do you put your baby down for a nap after a bottle?

Question

if not, when? where does he sleep? and for how long?

my son is 2 months, he eats, plays then sleeps, only for 45 min's though.. he usually sleeps in his crib, with me, or his carseat.

Answer 1

I always try for waketime after a feeding. She's 6 months old now and can be awake for about 2.5-3 hours at a time (including feeding time) before needing a nap. When she was just 2 months old we were lucky to get about 45 minutes to an hour awake at a time. You could try putting him down sooner to see if he'll take a longer nap, sometimes getting overstimulated interferes with sleep.

Answer 2

At two months its usually best to go with the flow - let him sleep when he's tired, whether that's right after his bottle or after he's been playing for awhile. Many experts recommend that a good routine is eat, play, sleep. This avoids problems later on if a baby learns to always fall asleep with a bottle/nursing as a prop - they need to learn to sleep without that, or you'll be having fun in the middle of the night!
That said, at 2 months, I would expect the whole eat and play times to be only about an hour or a bit more in total.
As for 45 minute naps, that may just be your lot in life for now. Its a developmental thing for many babies - it seems they finish one sleep cycle and startle awake and can't get back to sleep - very frustrating!! Your comfort is, they WILL grow out of it and eventually begin taking longer naps when they get older (4-6 months, perhaps).
My personal recommendation, also, is get him to sleep in his crib as often as possible - don't set yourself up for problems down the road!!
All the best and enjoy your precious little boy!

Answer 3

My son never took naps as a newborn. He did not start taking naps until he was 6 months old. He is now 10 months old and he still takes naps. He eats only 2 bottles now because he is older and he eats the Gerber baby foods but yes after he eats a bottle during the day I put him in his crib and he falls asleep for his nap and he will sleep between 2 to 3 hours. He gets his last bottle at 8pm and that is when he goes to sleep for the night and he wakes up around 7am every morning. It took me a long time to get him to sleep through the night. Sometimes I never thought that he would but you get through it somehow.

Answer 4

My twins, now 16 months, really slept whenever they needed it at 2 months. I think they were doing a lot of sleeping in their carseats at that point because they had reflux so bad. They also had sporadic patterns at that point.

It's a little early to establish patterns yet since their meletonin doesn't really start being produced until about 4 months, but I can recommend two great books for both napping and bedtime sleeping: "12 Hours by 12 Weeks" and "Healthy Sleeping Habits, Happy Child," respectively.

Ours were sleeping through the night by 4 months and have had great naps ever since we used those books. I will tell you though that we did CIO after 16 weeks for nighttime, and it was the best choice (reluctantly) we've ever made. GL

Answer 5

jeez...I'm gonna get a million hate mails over this but here goes....
I nurse my baby to sleep and have since he was born. Now comes the scary part, he's 17 months old (and NO he's not my 1st, but my 3rd) and he sleeps on my lap or in my bed because he's a moose and can climb out of a crib. My 1st never took more than a 30 minute nap and would only sleep in a swing and my 2nd only slept in a car seat until he was about 6 months. My oldest is now 13 and is perfectly adjusted in her sleep habits as is my 2nd. I think where ever and when ever you can get them to nap is a blessing. You should nap too! Good luck and if you ever want to chat I love to talk about babies!

Answer 6

When my son was that age about 12 months ago I would try and feed him on schedule and lay him in the crib to sleep or allow him to sleep on me. Usually he would sleep anywhere between 1-2 hours. That's normal.

Answer 7

You know my kids were never on a schedule, he would sleep when ever he wanted to, and I never
bothered him. Sometimes he would sleep and others not, being 2 months he tires very easily. Every baby is different. Just keep doing what you are doing. I am lucky that all three of my kids started sleeping through the night at 4 months (and still going strong!!)

Answer 8

My daughter used to sleep for about 2-3 hours at a time. She usually fell asleep while taking her bottle. I felt bad cause I had to wake her up all the time to burp her. She wouldn't sleep in a crib or bassinet. She would only sleep in her car seat or her bouncy seat. She loved that thing and slept in it until she barely fit in it anymore.

Answer 9

When my kids were babys I always tried to keep them awake for a bit after they had their bottles. It gave us great playtime and helped them to sleep better. I usually let them sleep in their bouncer or car seat during the day and at night I put them in their crib. I really don't think it matters what order you do things in though as long as he's healthy and happy. GL

Answer 10

I try to let my daughter sleep as much as possible, mostly because it's convient for me. She is five months now and becomming more alert and sleeping less. Mostly during the first three months all they do is eat and sleep. Now I am trying to get her to excercise a bit more but I don't push her too much. I think it will happen with or without my help but I want it too happen faster, I mean her growing up. Anyway with a two month old your baby probably isn't doing much else. You shouldn't worry about it.
Aloha!!