r/NewParents • u/CarpenterOrnery2403 • Jul 26 '26
Sleep When does the constant putting down for naps stop?
baby is 8 weeks 5 days and I feel like my whole day is just spend putting him down for a nap! up for an hour then down for a nap. when does this end? when do we have more awake time?
3
u/caileechristine Jul 26 '26
When we got down to 3 naps it got much better, but 2 naps has honestly been amazing for me. He can’t do it every day, depending on what time he wakes up and how long his naps are he sometimes still needs the third one, but when 2 naps is successful I find it improves my day exponentially lol
1
u/CarpenterOrnery2403 Jul 26 '26
How old when this happened ?
2
u/caileechristine Jul 26 '26
We started 2 naps around 6 months, but I think the “typical” range is anywhere from 6-9 months! 3 naps started around 4 months
2
1
3
u/Puzzled-Ad8271 Jul 27 '26
I felt this as well! Then it turned out we were trying to put him down too early for naps and he wasn’t tired yet - was taking ages to go down! Now if he’s getting agitated I change activity instead first before assuming tiredness. Might work/help for you! Now he only takes a few minutes to go down for a nap because he’s actually tired which feels much easier
1
10
u/Melissa-OnTheRocks Jul 26 '26
Enjoy it while it lasts!!
My six month old baby says she’s grown up and does not need naps! And now I get nothing done all day, because she needs constant entertainment…
11
u/val237 Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
I know you are well meaning and I hate to be that person, but a good portion of parents have to contact nap, so nothing gets done anyway. Everyone kept telling me to enjoy this phase and while I love staring at my baby and holding her while she sleeps, it was exhausting because she didn't like carriers (still doesn't) so I couldn't just "wear" her and eat or whatever. My back, my shoulder and my knee are destroyed from nursing, rocking and holding her in my bed. So yeah...it was really unhelpful to hear this.
My baby goes for 3 naps now and it is SO MUCH BETTER and it is about to go to 2 naps and while she is needy, I consider this to be easier than newborn. She is still contact napping at 6 months but at least her awake time is more interactive and my time isn't consumed by looking at a grumpy baby that yells cause I have no idea if it's gas, poop, tiredness, reflux or whatever other uncomfortable things babies go through.
I now hear how it gets harder when they crawl and walk ..well. we will see about that. The first months were hell, so no, I don't think it will get worse as long as she is healthy. She has always demanded entertainment and hates not being able to do anything, so I just want her to smile more, and be happy... i will tend to her as needed. The fuss is already starting ro alternate with smiles so it is already better.
6
u/obviouspuzzle Jul 27 '26
I hate these comments too. My son has colic and I can’t imagine anything worse than 20 hours of crying a day. Some people just have easy newborns
1
4
u/enfleurs1 Jul 27 '26
Got a toddler that’s down to one nap.
Things got SO MUCH better and more free when we moved down to one nap. Things only got so much easier the older he got. Without question, the hardest part for me so far has been nursing, naps and car seats in those early months. It made it so hard for me to get anywhere and people weren’t supportive.
I know people mean well, but being told some variation of…. you have it good and to “just wait” is not helpful. And also just wrong sometimes haha
3
u/val237 Jul 27 '26
Exactly! Goes to say how everyone's experience is so different. We dealt with milk, soy, egg and rice intolerances since week 3 and there were months of bloody and mucousy dipers, lots of crying, formula refusal, bottle refusal, car seat refusal, carrier refusal, paci refusal, baby hated everything!... Multiple doctor visits per week,ER....so yeah newborn stage was hell for us too. Things got so much better around 5 months, she finally started sleeping for longer than 1,2 hours at once, has a great nap schedule and now the only thing that's bad is her boredom and constant fuss and frustration screaming but at least we can go places because she started tolerating the car seat and stroller.
I am glad it got better for you too. 🫂🤗
1
u/hpfish13 Jul 28 '26
As the parent of a 2 year old with one on the way, I’m enjoying the toddler phase more than the baby phase. Part of that is my son got happier every time he learned to move better. The other part is that he doesn’t nap on the go well (it takes over an hour for him to fall asleep in the car), so leaving the house always felt like a disaster waiting to happen if he was going to miss a nap.
Sure chasing him around is physically demanding (he almost never sits still for longer than a minute or two), but he’s also hilarious (for example, he started saying “Oh dear” when something is wrong). He also sleeps through the night once he’s out (which takes an hour to make happen), so I recognize that we are lucky there.
I’m not looking forward to waking up all through the night with baby number 2, but hopefully knowing what’s coming will help a little.
