Need advice...

Grits

Okay, so I've got another thread on here about it, but I'm back again. DS is 6 weeks old and has a terrible time napping. He eats well, burps plenty, and poops regularly. He doesn't seem to be in any type of discomfort, but no matter what we do, he refuses to nap during the day. He's so tired by bedtime, that he sleeps all night, like 8 to 9 hours. I know he needs more sleep than this. He does fall asleep just fine, but we can't lay him down anywhere without him waking back up almost instantly. We've tried....
Swaddling--which he now hates, so we just loosely wrap a blanket around him for warmth
The swing
The vibrating bouncy seat
His carseat
His bassinet/napper
The bedroom is super-dark
White noise/mommy bear (with the heartbeat sound)
We even put a tshirt of mine or DHs under/around him

He still just won't stay asleep, and he doesn't seem to want anything other than to be held.

Has anyone been through this? Both DDs were dream babies--napped regularly, slept thru the night from early on--so I don't know where else to turn. Should we just hold him?? I know they say you can't spoil a baby that young, but I do worry that he'll stop sleeping on his own at night, too if we start holding him for as long as he wants to nap. Not to mention that DD8 & 3 need our attention, too.

shate98

My DS didn't like to nap in another room away, but I had less trouble than you're having. His fav nap spot was in a boppy on the sofa next to me, at least, back then at 6wks. Can;t leave them alone in the boppy on the sofa- have to be right there, but it was a nice break from holding him so I could do things like... eat.

beam

mine was the same. no naps or very small naps and slept through the night and tried all of the above. I suppose they just grow out of it. no real advice except if you breast feed do it sideways and sneak away when asleep (and when mine finally started napping she still slept through the night).

Lifeofchaos

One of my girlfriends could only get her twins to nap by putting them in the car and going for a drive

Grits

@shate98, yes, eating before 10 pm would be nice LOL. It's DH I'm worried about. He's a SAHD right now and he's not taking it well.

@Lifeofchaos, thank god it's not twins...I couldn't imagine having two fussy babies at the same time. Although, DH and DS both cry so much right now they could be twins...just DH doesn't wear diapers!

shate98

@MumTheWord have you guys tried "The Happiest Baby on the Block"? It was a real help for us. There's a movie and a book. The book explains the theory better, but the movie shows you what to do.

sorry your DH is not taking well to being home with baby, good luck with getting baby to sleep. :)

many_moons_ago

Invest in a sling or wrap.

Rock him in arms.

Go for walk with the push chair.

momofeveryone

DD is 10 weeks and we are dealing w/ this to some degree. i just give in and hold her till she's sound asleep in the afternoon ev enings. the rest of the day she 'self defense' sleeps so my DS 3 will leave her be lol. just hold her, i have no more ideas either lol

Grits

So, I just gave in and held him yesterday for a good half hour after he fell asleep. DH hates that I did because he thinks I'm going to spoil him, but he does still sleep in his bed, so IMO it's whatever works...piss off DH, at least he's sleeping!!! Thanks for the input, guys...and @shate98, I'll have to look up that book/movie. Maybe it'll help!!

beam

@MumTheWord - My pediatrician told me that up to 3 months absolutely no habits are formed and no harm comes from holding them as much as they need. From what I read, holding them more or when they need to be gets them
through these phase much quicker. It is a phase, the baby is not being
capricious. Save all that crying it out stuff for when they are older. My dd is now 8 months old and every great once in a while (maybe twice a month) I have to hold her while she naps but then she is back to napping on her own.

Grits

Thanks,@beam. I thought I had heard something like that before, and I'm not a CIO kind of mom. Their little cries just break my heart. I can't bear to let them cry like that knowing I could do something simple to help. DH just can't sit still that long. I think it just irks him that he struggles with little dude all morning then I come home and put him right out. He'll catch on...mommy is smart. :-)