a routine for myself and my first born. I actually reread it for my second. It helped me read my daughter's cues around being tired versus hungry. Also, it lists norms as far as feeding and sleeping for the first year. Good luck!

I already responded last time, but have you tried Little Tummies Gas Relief Drops? Does his tummy feel hard? I know it's hard to tell sometimes if it really is gas and I know I don't like to give them any "meds" unless really needed, but it helped my daughter. If it makes you feel any better... my daughter only slept a half hour at a time here and there. I thought she never slept either. She did this for almost 3 months. How does he sleep at night?

Conrats on your new little one! I bought a toy (from wal-mart for $30 or so) it is made to stay in their crib and it is wonderful-it puts stars on the ceiling and she loves to watch them. My daughter is 12 months, I will put her in her crib around 7 pm and she will play with it, and an elephant that has rattles and makes noise (hasbro.com) she plays for 1/2 hour to 45 min. then falls asleep for the night. She slept alot when she was first born, I would put her in a vibration chair, and also a swing chair, put in front of the TV and she would nap, for about 30-50 minutes, she took 3 of these naps a day. then she would sleep next to my bed at night, and when she would wake up hungy I nursed her and she would fall asleep again. ( I nursed untill she was 6 months and wished I did it longer but she would bite me ) I also nursed my boy until he was 10 months! It depends on what you are feeding your little one, if it is breast milk, that does not stay in their system long also if you are nursing try pumping some milk and put it into a bottle with some RICE CEREAL, that will keep baby full for a longer amount of time. Try this out slow, for the first time put only 1 tsp. RICE CEREAL then if baby stomach does fine increase it a little next time. I hope this works for you, it did for me. If you are brave try to spoon feed your baby some milk and Rice cereal if baby does not like it try next day, introduce things slowly. GOOD LUCK.

I know how you feel. I had the same problem with my now 5 month old. And we are still having a little trouble with the afternoon naps.
But, this is working for me in the mornings- about 2 hours after he would wake up, I would give him a bottle and feed him like I do for his nighttime routine, in his room/dark/soft water CD, rock for a little bit, and then lay him down. He may fuss, but I had to give him some time for himself. Every so often, I would go back in and 'reset' him, giving him his pacifier and making sure he was comfortable, but NOT picking him up. Soothing him by stroking his head or tummy, usually worked to calm him down.
My Dr. said he needed to get used to the idea that after some awake time, there was 'down' time. He also stated that, if he was waking back up after only 20-30 min, keep tying the 'reset' - try to let him work at staying down for 1 1/2 hrs. The 'reset' will let him know that you are still there for him, but he will also learn that this is the time we take a nap. It took about 2 weeks, and trust me, it wasn't easy. Now - the morning naps are almost to where you can set your watch by it! (afternoon naps are getting better, but that's when I'm usually going to work, and my husband is in charge of the naps - it's an entire different subject!)
I think there is a name for this technique - either Ferber or Sears - I can't remember which one. I read up on so many of them, I can't keep them straight!

I hope this helps!
Hang in there!
L. O

You know what, I have a baby that is 8 months old, and he never has been a real napper. He is a cat napper. He will go down for maybe an hour here and there and on an especially go day I might get an hour and a half. It's always been that way. So much for thinking I would have time to take a nap myself or get things done while he slept. All babies are different and it sounds like your son might be a lot like mine : ) If you have access to a health food store, I have been giving my son camilia (chamamilla) Just as an FYI - this can be helpful during teething too. There are a lot of options that are homeopathic that might help in getting him more relaxed and calm which may help him sleep more. Go to Wild Oats and if you have questions anyone in the isle there can help. Good luck.

I've been where you are -- right down to the zantac. All I can tell you is that both of my boys acted the same way. This is all just my opinion, but I think a "schedule" is a myth. Babies do what they want to do when they want to do it. we're mostly just along for the ride :) Try not to stress about it and catch a nap yourself whenever you can. Things do get easier. Two things I found that helped me -- a cradle swing and a sling (Maya Wrap -- can be found all over the web). For my son with reflux, the front/back swing made it worse but the side to side put him asleep quickly. For my older son without reflux as well as my younger one, the wrap meant I could keep them upright and close, but basically have my hands free. They both slept great that way during the day. It's not perfect because if they like the sling and swing they sometimes won't do their bed very well, but my approach was to fight that battle later when they were more active and getting tired enough to really, really need a nap. Either way, this phase will pass. You're not alone. Hang in there. :)

This might sound obvious and you may have already done this, but have you asked your doctor or nurse about this? I remember when my brother was a baby (there is 11 almost 12 yrs between us) and he would not like to sleep and it was due to he had something wrong with his ears and needed tubes, laying down put too much pressure on his ears. Sorry if this didn't help, hope things improve soon!
A.

