Help!!

[Mystikal]

DD will be 8 weeks tomorrow. She hasn't slept much the last couple of days. Napwise she will sleep until she's put down and then will be up five minutes later screaming bloody murder.
She finally fell asleep last night in the car on the way home from my parents house around 6:30 and slept right through until 1am. She slept through me changing her diaper and putting her pj's on her. Missed her bath.
Today she napped from 11-11:45 and then was up until 5pm when she fell asleep again. Well, it's 8:30 and she's still sleeping. I have moved her several times in an attempt to wake her up so that she will sleep tonight but I can't get her to wake up!!! Does anyone have any suggestions?? Please? I need her to get up. What works for you?

[Toonces]

We never had the "not being able to wake up" issue with our DD. Unfortunately she likes being up a lot. :D Personally, I wouldn't want to wake a sleeping baby, but I totally understand your need b/c you don't want to be up until 3am.

Have you tried changing her outfit? When you have her naked run your fingers up and down her spine, or use a wet washcloth and run it over her back and tummy. You can also try tickling her feet. I've heard that BFing moms who have sleepy babies use those techniques. Hopefully it'll work for you.

[magdesilver]

Is it possible you are missing her "I'm tired" cues during the day? Babies that age can't handle being awake and stimulated for more than 1-2 hours at a time. Within 2 hours, you should be getting them back to sleep (by rocking, swaddling, nursing, the 5 S's, whatever you have to do to get them back to sleep). It is very common for babies to want to be held while sleeping at 8 weeks. Try swaddling, a sleep positioner, the swing, or bouncy vibrating seat. Or try a carrier like the baby bjorn or a pouch or ring sling.

[kat]

I agree re: the "two-hour rule" for babies that young. What I learned (after reading Weissbluth's HSHHC) was to start getting DC ready for naptime about an hour and a half after they woke, then getting them in their cribs by the two hour point, EVEN IF they didn't "seem tired." My kids at 8 weeks weren't very good at giving sleepy clues, so I had to go by the clock for a while. I can't tell you how many times my mother, sister, or in-laws would say "s/he's not tired!" when I took the baby to bed, but once we had some quiet time, they'd go right to sleep. It took a bit of time (and a helluva lot of patience) to get them into that "rhythm," but they were much happier and better rested.

BTW, my kids also used to crash around 4 or 5 PM and sleep until 1 or 2....I tried everything in the book to get them to "move" their longest sleep time to a better block of time for us, and the only thing that worked was time. Eventually they got into the habit of a 7-ish bedtime and STTN.

[ktdelsur]

We kind of did a bit of Weissbluth/a bit of Babywise in that we woke him up every three hours to eat for the first 2-3 months. He eventually would automatically wake up. We would give him his last bottle around 9 and then just see how long he'd sleep...we wouldn't wake him up at 12 or 3 to eat unless he woke up himself. We went by the eat/play/sleep routine where we'd try our best to keep him awake during feedings and keep him awake a bit to "play" (as much as a 1-2 month old can "play") - then put him to sleep...we did the two-hours of wakefulness thing that was posted about.

This seemed to help...after 3-4 months we didn't have to do a whole lot - he fell into his own little routine.

[red_canuck]

8 weeks is prime "I wanna be held time!" It was for Logan too. My best advice- go with it. It doesn't last long, and you won't get the opportunity once you're back at work. She's too young to put herself to sleep anyways ;)
I totally agree about Weissbluth's 2 hour rule. Once I figured that out, my life was so much easier with the man. i still try to stick with it now at 5.5 months! The days I succeed are good good days :D the days I don't...ouveiy. not so much fun.

[kat]

8 weeks is prime "I wanna be held time!"

Yes, yes -- it sure is. And as tired as your arms may get, take advantage of her cuddliness as best you can.....I would kill now to have either baby let me hold him/her for more than five minutes. :)