Sleep at 3 weeks

mustanggirl412 · August 2013

Me & my husband have alot of trouble getting our 3 week old baby to sleep if we are not holding him. I don't want him to stick with this habit when as he gets older.

Sometimes we can get him to sleep when we put him down. Other times he wakes up the minute we put him down & starts crying( this happens often) we make sure he is fed & has a clean diaper. Anyone have any suggestions as to what we can try?

PrimRoseMama · August 2013

You can't form bad habits at this age. Right now it's all about survival. Trust me.

Do whatever you have to do to soothe them to sleep. They physically & emotionally cannot self soothe. Ride it out.

MeenaJo · August 2013

Swaddle, swing, bouncer, wait to lay down until he's deep asleep, white noise, pacifier, basically it's trying to find the tricks that work for your baby. They need soothing, habits are not formed at this age. Do whatever works and it will get easier!

nnikki10 · August 2013

My LO is doing same right now. I think it's just a growth spurt. Just ride it out the best you can.

mustanggirl412 · August 2013

Thanks for all the info. It seems like different things work on different days. Glad to hear they don't form habits yet. New baby's should come with instructions, ha!

JilllyBean · August 2013

2013mommy said:

PrimRoseMama said:

You can't form bad habits at this age. Right now it's all about survival. Trust me. Do whatever you have to do to soothe them to sleep. They physically & emotionally cannot self soothe. Ride it out.

This. The first several weeks is survival mode. I spent many, many nights on the couch watching Netflix while DS slept on my chest. The first 3 months are called the "fourth trimester" because they are adjusting to life on the outside ... they spend 9 months cozy and warm. They need it right now.

This, did you read happiest baby on the block? I've found it super helpful and it's helped me get my LO to bed, but you have to help calm them down and soothe them.

mslmk11 · August 2013

PrimRoseMama said:

You can't form bad habits at this age. Right now it's all about survival. Trust me. Do whatever you have to do to soothe them to sleep. They physically & emotionally cannot self soothe. Ride it out.

This.

I was concerned about LO forming bad habits around 3 weeks too, but after DH and I talked about it, and agreed to exactly ^ . She's too young to be able to calm herself down (the way you might want/expect them to) and though her brain is developing fast, it's not like she's got this "manipulation" ability, or will remember that when she couldn't sleep, we'd hold her, so she should carry that into when she's older.

It's really about making sure they are taken care of, and meeting their needs however you need to. At 3 weeks for my LO, I was expecting too much from her, and had an awakening after making a post on this site. Made me realize that I had some unrealistic expectations this early.

Cuddle your baby until she's soothed, then you can try to put her down. For soothing, I'd recommend at least looking at the Happiest Baby on the Block with the 5 S's. Those help us out a GREAT deal when we're trying to put her down at night.

CaliforniaDream87 · August 2013

PrimRoseMama said:
You can't form bad habits at this age. Right now it's all about survival. Trust me.

Do whatever you have to do to soothe them to sleep. They physically & emotionally cannot self soothe. Ride it out.

My LO is almost 2 weeks old and this is what I'm going with. You can't "spoil" them at this stage.

mustanggirl412 · August 2013

My husband is going back to work over nights starting Sunday so I feel like I'm going to have to start all over & it will be tough w/ out him cause right now we sometimes take shifts. But baby has been sleeping better at night

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Sleep at 3 weeks

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