How Many Naps?

hello J.
I just wanted to let u know that i have never put my daughter on a scedule and now she is almost 3 and she goes to sleep at 9 and wakes up at 8 so i think just let ur daughter make her own scedule it will all turn out for the best

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Infants should sleep anywhere from 16-18 hours per day. Typically schedules are determined at a bit later in the process. I would recommend you purchase a great book called Your babies first year week by week. This book is an excellant source and let's you know what you should be expecting week by week. Every child is different and your child may need more or less than average sleep. Trust your child to let you know what is best. Here is the book search on amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Your-Baby-First-Year-week/dp/B000H2...

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Hi J.,

Congratulations on your little girl and to motherhood! Unfortunately they don't come with instuctions. What may work for one baby may not for others.

Schedules are usually not predictable at this age.

It sounds like she is sleeping & eating like a 7 week old should. Her stomach is small and will grow as she grows. Increasing the amount she can tolerate may cause her to spit up more frequently. You don't want that.

If her feedings get closer then 3 hours try giving her an additional 1/2 - 1 oz. and see how she does with it. She may be ready @ that time, but don't force it.

It also sounds like she in a normal sleep schedule at night for her age. At least she goes back to sleep after eating. Some babies decide it's awake time @ 2:00AM. :( It won't be long when she decides to sleep a little longer between a ____@____.com in there!!!

I know it's hard to function on a small amount of sleep. Try to nap when she naps! Don't feel guilty if you don't get things done around the house. Your job right now is to take care of your daughter & yourself!!!!

You'll start seeing more awake times during the day as she gets older and a more predictible nap schedule. Right now let her do her own sleep schedule during the day as long as she's doing well @ night.

I think you're doing a GREAT job with her!! Keep up the good work.

Good luck to you!!!

K. :)

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The best thing to do, in my opinion, is simple observation. What are her cues that she is sleepy, does she rub her eyes, pull on her ears, fuss in a certain way, that lets you know she's tired? Observe how long it's been since she last woke up. I found with my daughter, at that age, on average needed to go down about 2 hours after she last got up. At this age setting a specific nap time is hard, but having an idea of how long, kind of like the feeding schedule - you observe her hunger cues and how long it's been since the last feeding, the same thing with napping. If you are staying home, a go with the flow approach can work, but it's still important to make sure she's getting the sleep she needs and this is a good age to start establishing naps, in bed, as a regular part of her day. I don't remember specifically how many naps my daughter had at that age, but I do know that by 3-4 months she usually had 3 naps a day 45 minutes - about 1 15 minutes each. Some babies need to go back to bed within an hour of getting up in the morning, then go 3-4 hours until their next one, then 2 hours after that - I would just pay close attention and learn her cues and get her in bed before she gets too sleepy. Good luck!

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I was worried about putting my newborn on a schedule too---but, I finally took "veteran" mom's advice---let her make her own schedule! My life sure was easier after that! It's easier for you to adjust to her schedule than to try and make a newborn adjust to yours! Good luck and congratulations!

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The schedule we had our daughter on is as follows. We would diaper her, feed her, burp her, and then she would fall asleep. And she would usually sleep until the next feeding 3hrs later. As she got older and became more aware of the world around her....we gradually got her up to every 4hrs. Diaper, feed, burp, play..off to nap. This was very effective. When she started table foods, I napped her in the am and in the afternoon. That worked great. She is now almost two and she takes one nap a day. Your daughter is the best indicator of her sleeping/eating schedule. Try giving her a little more to eat at night, and she will sleep longer. I hope this helps!!
~E.

I always let my kids pick when they wanted to fall asleep when they were that young. They will change on thier own as they get older. My 16 month old sleeps all night long now and she has been doing this since she was about 7 months old but my 5 year old didn't start sleeping all night until she was almost a year. I hope this helps.

