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Babies: 0 - 3 Months
How in the hell do I get her to sleep in her crib!?
Last night was HELL. LO will not go to sleep in her crib. We've had her in the crib since we came home, but she also slept in peoples arms a lot. Could she just be fussy because she wants a softer sleeping surface?
I literally got out of bed every 15-20 minutes to soothe her and put her paci back in her mouth. H and I are trying really hard to be strong and not co-sleep. We don't have a bassinet, but the crib is literally just a few feet away from our bed. I checked to make sure she was dry, wasn't hungry, and that it wasn't too cold/hot.
I also tried getting her to fall asleep and then transferring her to the crib, but she wakes up and I have to start from scratch.
I don't think I slept more than 2 hours last night, definitely our roughest night since we've been home.
ANY advice is appreciated, I'm starting to lose it.
Edit: She also doesn't seem to like swaddling, she constantly squirms to get her arms out and usually succeeds.
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Re: How in the hell do I get her to sleep in her crib!?
She is only 1 week old. She needs to time to adjust to her new surroundings.
First weeks are tough, but hang in there.
My kid is 6 months and still wont STTN
This. With DS, we had a really hard time most nights transferring him into his bassinet after he'd fall asleep in our arms but you just have to keep trying. It's frustrating and exhausting- but that's life with a newborn. It took DS about 4 weeks to really get to be a good sleeper. At 5 weeks he started sttn and now we have a great nighttime routine down. Your baby just wants to be in your arms- hang in there!
As pps have said, she is only a week old. The first few weeks will be rough no matter what pretty much IMO. The first few weeks nights sucked so bad with DD. She would not sleep at all, not even co-sleep. She pretty much just screamed all night long.
DD didn't like to be swaddled either, she would fight her way free within a few minutes. We recently tried the swaddle me, with the velcro and discovered this works like a charm. She started to fight it for about a minute but when she realized she wasn't going anywhere she chilled out and fell asleep pretty quickly. This has worked now every night since and she sleeps in her crib through the night. Maybe try one of the swaddles with velcro and see if that helps? Good luck!
Like pp said, the crib might be too big of a space for her. She's been inside of you for the last nine months and has gotten use to the small cozy space. Our LO wouldn't sleep anywhere but on one of us or in his swing for the first 2 weeks he was home (was in the NICU for 5 days). After that we started swaddling him and then he would sleep in the PNP next to our bed, but only if we put him down after he was asleep.
Now at almost 2 months, he will STTN in the PNP if we put him down swaddled and drowsy. He often fights the swaddle for a few minutes at first.
Just keep trying different things, you will eventually find what works for your LO. GL!!
Most babies will fight being swaddled for the first couple minutes and fuss. Usually after a couple minutes they settle right down. So don't think just because your little one fusses and tries to break free for a few minutes that it won't work. However, all that being said, our darling daughter really likes having her hands free to suck on, so I usually cross her arms across her chest, before I swaddle (think baby vampire!). This allows her to have her fingers available, and keeps her nice and secure. Just keep at it, you'll get her there! It definitely took me a few nights to figure out what baby needed to fall asleep, and now that we have nights are much easier.
I also find it's much easier to experiment during the day to see what's working and what isn't. With each nap, try something new. By the time night comes I'm usually too exhausted to really pay attention to how things are working, I just want her to sleep!
THIS
I am a HUGE believer in swaddling!! Even if the baby fights it a little in the end it helps a great deal. If your not already trying this I would give it a shot.
My advice? Co-sleep.
Start sleep training around 8-12 weeks.
Get some rest & let that baby get some rest.
My first was like this. Exactly. I made it about a week before I decided what I was doing was not.working. She was a needier baby who needed to be next to me- otherwise she wouldn't sleep at ALL. So I started bedsharing with her. At least I could snooze with her on the boob. Seriously, don't torture yourself. Sounds like you have a needy babe & she just needs her mama. Shamelessly use a swing, bouncer, whatever. It is *exhausting* having a baby like that. Trust me, down the line it will all work itself out so do whatever it is she needs right now.
fwiw, DD#2 was exactly the opposite. I could lay her down between feedings & she would actually sleep. I could hardly believe it. I'm convinced it's def. more 'nature' than 'nurture' when it comes to sleep habits, especially at that young age.