Is it me or her?

[FirstTimeFreakOut]

Cant get naps sorted with my four month dd. She fights it & cries and gets all over tired but is so hard to get to sleep. She never wants to, never would just fall asleep or anything. I try and hold her and stuff but she wont go. Then she screams so much I thing theres something wrong with her. No-one else seems to have this problem and my sister says its not normal

[belgo]

Oh plenty of us have had this problem! You're really not alone! (BTW, does your sister have children? if so, are they perfect sleepers?)

[FirstTimeFreakOut]

She has two. But no-one else I know has this problem. She seems to need sleep so badly but justnever wants it. She doesnt sleep in buggy or car either. Sometimes she screams and arches her back and ends up hot and actually crying

[FirstTimeFreakOut]

i mean tears streaming (|whilst shes screaming)

[belgo]

My dd had this problem. It's hard working out what the best solution is. I think my dd had stomach acid reflux tummy pains which is why she never wanted to lie down. And she's just not a very good sleeper. Even now, (she's three years old) if she's over tired she'll have a cry before going to sleep.

Does your dd sleep well in the pram and car?

Have you tried using a sling?

[Elibean]

My first thought was reflux...have you tried putting her down on a slope, IYSWIM? My dd has silent reflux (no vomiting) and till she had meds for it, would arch her back and scream if laid down flat, especially after a feed.

If this does turn out to be the problem, try putting a cushion or something under the head end of her cot mattress - or books under the feet of the cot - to raise the head to about 45 degrees. I often put dd down for naps in her bouncy chair, at a gentle angle, too.

If thats not enough, might be worth talking to the GP in case she does have reflux and would benefit from medication...its made a huge difference to my dd2.

Good luck - so hard figuring out, when they're so little!

[FirstTimeFreakOut]

I wish my dd had a reason but she doesnt seem to. have tried a sling and it used to owrk but not any morre

[DonnyLass]

poor you -- totally empathise and you oscillate between feeling dreadful for LO and furstrated at not resolving don't you

big hug

you're NOT alone ...

my dd did/does the same and was just diagnosed with reflux ... just doesn't like lying down. i have swingy chair thing that also sits her up slightly and that helps

when she simply wont nap(altho she is out like a light like clockwork every night) i try to console myself by saying (to myself!) noh she's just sooooooooooo lively and bright and interested in the world .....

[FirstTimeFreakOut]

Yes I must admit my dd sleeps ok at night usualluy. I dont think it is reflux (almost wish it was)

[NewDKmum]

FTFO, I have a tip, you may want to try out? In Denmark - where I come from - all babies sleep outside during the day. If you have garden, I suggest when your dd is tired, you tug her in warmly in her pram and put her in the garden. She may cry a bit in the beginning, but I can almost guarantee you that she will soon understand that this means she should take a nap and the fresh air will make her sleep for ages. Good luck in any event!

[funnypeculiar]

Oh ds was like this too - I remember my ils coming over one day and I really wanted them to think I was coping well, and I spent about 2 hours desparately trying to get him to sleep ... aghhhh! My best mate had 2 great sleepers, and she thought something MUST be wrong with ds- couldn';t understand it!He didn't have reflux or anything - he was just a little s*d who didn't want to miss out on anything. No great tips - with us it was just time that fixed it (to an extent - he is still not a great sleeper)
There were 3 of us with crap sleepers in my antenatal grp (of 8) - you are defn not alone. Dd came along and she would settle herself to sleep at 6 weeks (although is busy kicking off upstairs as I type!) - I was in heaven! I FIRMLY believe that it was mostly temparament with ds - don't think I did anything different with dd
Good luck!

[FirstTimeFreakOut]

Thanks for your messages...it does help. I will definitely try the outside in the pram thing! And she is just the same as you say funnypeculiar, she is just mad to be walking etc etc when shes only 4 months ols. She can hardly lay still for a second.

[belgo]

Yes she sounds very much like my dd1 - she was so desperate to crawl and walk , and only started having decent daytime naps when she could walk.

[FirstTimeFreakOut]

Did she tire herself out?

[MrsGoranVisnjic]

would strongly recommend seeing a cranial osteopath

[belgo]

I also think a cranial osteopath could help, in particular if her birth was difficult.

It's taken trial and error and a lot of patience to improve my dd's sleeping - and it's only really improved since she's started nursary school every day, walking there and back, therefore using up a lot of energy.

The first year was very difficult. I have a friend who's new baby sleeps through the night since the age of three weeks, and sleeps for two hour naps during the day, and I am just so jealous.