Hi! I think you're doing a good job. I started my kids on a 2 1/2 to 3 hour schedule and would hope for a 1 hour nap. When you constantly have to wake her to eat, you know she can go longer. My advice is that during the day you feed her, have wake time and then put her to bed awake. That way she learns the art of putting herself to sleep (sometimes it takes crying, sometimes they go willingly)....something most babies have to be taught. It also helps teach them the difference between night and day. At night let her wake up on her own. Gradually that should lengthen in time. Some people think it's crazy, but with that schedule, at anytime your daughter will have the capacity to sleep 7-8 or more hours at night. My daughter slept through the night at 7 wks and my son at 12 wks. Sounds like you're doing a good job!! Good luck!

Hi J.:

I have to agree with a lot of the mothers. Your child is still too young to be put on a schedule, especially if you are nursing. My son, who is 17 months old, did not get on a schedule until he was 9 months old. I nursed him every 1 1/2 to 2 hours until he was almost 6 months old (stopped b/c he started getting teeth at an early age). Right at 6 months, I started putting him on schedule. I learned a lot by reading books. I highly recommend getting books by Dr. Sears. He was very helpful. My son eats lunch around 11:30, naps around 12:00 for an average of 2 hours and goes to bed between 8:30 - 9:00, and sleeps until 8:00 the next morning. It took a lot of patience, but it was well worth it. So, what you are going through is very normal. Best of luck to you! Please keep us updated. ~ T.

My son is now 6-1/2 months and waking once during the night, but when he was 7 weeks, his sleep schedule was much like your daughters. He would sleep 2, maybe 3 hours at a shot, and then need to wake up and feed (I was breastfeeding at the time and he took about 20 to 40 minutes for each feeding). Sleep was really scarce in those days, so I commiserate with you.

It will get better though. After my son was about 3 or 4 months old, his sleep cycles lengthened and my husband and I got a bit more sleep.

Hang in there!

Hi J.,

Congratulations on your new baby. I'll add my opinion that 7 weeks is probably too young to try and establish a schedule. My son is 10 months old. I too worried that if I didn't start a schedule soon enough I would be doomed. But he ended up eating when he wanted and sleeping when he wanted (I think I remember that babies sleep about 18 hours a day.) Eventually he did get onto a schedule. I remember leaving him with a family member and being able to predict to within 5 minutes when he would want to eat and sleep. It will happen, you just need to give it a little more time and maybe let the baby decide what is the best schedule (within reason). The only thing you should watch for is if your baby starts "snacking" where they only eat a little and want to be fed again in an hour. Doesn't sound like you have this problem. My son did not sleep through the night until he was about 2 1/2 months old so you may have a ways to go yet. We had to add 2 tsp. of cereal to his bottle at night for this to happen. As he had reflux and was just being diagnosed our doctor recommended that. It took about 3 days for him to sleep through the night. Good luck!

My sn was not at all a schedule child. He is now three. But when he was an infant, he ate every two to three hours, except through the night when he slept from about 11-6am. Other than that, the day was his. He did form his own schedule about the age of 1 1/2-2. Now he still takes a 1-3 hour nap almost daily (growth spurts he sleeps 3-4 hours!) and he sleeps from 8/9pm til about 630/7.

Try letting her show you when she wants to eat or sleep. She may form her own schedule rather quickly.

Hi J. my name is L. and I have a 7 week old son Vincent. My so is EXACTLY like your daughter. He eats every 3 hours maybe 3.5 if we are lucky. And he eats 4 ounces at a time. He was 10.5 at his 5 week check up so he is big enough I feel to sleep longer. At night he will only sleep like 2.5-3 hours at a stretch. Durning the day he is wide awake for hours on end. So you are lucky she sleeps an hour each feeding. Vince will sleep for like 2 hours around 4:00. Other than that he cat naps for like 20 min here and there. It is hard for me bc he likes to be held a lot. He is our first child and I start him in daycare 3 days a week next week. I am worried about how he will do. Do you work? I feel like it is so hard to get Vince on a schedule. Some days he naps at 4 other day he doesnt.
I just switched formula Friday night from Enfimil Lipil With Iron to Enfimil Nutramigen. I am hoping this will help him sleep longer. He seems to get a lot of gas and I wonder if that keeps him up. Last night was good he went down easier but still only slept 3-3.5 hours a shift. I will stay on this new formula for a week to see if he improves his sleeping/gas at all. What formula do you use or do you breast feed? How much does your daughter eat per feeding and now weigh? I feel like Vince eats so much.
Misery would love some company!

