9 week old won't nap!

so heres some history
britton slept like an angel the first couple weeks home from the hospital. (mostly in her cuddle-u pillow like a boppy)
then my mil came to visit and she was held a lot. sometimes to sleep. so for a few weeks i just held her til she was dozing off then put her in her bed. she would always sleep about 1.5-2 hrs. be up for an hour, then back down for a nap. then 2 weeks ago my sister in law came to visit and britton would get very overtired and wouldnt go to sleep so my sil would rock her to sleep. and she doesnt like sleeping in her pillow, or to be swaddled most of the time. so for 2 weeks ive been dealing with an overtired baby. she constantly wanted to nurse to sleep too so i had to break that habit because she would wake up after 30min. i gave her pacifiers for about a week but now she wont sleep without one and wakes up after 30min too because she cant find it. so i took it away 3 days ago and everything went downhill from there. the only time she sleeps for 2-3 hours is when its at night. daddy gives her baths at night and then she eats and goes to sleep. i always make sure shes awake when i put her down for bed time. she wakes 2 times at night to eat. usually 3-4 hours apart. (sleeps from 10-12 hours a night) so for naps she wakes up after 30min and i go in there and shes still exhausted so i try to get her to go back to sleep. but basically the wole cycle starts over again and she goes for my breast or looks for a paci. ive tried letting her cry but she will go for 15min. i try to calm her while shes in the crib. doesnt work so i rock her and she may or may not calm down.  wait until shes dozing off and stop rocking her. if she stays calm i try to lay her down. she screams bloody murder. i dont know what else to do. ive tried so hard to get her to stay asleep but im not going to give her a paci again because then i'll need to go in there every 30min. she will only fall asleep when shes exhausted any advice? im losing my mind and sick of hearing a crying baby. should i just give her the paci back since she wakes up after 30mn anyways?

[30something13]

Well at 9 weeks she needs to suck! Babies are born with a strong urge to suck and it is comforting to them. I would not of taken the paci away unless you plan on using the breast as a paci for her. She will grow out of this and I woudl give the paci back to her and also it is OK to nurse to sleep then lay her down. Most BF babies do this and it will actually help them sleep better and get to a deaper sleep to wear she will sleep longer. She is not gtting the comfort or sattifsfaction of sucking she needs and why she does this. It has nothing to do with company but that she is getting older. She will grow out of the needing to suck as much and you will be able to take it away later on. I would have set times for her to sleep and nurse in a quiet place and when she stops nursing and has pauses take the breast away and give her the paci then put her down, as she will stir at this point, let her hold your finger or rub her face and she will learn that way and still be soothed. Also some babies do not taek long naps and go through phases as they see things going on and they don't want to miss out on anything. But by keeping a schedule and quiet times before the fact of nap time will help!!!! If she stirs go in to give her a paci before she crys and this will help her not fully wake up and be overtired! But just don't pick her up and try rubbing her face or holding her hand again. I have found this to work. I also have found that babies who are not allowed to suck good and be soothed will have sleeping problems and will pick up bad habits and have more anxiety. So yes to your answer! Give the paci back and get other habots to sooth with it so you do not have to pick her back up. Also take note of when she is feeding and just sucking, stop the nursing when the feeding stops to give the paci, that will help with the wanting to nurse the whole time sleeping.

[tiredbuthappy]

yea... i agree with 30something13. A baby that young needs to suck for comfort. She sounds like she's developmentally not ready to be without the pacifier. i KNOW it stinks and is exhausting. but if it's such a fight, then she's just not ready.
some babies don't take long naps at that age. it sounds like she's sleeping pretty well for a baby that young at night, so count your blessings.
my second was extremely dependent on the pacifier. More so than most babies because she had reflux and colic. I was doing the same thing- popping it in all night long. I thought for sure she'd be unable to sleep without it forever. Then one day she magically stopped needing it all night. It happened when she finally matured a little and started to sleep deeper.
Some people are blessed with wonderful sleepers. Others are blessed with more challenging and restless babies. At this age, many babies still wake often to eat and because they aren't ready developmentally to sleep deeper/longer stretches.

and remember- the AAP recommends a pacifier because it helps reduce the chances of SIDS. a little comfort for the blurry-eyed mommy.

[faye83]

I thought that it was normal for babies that young to just take 30 mins naps here and there during the day and then to sleep mostly during the night! cause mine does the same thing!