2 Month Old Sleeping Pattern

I suggest moving her bassinet into her room and letting her sleep in it. Sometimes babies like the smaller space of the bassinet, it makes them feel safer and she's not going to climb out of it. Then when she's a little older try the crib again. I think the crib is just too big for her right now.

L.....I have a 7 month old daughter. She has always hated the crib. I could only get her to sleep if I nursed her or rocked her. Once asleep I would try to lay her in the crib and she would wake up and scream. So we co-slept and still do. There is nothing wrong with co-sleeping. It is a wonderful bonding experience. I am VERY anti-cio. Especially at this young age. You will decide what is best for you, and if you do decide to cio I suggest you wait awhile. I think your baby is still to young for that yet.

As far as working goes...I went back to work 12 weeks after I had my baby and I just could not do it. She would scream for her sitter and refuse to eat. So I ended up quitting and staying home with her. It was better for her AND me. I felt terribly guilty that I was not home with her. Now she is thriving. She is intelligent and sweet natured. She was crawling at 6 months old!

Anyway...at 9 weeks old my baby did not have a schedule yet. Not until about 16 weeks or so did she start to nap about the same time everyday. She still does not sleep through the night. She wakes 3 or 4 times a night to nurse. But she goes right back to sleep, so I can not complain. Your baby will develope a schedule in time. All babies are different. What the other mothers babies do might not be what your little one ends up doing. Just go with the flow. Babies know when they need to sleep and when they don't. I say let her co-sleep with you if that is what gives her the best nights sleep. But whatever you decide to do....I wish you luck. Congrats on being a new mom! Soon enough she will outgrow this and you will miss those days when she was a tiny baby. I already do!

First off, there is nothing wrong with co-sleeping. It will not cause problems in your marriage as Kathy so assuredly pointed out. We co-slept with my daughter. She's 2, in her own bed and sleeps through the night. If your daughter likes her bassinet, then let her sleep in it. She probably likes the closeness of the bassinet. I'm betting she's not too big for it yet, so don't worry about it! If you want her in her own room, then move the bassinet in there. (BTW...my daughter shares a room with us and it doesn't affect my marriage either.)
Secondly, if your daycare won't accommodate your daughter's sleep schedule, I'd find another daycare. It sounds like you're taking her to an in home daycare they will most likely be more flexible than a regular daycare. They also have the Pack and Plays that have the bassinet. Perhaps your daycare provider has one of those your daughter can nap in.
Thirdly, there is NO consistency at this age! They are just too young! Not to mention, every baby is different. I'm a first time mom too and I can say that everything we do is trial and error. It's the only way to learn! Plus...it makes life more interesting! :D

I love, love, love the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child too. But...you may also have noticed in the book that you really can't expect to start any sort of real pattern nor should you try CIO until 4 months at the very least. At 2 months our son was all over the place with no consistency to speak of. We did let him sleep in a vibrating bouncy seat in his room, which led to longer stretches of sleep at night. There were nights that, in the seat he would sleep 5-7 hours. At 2 months it was awesome! At 3 months we transitioned over to the crib and used a sleep positioner and it worked wonders. We were also swaddling, which helped.

We did not choose to start any formal sleep training until 6 months, but when we did, we followed the techniques from the book to the letter. Quite literally it took 3 days and he was on a schedule. He was much happier during the day, napped better and slept better.

Just a warning...you are going to get many responses on here that will say you are an awful mother for wanting to use CIO and others will say you're an awful mother for co-sleeping. Both methods have their merits, but you really need to think long term about your family situation and what techniques will apply best to your circumstances. Personally, I would suggest that if you know you do not want to co-sleep for much longer then you should move away from that technique. I'm not saying it is a bad habit; I'm just stating the reality that the longer you co-sleep the harder it will be for you to change patterns and have the baby sleeping in a crib. Also, since you're going back to work you have to ask yourself how the child care is going to handle the napping. Will they hold her for hours on end like you do to assist her in sleeping or are they going to put her in a crib or a swing to sleep? Are they going to be 100% respectful of your sleep techniques and implement them just as you would at home or are they going to do things their way (ugh!) despite your instructions? The answers to these questions will probably best guide your decision making when it comes to napping/sleeping.

Good luck to you with whatever choice you make. And no matter what anyone tries to tell you, CIO is not abusive just like co-sleeping is not spoiling. None of us have walked in your shoes and have to live the life you do :)

And...if you have questions or need some help with Weissbluth's techniques, just send me a PM. I'm happy to try to help!

I have 4 children, girls ages 8, 5, 3, and a boy who is 4 1/2 months. He has been taking about 2-3 naps a day since he was probably a month old. I nurse him to sleep for his naps, usually in front of the computer. Then, he sleeps in an amby baby hammock (www.ambybaby.com). He naps when he gets tired, but has developed somewhat of a routine. He sleeps for about an hour at around noon, and around 5 pm.

At night, he sleeps in bed with mommy and daddy. I have read a whole lot about child development and I believe babies should be in bed with a parent, especially in the first year. I believe in the work of the sleep scientist, James Mckenna who supports co-sleeping for babies to PREVENT SIDS. Dr. Sears, who coined the phrase "attachment parenting" also supports his work in his books.

