2 Month Old Will Only Cat nap..help!

It sounds like you have a tense or uncomfortable baby, who is probably already sleep-deprived. This makes relaxation and sleep harder to obtain. Have you tried wearing her in a sling? Often this relaxes even the most anxious and irritable babies, and once they start sleeping more and better, then everything begins to improve.

Also, check out her environment. What detergents, scented products, and cleaners do you use in your home? There are hundreds of 'new' and relatively untested chemicals in modern household products, and many of them are strong irritants to the nervous system. Some research even suggests they play a part in SIDS. Try switching to scent-free detergent and NO fabric softeners (truly toxic). Avoid air-fresheners like the poisons they are. Most of your routine surface cleaning can be done effectively with completely non-toxic baking soda or white vinegar.

To help her relax more fully, check out these short videos showing tips by Dr. Harvey Karp, author of The Happiest Baby on the Block:
How-to's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6KnVPUdEgQ&feature=re...

Enhanced sleep: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk5MUOMecHI&NR=1

Interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu0TtxO-ocY&feature=re...

By the way, I see a recommendation for Babywise. This is a program that seems to work well for some babies and their parents, but is seriously harmful for others, and is believed to even have caused babies' deaths. I used to try to get "big" meals into my baby girl, but she simply couldn't hold enough food to last more than 2 hours, day or night, for her first few months. Big feedings would simply come back up shortly after feedings. The schedule suggested in Babywise would have been pure misery for us both. I resorted to co-sleeping, and it was the most connecting and restful solution for us.

Babywise author Gary Ezzo has been discredited as an 'expert' by many of the churches that first latched onto his workshops, and even his original publisher dumped him. Read these reviews of the book before you consider trying that approach yourself: http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Baby-Wise-Giving-Nighttime...

I don't know, It sounds pretty normal to me! It definitely won't be a permanent problem, babies go through lots of milestone changes, sleeping being one of them.

Dr. Sears has excellent expert advice on helping with sleep;
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/sleep-problems/31-ways-g...

Well additionally:

My daughter was very sensitive to environmental sounds, even a toilet flushing woke her.
She also was NOT a portable napper. I had to be HOME, when she napped. Always. Just the same routine. In her crib or I laid down with her, since I was breastfeeding. She would NOT nap anywhere else, even if tired, nor in a stroller or sling or the car.

Always, nurse your baby before naps and sleep. And on-demand at other times.

WHEN your baby, "fusses" or tosses and turns after falling asleep, bear in mind that even babies, fuss when sleeping. It does NOT mean, necessarily that they are waking. Just tossing and turning and they DO make noises as they adjust or sleep or toss and turn. Hence, 'fussing.'
If you just let her be... while observing her... you will get to know her rhythms. And IF she is 'awake' awake, or just in the midst of sleeping and just tossing and turning and making noises. And she may go back to sleep... if you do not interrupt her.
This is how my son was as a baby.
I KNEW his sounds and rhythms and how he soothed himself while sleeping and back to sleep.
I also knew when it was him being awake or just drowsy and making noises and then lulling back to sleep intermittently.

So, observe your baby. And see.... if she is REALLY 'awake' or just transitioning back to sleep.
If she is just transitioning back to sleep, then don't wake her. Unless she cries and is upset or hungry.

Your baby is over-tired.
Over-tired babies/kids, have a HARDER time falling asleep, do not sleep well, and wake more.

My older daughter was that way, and I asked a friend (whose kids were champion sleepers) how she did it. She told me to check out Babywise, which I did, and which saved my sanity. The idea is to have a basic eat-play-sleep schedule. It's not set in stone or anything, but in general, it helps keep the both of you on a routine, and babies do really well with a routine. They know what's coming, you know what's coming, everyone is happy. So here's the idea. Start your day with a feeding. A big, full feeding! Let's say that happens at 6am. Then she stays awake until 9am, and you put her down, awake, for her nap. She wakes at 10am, and you feed her a BIG full meal. She's awake until 12. Then you put her down, awake, for her nap. She sleeps until 2pm. Feed her a BIG full meal again. Then she has her "dinner" feeding around 5:30, you give her a bath, and then put her down for the night (yep, awake) at 6pm. This will probably take a few days to get into, but if you are consistent, she will fall into the routine. (Note, I do realize 6pm sounds like a crazy bedtime, but trust me on this one... babies fall asleep better at 6pm than at a later bedtime - I promise! ;)

For me, I found that the feedings were the key. I had been nursing my daughter to sleep, and she was falling asleep before she got enough to eat! So she'd wake up starving, and I'd feed her, and she'd fall back asleep before she got enough to eat... vicious cycle! Anyway, the trick is not to nurse your baby to sleep. If she does fall asleep while you're feeding her, wake her up! Change her diaper, burp her, take her clothes off, whatever you have to do to get a big meal into her. She will get the richer hind-milk which will help her stay full longer. This will also help your milk production (if you're nursing). If you are formula feeding, it's still equally important that she gets a full meal.

So... that's what I did that worked REALLY well for me! Maybe it will help you, too. Best of luck! Hang in there!

Is she just awake, or is she fussy too?

If she's fussy, maybe it's gas or reflux keeping her awake? If you think she might be gassy, you could try infant gas drops, or if you think reflux is a possibility, check with her pedi- there are meds that can be prescribed that help a lot. Also, if she does have reflux, she may sleep better in her swing (or you can put her carseat in her crib) until the medication has a chance to do its job.

If you are formula feeding, maybe a lactose free formula would be easier for her to digest.

If none of the above are the issue, maybe some white noise would help her sleep longer stretches of time. We used to put a fan on in the baby's room just for the noise- we kept it pointed away from the baby.

I really feel for you because all my babies had reflux, and I know what it's like to have a baby that doesn't sleep. Do you have someone who can watch the baby for you so you can get a good nap? It's a lot easier to deal with it all when you're not sleep-deprived.

Hang in there!!! =o)

This sounds SOOOO much like my son! He was the WORST sleeper till around 8-10 weeks and then all of a sudden he just figured it out and started sleeping through the night. Now he's a great sleeper.

What are you trying? Have you tried a swing? We finally got a swing and he finally learned to let himself settle and sleep in it (it took about a week for him to get used too). Once he started sleeping in that he did ALL sleeping in it till he caught up on all that missed sleep. Because he wasn't as tired at night time, he started to fall asleep easier at night with a swaddle. Also, I had to make sure that at night, the room stayed dark. To this day, he will fall asleep in two seconds when I walk him in to a dark room and start his bed time feeding. He has connected darkness to his night time sleeping. I also wore him constantly starting at about 4 weeks when I realized that he really needed it. I got a wrap and he basically lived on me. He would fall asleep from my walking around and stuff and rocking him, etc. There was one night I was crying right along with him for 4 hours because he absolutely refused to sleep, so it's tough and sometimes you just have to do anything no matter how inconvenient for you. We also did some co-sleeping on really difficult nights. Like if I couldn't get him to stay asleep once I got him there. He just slept with me. This was not an always thing, but every so often. Now he sleeps just fine in his crib at 5 months. He still does his naps in his swing, but I can get him to nap somewhere else if the swing is not available. Also, check for gas. If she's arching her back a lot and stuff then this is a good sign for gas. SH had some really good tips in her response. I hope you find something soon! It'll hopefully get better as she gets older, at least it did for me