Newborn sleeping, looking for advice

melissa11015

So I'm just curious about how you are all getting your LO to sleep. Are you rocking/swaying or do you just put him/her down and they just fall asleep?? I have a 3week old and we are still rocking/walking/swaying to sleep. Is this normal and when and how do I change this behavior? He also prefers to be held and there are lots of times that when we put him down he wakes right up and we have to start all over again. I read that Dr Karp says that we should wake him up before putting him down but like I already said, we have to start all over again. He getting heavier and my arm/shoulder are killing me!!! But if I have to do it I will, I just want to know who else out there is doing what we are doing and how long we have to look forward to diving this???

melissa11015

Oh and we swaddle him and give him something to suck on (my finger or...yes we gave in...a pacifier). When he does sleep, he's great! 3-4 and even up to 6 hours! It's just getting him there that is the problem.

rodiesmum

IMO newborns really like to be held so i think it is normal behavior. My kid likes to be rocked/held too

melissa11015

emmyg65 said:

This is normal newborn behavior and you're just shooting yourself in the foot trying to wake him. Read up on the fourth trimester. For the first three months, babies are very needy but they can't develop bad habits yet. Do what you need to do to get yours to sleep. Do you have a swing or a rock n play? Those might help with the rocking and give your arms a break.

Yea, we have both. He's not a huge fan of either. We can only get him in the swing periodically and we use the RnP at night. Once he's in the RnP (usually already asleep) he will sleep great. The swing is hit and miss. Sometimes he likes it other times he screams.

I'm so happy to hear that this is normal!!!

lilly&rose

We follow a short bedtime routine to help lo fall asleep on her own. Eat, bath, massage, cuddle and off to crib. I think keeping the bt early and short worked in my case. We also use a sleep sack which signals lo sleep time. It's a part of our routine. She sleeps so much better in it. Here's the link www.babydeedee.com

anxiousmommy85

I do lo's bedtime routine before her final feeding. She's usually asleep after that and I lay her in bed then. Her bedtime routine is a lavender scented lotion massage and jammies (swaddler).

AliJ7

We also follow a short bedtime routine with massage and lo fells asleep most of the time very fast. But sometimes we also have to walk or sway her to sleep but this is getting rare.

smsnyder0307

For my little one, she had fallen asleep when I'm burping her. At night, I swaddle her after a feeding and a diaper change. I also turn on her sound soother, give her a pacifier (if she wants it) and lay get in her crib or bassinet. She has been sleeping through the night since her first week home and she's almost 7 weeks old. I advise to get the Swaddlers blankets that have the velcro and a sound soother, they make a BIG difference.

solsen1914

My 5 week old is picky about his sleep as well. Our original plan was for him to sleep in his bassinet next to the bed. But from the first week be only would sleep on our chest. Slowly re transitioned to on our arm next to us and now we can get him in the rock and play but only if we are careful about it. I'm waiting until month 3 to start getting him to sleep on his own in his own actual bed, and enjoying the cuddles while I can.

cutiepiemom

The biggest lesson I learned when I became a mom: Nothing is predictable--except for a shortage of shut-eye. You should avoid gazing into your baby's eyes late at night. When your baby locks eyes with you, it's almost like she's drinking a double latte-her heart rate speeds up, her blood pressure rises, and she becomes more awake. Studies done at the Touch Research Institutes at the University of Miami School of Medicine found that newborns who had a bedtime massage fell asleep faster and slept more soundly than those who didn't have one. Before bed, give your child a 15-minute massage using slow strokes, moderate pressure, and a baby-safe oil.