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Re: 7 week old-naps

Posted by marie on October 31, 2001 at 18:19:54:

In Reply to: 7 week old-naps posted by lisa on October 24, 2001 at 17:56:17:

Hi!

A baby of that age shouldn' be awake more than two hours at a time. This is the maximum that they can endure at that stage of their development. I don't know at which point you put him back to bed after feeding, but it might be that he stays awake too long and then misses the right time to go back to sleep. You said yourself that he was overtired.

Try to follow a regular schedule: from the time he wakes up in the morning, calculate two hours and make sure to put him back to bed just before these two hours have passed. As said someone else, give him a chance to go back to sleep, EVEN IF HE CRIES. Wait 5, 10 minutes or more (He will probably protest loudly at the beginning). See what happens. Usually, after they are fed, babies of that age have a moment of about 20 to 30 minutes maximum during which they are alert, look around them, interact with you, etc.. Then, their attention seems to fade. Their eyes stop to focus, they become still, they stop being interested by their environment. This is the right time! Take him back upstairs, change him and put him in his crib. If you go beyond that period, they become overtired and problems start. Also, you have to be aware that outings, etc.. interfere with the schedule, and you have to do everything you can to make sure that your baby have his regulars naps, each two hours. It sounds hard at the beginning, but on the long run it is rewarding. The objective is that around 3 months and so, they have 3 naps a day. Later, around 7 or 8 months, they will have two. And after one year, only one, in the afternoon. Also I would advise not to count on devices, like swings, strollers, car seats, at this stage, as they will send the message to the baby that being out of the crib is possible and even normal. It will only make matters worse.

So put this 'mental clock' of two hours periods in your programme, and there is no reason why things shouldn't go back to normal.

As was mentionned by someone else, the reflux problem has also to be considered, but if your baby seems confortable after his feeding, and well burped, it is probably not the case.

Good luck!! I have applied this method with my two kids, and they always napped (and slept at night) properly.

'Marie'

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Archived Infant Sleep Forum4 viewing only. To post a new topic go to the Infant Forum Homepage.
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