suggestions please...

Aaron and April

our ds is 8 days old.  for the past two nights, he slept fine in the cradle which is in our room.  however, last night, he slept very little and it took over 1 1/2 hours each time to put him down in the cradle.  every time he would wake up and cry.  at this point, because he is so young, we are not doing CIO. 

so, this morning around 9 he wakes up and cries. i pick him up, he doesn't want to eat, and he falls back to sleep as long as we are holding him.  the moment you put him down, unless it is in our king size bed (which we are trying to avoid), he begins crying and waking up.

he finally woke up to eat around 10 and of course when i placed him in the cradle, he woke up crying. i am trying the pnp with the vibration on and it seems to be ok, but it has only been 5 minutes.

we checked for gas by doing little sit-ups and leg movements and burping him...doesn't seem to be it.  we don't know what else to try or what else might be wrong...if there is anything. i want to try his crib, but there is a recall on it and we are waiting for the replacement parts to come in.

anyone have suggestions?

vanillacourage

He's a newborn.  He's upset by the fact that he's not still in your womb where it's nice and warm and cozy.  If he needs to be held to feel secure, so be it.  Look into a Baby Bjorn or similar sling/carrier if you need your hands free. 

He is eight days old.  You can't expect too much from him right now.

krismtg

We had the same problem. He slept fine in his bassinet but then one day he would have none of it. We got a swing and he slept in that, FP Little Lamb Swing. During the day I wore a sling so he would nap in that. GL. It gets easier.

mabst196

It takes babies a while to adjust to the fact that they are out of the womb. He is perfectly normal. Fortunately or unfortunately you are going to have to hold him all the time. My DD was like this and I just had to deal with it. I suggest getting a carrier and getting well aqainted with it. I suggest a moby.

JessMil10

He is still a newborn, he is used to being held in the warmth of your womb! Eventually he will adjust to sleeping in his cradle, or where ever else, but right now he needs you. DD slept in my arms for the first 2 weeks or her life, and sporadically slept in bed with us after that. Now she sleeps in her swing and is perfectly fine not being in bed with us to sleep.

A book that helped us was The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. MINUS the CIO part of course, but it really helps with scheduling, especially if you need to get back to work.

But as said before, he is a newborn and needs his mommy!

Alli3586

You need to hold him. He is still trying to adjust to not being "held" constantly in your womb. This is a new and scary place and being in your arms makes him feel safe.

mrsain1105

this really is normal newborn behavior.  Do you swaddle - that was a big help when my DD was a newborn.  Also, like pp said, baby wearing can be a huge hit.

Mrs.Pnut

we swaddle DS and it makes a huge difference for us... GL!

eowynmn

Yeah...here's a suggestion... HOLD YOUR BABY.

KhloesMom

Swaddle tight and lots of loving. They can't self-soothe that young and need lots of Momma sounds and smells. The closer, the better.

n&bcarlson

Newborns need to be held all the time or else they cry.  They have no coping skills, and being outside the womb is a shock.  That's probably all that's wrong.  This can go on for several weeks or months, so I'm afraid you'll have to get used to it.  Cosleeping for the first 9 weeks was a life saver for us.  If you don't want to do that, I highly recommend a sling for daytime use.  It's hard, but for the next few months, holding, feeding, and changing the baby are really all you will be doing, 24 hours a day.  It does get easier, but not right away so try to psych yourself up for several more weeks like this.

PMJacobsen

Alli3586:

You need to hold him. He is still trying to adjust to not being "held" constantly in your womb. This is a new and scary place and being in your arms makes him feel safe.

 

yepp!

Lizzie.Bee.

Ummm...he's 8 weeks old hold him...he's still adjusting to the world!

chitown22Bride

My dd would only sleep on my chest for the first week of her life. It helped swaddling and white noise but even then at that age she was up every 30 min. to 1 hr. This is totally normal. I am not trying to scare you but dont expect to get much sleep for the next 6 months. Good

AZ123

Make the cradle really snuggly and warm so that he can't tell the difference from going from your chest/arms to the cradle. I rolled two blankets and put it on the other side of DS. I also placed a very snuggly soft blanket on top of that, then I swaddled DS. One last thing I did, was pop that top snuggly blanket in the dryer for a minute. It made it very warm and cozy. Cozy his bed up - since he's swaddled he can't roll and suffocate.

I'm with you, i'm not a co-sleeper and didn't want DS to always be sleeping on my chest. The swing works great too during the day. I never used it at night because I didn't want a habit to form.

Califlorida

don't be afraid to hold your baby. you won't be developing "bad habits". enjoy this time when you are the only thing your child needs to be happy. and congrats

chitown22Bride

I meant to say Good Luck!

Kellina

SWADDLE! DS sleeps really good in his bassinet if we swaddle him! The first week was a lot of sleeping in the rocker, couch, etc... they want to be HELD! It is tough, I know!

katie413

PLEASE hold your baby.  I'm asking nicely.

And co-sleep, if you're comfortable with it.  We co-slept for 3 months and he transitioned to the crib just fine.  They're babies.  They need their Mommas.

trixiebelden

It is just part of having a newborn.  I would try swaddling as well.  We used the Miracle Blanket with both and it helped a lot at night.  I now get 2-3 hour stretches of sleep between feedings. 

Trust me, you will miss the holding time as they get older and don't want to be held anymore.  I am treasuring it this time around.

cooksr

seriously? Did you have no idea that your infant would need this amount of attention at the beginning? He's 8 days old for crying out loud. Everything he has ever known is being warm and soothed in your belly. He wants mama. That's it. It may be hunger, wet dipe, gas etc. but it can also just be a cry for being held. you cannot form habits (good or bad) this early on.

The first two weeks home from the hospital DS slept on my chest solely. Many times he would only do it in the rocker in the living room. For the next few months it was on and off while we co-slept (which I was very much against before he was born and now love it and miss it). He transitioned fine to his crib when he was ready - not when I was ready.

Good luck and pick up your baby! He needs you.

Marie Tourville

He needs his momma.  He just spent the last 9 months growing inside of you.  He is used to hearing your heartbeat and feeling your presence.  This new world is so scary to him!  He needs to adjust...and so do you.  You have a baby now and his needs always need to come first.  Pick him up, love him and hold him.  You will never get this time back with him.  In one hour he will be one hour older and tomorrow he will be 9 days instead of only 8.  Enjoy this time.  It really does get easier and it really is worth it.

MetsGirl18

DS is 6 weeks old and still won't sleep anywhere but in my arms, especially at night.