I used to babysit a little girl that slept only about 1 hour a day. She is completely healthy and happy. She has regular sleeping habits now.

Check out the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth, MD. This is a great, easy to read/skim book that talks about kids' sleep needs from infancy-adolescence. A good reference for many years to come! This book has been a great help for us as we try to do our best to parent our 19 month old and 4 month old boys.

first off, congratulations on your first baby! They are amazing to watch, aren't they? :) I just had my 3rd girl in July (she's 5 mo old now). So I have a little recent experience with this. Have you taken him in for a weight check to make sure he's growing and eating enough? That was a problem w/ my first (she wasn't getting enough food from me and I was forced to start bottlefeeding because she was starving! and of course not sleeping because she was always hungry). The good thing about infants is that they change so often, so you probably won't be dealing w/ this issue for very long. Is there one place where he does sleep, like a bouncy seat or car seat, maybe not the crib? If so, I've read that it's okay if that's used for young infants for awhile so they can better develop their sleep patterns. Good luck!!

I can't offer any advice or help, but I just wanted to let you know that my 7 week old does the same thing. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, but she just does not sleep much during the day. Usually, she'll fall asleep at the breast, get burped and kept upright for about 10 minutes, sleep for a max of 60 minutes, but usually more like 15-30, and she'll be up again.

The only thing I can say is that if he's eating right and doesn't seem to be overtired (cranky ALL the time), then I think it's ok. Does he sleep well at night? Mine usually sleeps 5-6 hours, sometimes 8 or 9.

I don't think it's a big deal. If he doesn't want to sleep he's not going to.

When I first had my son they told me he would sleep 16 hours out of the day...he very much DID NOT. He would stay awake for 5 or 6 hours at a time, and took maybe three naps a day, if that.

I think as long as they are happy and healthy they will make their own schedules and be fine. Also, be happy if he sleeps at night! He will fall into a good schedule eventually, don;t worry so much :)

Good Morning S.:

I was one of those moms who had children that didnt sleep. I was always told that they sleep alot as babies. My neighbor has five children and all of them came home from the hospital sleeping through the night.

My five year old was my toughie on the sleep thing. I was 38 when he was born so the idea of me getting no sleep was less than appealing!! However, he only slept about a two hours a night and that was NEVER together. He did not start sleeping more than 3-4 hours until he was 2. The doctors did multiple tests on him but determined he just didnt sleep and there was nothing medically wrong causing it. I remember many nights of being up all night with him because he just didnt sleep.

It is frustrating but this too shall pass and I am sure he will start sleeping for you soon. You need to talk to your pediatrician about how they would like you to proceed with this, but our pediatrician used to joke with us that our son was training to be a resident/intern since they never sleep either.

I would call and ask your pediatrician for a few suggestions since he/she probably knows a bit more about your baby. There are many things that you can try but without knowing Eli I dont want to start making suggestions only to find it might be something medical.

Usually they do sleep better than that, but everychild is different. Is this during the night too? It all is dependant on a lot of things. It could be that he is getting great sleep at night and doesn't need as much during the day.

If he does it at night too, they some other questions need to be asked. . . Does he spit up a lot? Could he just need to eat ever 2 hours. . . I guess in order for any of us to help you out we would need a little more information.

If he is spitting up a lot it may be acid reflux, or milk allregy. . .it could be many things. This is something you can call your ped. about. Don't feel bad this is the information they are there to consult you about.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

K.

S.,

Is he on formula or breastmilk? This might make a difference in the crying/screaming fits. If he's on formula that creates gas in his lower abdomen then that might by why he's crying/screaming. When my son was a baby he didn't sleep much either and started the crying fits as well when he was about 3-4 mo old. We switched his formula to Carnation (Now Nestle) Good Start b/c it's easier on their tummies and he did FINE! I don't know other than that. I wouldn't worry too much about his not sleeping b/c if the problem is gas and you take care of that he'll start sleeping more b/c he'll be at ease.

Hope this helps! A. C.