As far as childcare goes, it is your child and you should get what you want. Interview people and make sure they will do what you want with your child. Good luck.

you are probably on the verge of trying the CIO method, but not quite yet. I agree, She's a bit too young. At 2 months, my son did not have a regular schedule yet, but I could start to see the pattern forming. At this point, just go along with his cues and he'll get himself into a napping schedule. Week by week at this age makes a huge difference, by 3 months my son would be napping twice a day 1-3 hours at a time. I had the same problems for night sleeping, he was always a great sleeper and then, boom, he was up every 2-3 hours. And then he would go back to sleeping 5-6 hours before waking up at night. Sometimes I think it could be that they are growing or they have some gas pains and go through a phase of pooping more at night, or teething could be starting, some kiddos cut teeth at 3 months! Try simithicone drops or gripe water before bed to see if it is gas. Also, make sure there is no fever or signs of being sick. It really depends on what theory you want to go by, but I'm a believer in co-sleeping/breastfeeding on demand. So in that case, 2 months is still young to be putting them in a crib in their own.

Have you tired swaddling her? I have a 14 week son who up until 8 weeks would not sleep in his crib, only his swing. We were swaddling in the very beginning but we thought he hated because he would fuss and fuss and work himself out of it. When we went for our 2 month appointment we talked to our pediatrician about his horrible sleep habits. He recommended swaddling him again. Thoughts are that the crib is so open and big that they feel more secure in a swaddle. My husband and I rolled our eyes but were willing to give it a try if it gave us a better night’s sleep. Wouldn’t you know it, it worked and he has been in his crib ever since. We swaddled until he started rolling over at 12 weeks. Now we have a whole other set of problems to deal with!!! Ha Ha

He only sleeps between 3 and 5 hours at a time, he needs to eat...he is a piggie, eating 6 oz. at a time! But at least they are solid hours that I am able to get sleep too!

I am a first time mom who works full time. Husband is a great help!

Hi L.,

Congrats on your baby! It is hard to think about going back to work--maybe you could think about reducing your hours, working from home some days, or quitting? Every situation is different, but crunch a few numbers and think about it.

My kids had no consistency at this age (or at much of any other, though I do remember many days when my oldest was around 5 months, when he'd nap a total of about 30-40 minutes, once a day).

If baby is waking when you put her into her crib, you might try laying a heating pad (set on Low) in the crib for a little bit before you lay her down. Then just before you put her in, you or your husband (might take a team effort) remove the pad, then lay her on the warm spot. Lay her down very gently and remove your hands in SUPER SLOW MOTION. Maybe leave your hand along her side for a bit. With my two, the slightest little jostling when they were being laid down would wake them again.

Congrats also on nursing your baby--that is wonderful! I do hope you are planning to continue nursing if/when you go back to work. It is a wonderful way to reconnect with your baby and also relax a little when you get home. If you have some time, I would make some double batches of freezable meals to make life a little easier when you go back.

Don't konw if that helped any.

Good luck!

K. Z.

I know I am older than most of the parents on this site so I look back and wonder if I wasn't one of the most horrid parents in the world. I would bath my baby, feed it the last bottle before bed, then put the child in the crib to go to sleep. I would stand there for a few minutes, sing them a song or two and rub their little backs then turn off the light and leave the room. If they fussed a little I would go back and talk to them for a minute then leave. If they really cried I would go back in check diapers, etc., and if nothing was wrong would turn on the music for them leave the small dresser light on and leave the room again. I didn't rock them to sleep, cuddle them to sleep, and I didn't put them in my bed unless they were sick. Just a suggestion.

When you go back to work, she will get into a routine. There will be so much to see and hear at the daycare, she will be worn out at night.
Make sure she is warm enough in her crib at night. She may be waking up cold. Other than that, keeping her awake more in the daytime is a good idea, so she will sleep better at night.

YES the problem is you are a good mom and hate to see your baby having adjustment issues but you really need to work on her beingin her own bed as this will cause problems in your marriage later.K.

You are making the right decision to NOT let her cry it out. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. We slept beautifully sharing a family bed until mine was about 4 months. At this point she started waking every hour. I think her GERD, which she was on Zantac for but still bothered her at night, and teething resulted in the disruption of her sleep. At about 8 months she slept for a short period in a crib through the night, but then the frequent waking started again. I finally brought her back into bed with me. That was the only thing that would work. If your baby needs the comfort of being close to you, put her back in the bassinet or in your bed and just be glad you and she sleep well. Co-sleeping is the norm in most parts of the world. The crib is an exception. Read Attachment Parenting and other books by Dr. William Sears. You will be reassured that you are doing the right thing. As far as going back to work, your baby will probably crave that closeness at night even more when she is not with you during the day. Just be clear with her caregivers what her nap schedule should be and what works best to get her to sleep. I do recommend staying home with babies whenever financially possible. Go down to one car, maybe find a way to work at home or have your own business. Good luck with everything!

Hi,
A 2 mos. old's sleep is so erratic...don't stress about it too much! All I did is let mine sleep when they wanted but I made sure I fed them right when they wake up, then keep them awake about an hour. I did a routine of wake up, feed, play time or awake time, sleep, then start over. And I would NOT let her sleep 2 hours before bedtime at all! Feed her an extra couple ounces right before bed too! And do not let her sleep more than 3-4 hours at one time and no more than 6 hours total of naps or they won't sleep good at night. I really liked the book The Baby Whisperer for getting them to sleep in their crib. It worked for me! Good luck!

J.
Mother of two beautiful girls and stay at home mom