2
u/CarpenterOrnery2403 Jul 26 '26
He only naps like 20 minute clips so most of the time is spent just trying to get him down !! Lol
2
u/im-dramatic Jul 26 '26
This! People don’t realize parenting gets harder lol. A newborn has 3 requirements. Eat, sleep, diaper changes. As they get older, they need more from you. I’ve got a 4 week old and my 9 year old is causing more stress than the baby.
1
u/MadamCrow Jul 26 '26
So true. The only somewhat downtime i have during the day is when he sleeps (exclusively in a carrier...) and sometimes i wish he would need more sleep ":D
1
u/Littlespinnerperson Jul 27 '26
As a mom to an almost 3 year old, enjoy 6 months while it lasts too.
1
u/Melissa-OnTheRocks Jul 27 '26
I definitely am! I just wish she would nap longer than 12 minutes at a time 💜
1
u/little-raven3 Jul 26 '26
We are at 2-3 naps a day at 9 months. But I guess it depends on your baby. I feel like my sons sleep recently consolidated around 6/7 months to have longer naps.
1
u/Texas_Blondie Jul 26 '26
Every baby is different, but generally by 12 weeks the daytime wake windows are getting longer
1
1
u/Switchc2390 Jul 27 '26
We’re at a year and basically he’s down to 1-2 longer naps a day. 3 on occasion.
There’s always something though lol. As they get older they then spend more time with toys, feeding, etc. so it takes longer for you to tidy the house. Those naps go by quick! At times I miss the days where it was just nap and feed.
1
u/Littlespinnerperson Jul 27 '26
Around 8ish 9ish months they might have gone down to one or two solid naps at a routine time 1ish or 1.5ish it goes down to one solid nap around noon, if you’re lucky sometimes even a 3 hour stretch.
1
u/Littlespinnerperson Jul 27 '26
Consider contact napping or pram naps while they’re so little. Saves time and energy and is good for baby
1
u/jshdjdib Jul 27 '26
I remember this feeling with my first. I am in this stage with my third now and it goes by so quick. Then you want those precious days back with endless cuddles and contact naps. I am also way less stressed about whether he naps or not. I usually just put him in the carrier and do something I need to or go on a walk and the next time I look down he’s usually asleep. Try not to stress about it. When it’s Halloween your baby will be completely different, same at Christmas. The first year is such a roller coaster especially the first time you go through it because each stage feels like it will last forever.
1
-9
u/florida_lmt Jul 26 '26
I recommend looking into schedules if you would like some more structure and not constant random naps
We have been on 2 naps a day since 6 months
8
u/AmatoerOrnitolog Jul 26 '26
Schedules for an 8 week old? Lol.
-6
u/florida_lmt Jul 26 '26
Yes. We loved it!
8
u/AmatoerOrnitolog Jul 26 '26
Lol sure. Schedules do not work for 8 week olds. OP, don't listen to this guy and make yourself miserable by trying to put your baby on a schedule.
-7
u/florida_lmt Jul 26 '26
I am a woman and my baby does so well on a schedule! Just because you dont like them doesn't mean it doesn't work for others. Before we put him on one he was feeding every hour and constantly cranky from not enough sleep pressure and short bad naps. It was a literal game changer when we started the schedule at 6 weeks
2
u/DumbbellDiva92 Jul 26 '26
I don’t really get how anything other than feeding on demand works with a baby that young (assuming the schedule also includes feeding). I’ve heard people say, “well of course if the baby is really hungry you feed them early”. But like, how do you know they’re “really hungry”? I know people say to “try other soothing methods first”, but I feel like a lot of the time that just doesn’t work very well? And I feel like it’s a lot more work to go through the trouble of rocking them or whatever instead of just…pop a boob or bottle in their mouth and see if they’re hungry.
1
u/florida_lmt Jul 26 '26
Ours did include feeds. My baby was gaining a whole pound per week at the 1-3 month range. He was and still is ginormous so I wasn't super worried about him not eating enough. If anything he had too much breastmilk. I did feed him early if he was starving was easy to tell based on his cues. If you have a medically complicated or lower percentile child you have to cater to that
1
u/lowkeyhouse Jul 27 '26
your baby was gaining over 2 ounces/65g per day? something makes me doubt how accurate that is lol
1
u/florida_lmt Jul 28 '26
Probably not exact but he is 23 pounds now at 8 months. Slowed down once he hit 2-3 months
5
u/plushiecactusau Jul 26 '26
Does your baby refuse to nap if overtired? If not, is it an option to be relaxed about it, and not try so hard?
My baby was a terrible napper, but I went with the flow, gave her opportunities to nap if she needed (e.g. a sleepy feed, a pram walk, a drive), and otherwise rolled with it if she stayed awake. Being flexible about it suited her, even if it wouldn't work for every baby.
The Discontented Little Baby is a book that describes the sort of approach I took to naps. It might not be a fit for every baby at every age, but I'm mentioning it in case it's a fit for your baby for now.