If you are going back to work then develop a schedule. But if you are not going back to work, I just went with the flow. I got really sick of everyone telling me when or how long my newborn should sleep/nap. The first few months, I think she slept about 14 hrs a day plus. Enjoy it!!!! I slept when she slept and worried about not much else until she was about four months old. She's nine months old, and takes a small nap (20min-1 hr) in the morning, and about a two hour nap in the afternoon. Besides that I had insomnia at night and catchin g up on all those daytime mini naps were pretty nice!

There is no need to have her on a schedule if you are a SAHM, other than any social engagements. One hundred years ago and every century before that, there were no schedules needed for infants....of course mothers who had to work a job of sorts could take their children with them...

Don't try to force some kind of scientific schedule on your baby. Let her eat when she is hungry, sleep when she is tired. She is far too young to try to start imposing outside control on her basic biological needs. When she is 7 YEARS old, you can dictate when she goes to bed at night. For now, relax! I am sure you are doing a wonderful job with your precious baby.

J.,

Your daughter is probably too young to be on any sort of schedule. My son didn't have really any type of schedule until around 4 mos and that was more of a rough schedule, not a set time. Babies are developing so fast at that age they need different amounts of sleep at different time. Try to just follow her lead... and nap when she does, if you can.

I am a new mom too so this is just from my experience so far. My little guys is 11 weeks old. He normally cat naps (about 20-30) minutes during the day and then has one ling nap in the afternoon, 1-2 hours. he does sleep for five hours at night and then wakes up every two after that. It seems to work for us. I don't follow an exact schedule I just let him set the pace. I think a lot of it has to do if a baby is nursing or not and their own personalities. I don't know if that helps at all but good luck!!

I was dealing with a similiar concern with our first, I found a book "Baby Wise", it was the BEST thing I ever read, it is about schedules and needs throughout the ages. The basic is eat, play then sleep, but not for an hour everytime. One of the best things I learned was I am in charge of when they wake up, then it isnt a free for all, they sleep until I wake them. I really advise getting it, my 2, brennen and Lillian slept all night (8 til 7) since 12 weeks. Good luck, ask any questions

A fantastic post called "Quick and Dirty On Sleep" from a mother in the trenches just like us - a *very* worthwhile read to give you some idea about ages/naps/etc:
http://moxie.blogs.com/askmoxie/2005/12/quick_and_dirty.html

And in case you are breastfeeding, it can be detrimental to stick to a strict feeding schedule of 3 hrs -- newborns and infants often need to "cluster feed" meaning several feedings close together. This helps increase your supply -- as they grow, they increase their frequency so that they trigger the mom's body to make more milk (it's a supply-demand based system --> greater the demand, the greater the supply). Babies know how much they need to eat, so I wouldn't mess with that system by instituting an "only every 3 hours" feeding schedule.

I saw another mama reply w/ a suggestion to check out Babywise -- while some love the Babywise schedule, many feel it is not a healthy approach. Even pediatricians advise against it (http://www.ezzo.info/Aney/aneyaap.htm). The schedule outlined in Babywise is too rigid, does not follow the baby's natural rhythms, and is not conducive to a successful breastfeeding relationship. Again, I'd be really wary of Babywise, for *lots* of reasons.

As far as schedules - I'm skeptical of rigid ones that do not take into account your particular child's needs/personality. I do think that some sort of predictability can be helpful for both parent and child, but I prefer instead "predictable routines" (a general sequence of events that happens in the same order) instead of watching the clock. A general routine can help you meet both yours and the baby's needs.

For example, far better to watch your baby for hunger signs and feed on cue (instead of feeding only and exactly every 3 hours whether the baby is hungry or not). Then watch your baby for sleepy signs (rubbing eyes, yawning), and help him/her to sleep at that point.

In a month or so more, you will probably begin to see a natural schedule that your daughter is showing you -- you can capitalize on that, encouraging her along the lines of what she is naturally tending to do (if that makes any sense).

