She won't sleep anywhere but on me!!!

JJ&BB1146

My 3 week old hates laying on her back. She likes laying on her right side. She also hates the co-sleeper.  It doesnt matter how deep of sleep she's in, as soon as we lay her down, she immediately wakes up screaming. So, ever since we brought her home, I've resorted to putting her on my chest and sleeping like that. It's the only way either of us can get any sleep. Last night, I tried for over 2 hours to lay there and shush her, pat her, etc. to get her to go to sleep in there. Finally, at 2:30, I gave up, fed her, laid her on my chest, and off to sleep she went.

I was always opposed to the idea of "co-sleeping" as in laying her in/on my bed right next to me, but laying her on my chest didn't seem so bad. But I don't want to create a habit. I NEED her to learn to sleep on her own, in her own bed. HELP!!!!

libbyann

Will would wake up because of the temperature change from us holding him to being in the PnP. I started putting a heating pad in there and then taking it out before we laid him down. It helped tremendously. I also elevated one side of the PnP so he was on a bit of an incline and he really seemed to like that. Eventually though, we ended up co-sleeping part time.

What about the swing? Would she sleep swaddled in the swing?

Taytee

libbyann:

Will would wake up because of the temperature change from us holding him to being in the PnP. I started putting a heating pad in there and then taking it out before we laid him down. It helped tremendously.

This really helped us out a lot as well!! Patience and practice and more patience. ANY time you feel like she might fall asleep on her own, try to put her down and let her. When those eyes start to lol, lay her down. (This advice is of course given with the understanding that you don't want to co-sleep. I didn't/don't either)

ahedgerton

My DD was the exact same way!  We eventually started putting her to sleep in her bouncy seat, set in the crib.  Sometimes she would still fuss a bit when we put her in it, but not too bad.  She is 3 months old now and I just put her down in her crib flat for the first time 2 nights ago and she sleeps just fine!  I think maybe she just needed to get a bit more accustomed to the world first!

JJ&BB1146

Yes, we try and swaddle (and have seen the DVD), but so far she's not a fan, at all! It does tend to calm her down if she's having a meltdown during the day, though. But, if I'm laying her on my chest, I unswaddle her because I don't want her to get overheated from my body heat.

Libby-I remembered your idea about the heating padand tried it a few nights ago, but that didn't help, either. :-(  I could definitely try it again.

Nessia

DS did the same thing until I realized he needed to be swaddled. I think you should leave the swaddle on when you lay her on your chest. I Don't think she will get over-heated. You could turn on a ceiling fan or turn up the air a little.

JJ&BB1146

Nessia:

DS did the same thing until I realized he needed to be swaddled. I think you should leave the swaddle on when you lay her on your chest. I Don't think she will get over-heated. You could turn on a ceiling fan or turn up the air a little.

I actually did leave the swaddle on 2 nights ago (on accident) and when she woke up to eat, she was sweating. I felt like such a bad mom. We do keep the ceiling fan on, as well.

Taytee

JJ&BB1146:

Nessia:

DS did the same thing until I realized he needed to be swaddled. I think you should leave the swaddle on when you lay her on your chest. I Don't think she will get over-heated. You could turn on a ceiling fan or turn up the air a little.

I actually did leave the swaddle on 2 nights ago (on accident) and when she woke up to eat, she was sweating. I felt like such a bad mom. We do keep the ceiling fan on, as well.

Less clothing, more swaddle! Drop the a/c temp in the house if you have to. Abby was a summer baby and there were definitely nights we swaddled her with nothing but a diaper on.

libbyann

Will hated the act of being swaddled and the first few minutes in the swaddle. But after that, he calmed down and was fine. We did diaper and swaddle several nights during the summer too in order to keep him cool.

batsteph

You've gotten some great suggestions from the OPs, but just in case they don't work for you:

Our boys hated swaddling.  A lot.  Daniel was more independent and slept in his crib (not well, necessarily, but at least in short stretches) from day one.  William, though, sounds just like your baby:  He refused to sleep anywhere but on me for the first few months.

I was pretty sure I'd never be a cosleeper, but I became a fan of it with Daniel (you can only get up so many times at night before you turn into a zombie) and it was a lifesaver with William too.  He'd sleep with us, or sometimes just with me if DH needed more sleep, and every few days I'd try him in the crib again.  Nothing worked.  Heating pads, swaddle, sleepsack -- nothing.  (This isn't an attempt to sway you toward cosleeping, BTW; it's just what worked for us.)

One evening when I put William down in the crib for another try, he finally stayed there!  And he slept all night long!  Freaked me out.  But he was just fine!  I'd love to know what clicked in that adorable little head of his, but I guess it was just his time to become an independent sleeper.  It took four months to get to that point, but ever since then he's been (mostly) a 12-hours-a-night sleeper, with two naps in the crib during the day.

So there's probably not much of any practical use to you in this story, but do know that even if none of the great suggestions you've received work for you, you are still getting one day closer to the crib with every single night you have your baby sleeping on you.  You'll get there.  You'll be tired, but you'll get there.   

Kristen0709

DS hated being swaddled and was the same way, would only sleep on me.  Flame me if you want but the ONLY way to get this kid to sleep on his own was/is on his tummy.  He has great head and neck control and has from when I started (around 4 weeks).  He refuses to sleep on his side or back.  I tried a co-sleeper, a sleep positioner, the heating pad, etc.  This was all that worked.  It just depends on what you're comfortable with.