Sleeping together

Vickig121 · June 2014

My 5 week-old won't sleep unless she is being held. I have tried the pack and play, the rock and glide by fisher price, a mamaroo and her crib. She will wake up within 5 minutes and cry. At this point she is sleeping with me and I really am uncomfortable with letting this continue. My son didn't have this issue so I'm new to this situation. Any tips or advice would be helpful. She does fall asleep in her car seat, maybe I could put her in that and rock her to sleep. Is that safe?

iHearts · June 2014

I don't believe car seats are safe for babies to sleep in due to lack of air circulation.

Bassinets didn't work for us either but my little guy loves sleeping in his Fischer Price Rock and Play sleeper...not sure if that's the same thing as the Rock and Glide you mentioned.

A swing would be my only other suggestion.

Best of luck!

tbmadeamistake · June 2014

Spend a night yourself sleeping with the crib mattress and swaddling blanket underneath you. I did this, then they smelled like me, and he was way more willing to sleep in there. Good luck! .

Kriztyn · June 2014

I've only used the car seat for a nap if we came back from somewhere and she fell asleep in the car...but the most we'd let her sleep was 1.5/2 hours. Def would not have her sleep in that for long stretches.

PaoPao820 · June 2014

I am having a similar issue. Some days my little guy who is 5 weeks old as well will sleep in the pack and play, some days he'll sleep in his cradle, some days he'll sleep in the stroller, other days he won't have any of it.

I spoke with my doula about this to try to get a feel for what's going on since I'm a FTM and she mentioned that some newborns will go through a phase where they're just attached to their moms and don't want to leave them. I would try making the sheets and mattresses smell like you. My doula also suggested wearing my lil guy while I do things around the house for that comfort and she said that at times that will help to get them down elsewhere since they know they're secure. It's all about recreating that womb like environment for them, hence the swaddling and the darkness and smelling like you.

We cosleep with our little guy. He has a place in the bed with us for right now which makes breastfeeding easier on me and I like having him so close so I can feel more secure and get a better night's rest. Can I ask why you're uncomfortable doing that? They do have cosleepers now that can help ease the anxiety of rolling over on the baby, etc.

Good luck!

Vickig121 · June 2014

I'm nervous that cosleeping will become a habit that will be hard to break. I have nothing against it for other people, and that's what we are doing now. I am hoping this is just a phase. When she does fall asleep on me I have been putting her down but she wakes and cries shortly after.

WashingtonQueen · June 2014

Vickig121 said:
I'm nervous that cosleeping will become a habit that will be hard to break. I have nothing against it for other people, and that's what we are doing now. I am hoping this is just a phase. When she does fall asleep on me I have been putting her down but she wakes and cries shortly after.

I bedshared with my son until he was about 10 months. It took a week to get him fully transitioned to his crib, NBD.

MrsZ0811 · June 2014

My dd is 5 weeks also. She does this from time to time too (especially during the day) so i wear her during the day and she sleeps great. At night i had her in the rock n' play right next to my side of the bed and would sleep with my hand on her, and sometimes even my pinkie in her mouth and that seemed to help. Sometimes i can transition her to something else if I wait until she is dead asleep. I can fell her weight change from when she is lightly sleeping to heavier when she is really out. I try to hold her until then and then transition her to another sleeping area.

PaoPao820 · June 2014

MrsZ0811 said:

At night i had her in the rock n' play right next to my side of the bed and would sleep with my hand on her, and sometimes even my pinkie in her mouth and that seemed to help.

I do this all the time while cosleeping and it seems to calm him so much! especially when he's gassy and grumpy!

Also @vickig121 - I thought of that too, bad habits. But SO many people have said to me that you can't spoil a tiny little baby that it shouldn't matter. And bad habits aren't bad habits if you don't let them become that. I feel strongly that you can cosleep but also teach good habits. I try to put him down in different places when he's sleeping. He can fall asleep in his stroller (it's a bassinet attachment) and he can sleep in the pack and play as well as on his own in the bed. He doesn't like his crib quite yet but I've also tried putting him down there during fussier times. My guy is only 5 weeks and I'm not going to worry about any of this until the "4th trimester" is over which is after 3 months! So yay! Hahah!

caballablanca · June 2014

Try waiting 10 more minutes to make sure he is good and out. I would put LO down when I thought she was out and she would wake up. If I have her another 10 mins or a of holding she would not wake up.

Also if he likes the car seat, you could drive around until he falls asleep then give him the 10 extra minutes to get good and asleep before you take him out. Did that a few times when LO was sick.

BBColt78 · June 2014

I honestly wouldn't worry about bad habits until at least 6 months. Many people bedshare, but if it's not for you, you still have time to get away with it.

Have you tried swaddling or wearing baby? Those were helpful when my DD was about that age. We swaddled until 14 weeks though.

ncbelle · June 2014

I'm personally a huge fan of bed sharing. There's helpful info on how to do it safely as well as research on the subject here: https://cosleeping.nd.edu - From an evolutionary perspective, babies are hard wired to not sleep alone as doing so wouldn't have been good for their survival!

Babies should NOT sleep in car seats for long periods. There is research that demonstrates it lowers their O2 levels. Car seats should stay in the car

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