Congratulations on your new baby girl!

I recommend this book to everyone!!! It will answer all of your sleep questions for years to come.
"Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child"
Good Luck

J.:

Sounds like you are doing everything just right. For the most part newborns eat, get changed, then go right back to sleep during the day. She will start staying awake longer little by little during the day, then you will know when she needs to nap, she'll get grumpy!!

My sons Doctor said they tend to want to eat a little closer together at night, it's a survival instinct.

Hi J.!

Being a new mom is so hard! I think there's so much pressure to get a "schedule" down and after having two myself (my youngest is 10 months old) I realized there's no rhyme or reason to scheduling naps until they're about 5 months old, at the earliest.

My kids were very good about sleeping through the night, and I had a trick that I think helped. During the morning and afternoon, I let my kids sleep whenever and wherever they wanted. My son slept best in his crib, but my daughter refused to sleep anywhere but her swing. So, I let her nap in her swing 2 or 3 or even 4 times a day. What I DID try, though, was forcing her to stay awake after six o'clock pm. I found that if I kept her up for two or three hours, she was exhausted and would sleep a little longer when I put her down with her bottle at night. At first it was only 5 hours, but in a matter of 2-3 weeks with both kids, they were sleeping 8-9 full hours! GLORY BE! :P

Of course every kid is different, and every mom is different, but i always figure it's best to get nighttime straightened out. Daytime naps will line up in due time. Though even at 10 months old, my daughter still takes one mini-nap in the morning some days before her big afternoon nap. *shrug*

Good luck to you!!

Hi there... I work as a nanny and am a mom as well, seems like strict schedules when they are really young don't work as well. I used this pseudo schedule that i followed from my first nanny job. It was a wake, eat, play, sleep schedule ( i believe it is from Babywise book) That worked really well with all of my other jobs and my own child. While she was able to sleep as long as she wanted there was still some structure to their day. And napping is a goofy thing... my daughter is 19 months old and won't give up her 2 naps a day. She sleeps 2-3 hours each one then all night long. So she maybe just getting what she needs..

Delaney is taking just the right amount of naps. There's no set amount of naps that a newborn should be taking. My son is almost 4 now, but he was on an every 2 hour schedule. The child picks the schedule. It's rough to have the baby waking up every couple hours, so I'll tell you what my mom told me... sleep when the baby sleeps. Simple but good advice. Your daughter could be an every 2-3 hour baby for a while so just try and make sure that you take care of yourself too.

J., I have three kiddos and they all napped alot during their first 3 months of life. My youngest one would wake up at 6:30 (with the other 2) then eat.. back to bed around 8:30 till 11, eat lunch ;-) and nap again from 12:30-2 adn then again from 4-6 or so-then bed by 9. Now he is only taking 2 naps (hes 7 months) and going to bed at 7:30. Remember, a child (even in these very early months of life reach their fullest brain potential when they are getting the recommended amound of sleep. If a 3 hour schedule at night is working for you...then go with it. If she doesn't start to sleep longer by 4 months then you might want to read some info on getting her to sleep a little longer so you are not exhausted.
ps..all of my kids have air purifiers in their room (for white noise) and it helps them sleep better-so well in fact that when we travel we have to have one in our hotel room or they won't sleep! but try some white noise...that might help. I always found that music over stimulated my kids and they were more awake then when I laid them down! Good luck

My advice is to throw out the schedule! A 7 week old is too young to be on a schedule. She should eat when she's hungry and sleep when she's tired.

Right now J. the baby is too young to try to change her sleeping habits. The best advise I can give is to try to rest when she's resting and dont be so worried about keeping her on a schedule right now.

I didn't have my son on a strict schedule, but I did try to keep him up as long as possible during the day time. This way when night time came, he would sleep longer. I also didn't wake him to feed him because I felt that he had eaten plenty during the day. At night i let him wake up on his on. So i think just trying to keep her after she feeds instead of back to sleep, will help her sleep longer during the night. As long as shes healthy and shes gaining weight, letting her wake her during the night to eat is ok. Then during the day you can go back to your 3 hour schedule.