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putting newborn down for sleep

jackie&sam12jackie&sam12 member
in Babies: 0 - 3 Months
My dd is almost three weeks old now and refuses to fall asleep anywhere but in my arms. Everything I have read says that I should be putting her down for sleep when she is drowsy so she can learn to soothe herself to sleep. Any tips or advice on how to transition to this? At night I end up rocking her for 30 to 40 minutes after her bottle and she will wake up once I put her in her bassinet. So then I spend another 20 minutes trying to console her back to sleep by rocking her in my arms. Any help would be appreciated!
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Re: putting newborn down for sleep

  • jackie&sam12jackie&sam12 member
    Thank you for the advice, I will try it out!
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  • jac409jac409 member
    I agree with PP's advice. Also, remember that this is pretty normal for the first few weeks. Mine is two weeks old and won't sleep anywhere but on my chest. My first one was the same way. To some extent, it is just a matter of them getting used to life outside the womb and something they have to work out themselves. Like every other phase they will go through, it won't last.
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  • jenn43jenn43 member

    jackie&sam12 said:
    My dd is almost three weeks old now and refuses to fall asleep anywhere but in my arms. Everything I have read says that I should be putting her down for sleep when she is drowsy so she can learn to soothe herself to sleep. Any tips or advice on how to transition to this? At night I end up rocking her for 30 to 40 minutes after her bottle and she will wake up once I put her in her bassinet. So then I spend another 20 minutes trying to console her back to sleep by rocking her in my arms. Any help would be appreciated!
    Don't even worry about spoiling her until she is at least 4 months old.  She's just not going to develop bad habits before then- really!.  I wish I had stressed less about this when my LO was a newborn, and just followed his lead.  Enjoy the snuggles, and do not worry that you should be setting her down. Just do what works for her at this point, and re-evaluate in a few months.  
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  • leela02leela02 member
    edited November 2014
    Swaddling, white noise, and a pacifier have helped with my now 6 week old. For the white noise you can use a white noise machine, a loud fan, or a white noise MP3 on repeat. You can also try the Rock n Play. I usually put my daughter down in her crib but half the night she sleeps in the Rock n Play because she loves it and gets really long stretches of sleep there. I also let her take short naps in her bouncy chair during the day so I can keep an eye on her while I do chores.

    You could also wear her. Some baby carriers can be used with newborns. The one we have is a lillebaby.

    And if I'm not sleepy and don't have a lot to do I also let my baby just sleep on my chest. I think a lot of babies just don't like being flat on their back.

    For the first few weeks you don't have to worry about training your baby to sleep. Newborns don't respond to sleep training well because they're not mature enough. You also can't spoil your dd at this point so feel free to use sleep aids to help her sleep.
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  • PrimRoseMamaPrimRoseMama member
    Baby cannot, physically & emotionally, self-sooth at 3 weeks old. Babies are not robots & books are guidelines. Listen to your baby's individual needs. You cannot spoil a newborn.


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  • vrj0522vrj0522 member
    Nicb13 said:
    It's almost impossible to put a baby down drowsy but awake until they are a couple months old. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THIS. Swaddle, white noise and rock until asleep. Also, keep a hand on her chest when you lay her down so she doesn't startle herself awake. That usually helps. Also, babies don't like being flat on their back so that's a challenge too.
    All of this. Also, you might want to try a place where her head is elevated to see if she likes it better since babies don't like being flat on their backs. DS slept in a bouncer until he was 5 months and DD likes the RNP and swing. 
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  • mikrinikkimikrinikki member
    Ours always had witching hours between 9-12 and was just a beast. I feel your frustration and when you get tired...all rational thought goes out the window.

    A few things that have helped us:

    Get a heating pad. Put it under the bassinet/crib sheet and have it warm when you put lo down. Then turn it off after a minute or two so there is a gradual temperature change from warm to their body keeping them warm.

    Turn on a mobile or we have a glow worm toy that plays music. Lo cant see it at 3 weeks, but the music may soothe them.

    Bouncer was our best friend at the beginning. When lo didnt want to lie down...we put her in the bouncer so it could vibrate and play songs.

    Good luck to you! It will get better soon!
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  • TeeJ526TeeJ526 member
    I get so annoyed by all of these articles out there that say put the baby to sleep when drowsy instead of asleep because it will inhibit self soothing. I'm a firm believer of do what works, especially at 3 weeks old. If rocking your baby to sleep works, then do it. As others have suggested, using a heating pad and swaddling works really well to, if you haven't tried that already.
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  • buntonheatherbuntonheather member
    I just had my little girl 3 days ago and I'm so tired and desperate already.  My husband and I have been running on maybe 1 to 2 hours of sleep a day.  Our little one refuses to be put down at all reguardless if she's sleeping or not and then wakes up almost immediately after we lay her down.  I don't know if it's normal or not and i'm trying everything to get my sanity but it's hard to sleep when baby sleeps if you are holding her while she sleeps.  We tried swaddling her really well before putting her down and she would maybe sleep for an hour.  Please tell me this is normal.
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  • favretkfavretk member
    @buntonheather‌ ‌ I spent many nights sleeping on the recliner the first few weeks with her on my chest. Is that an option for you? Whatever gives you both the most sleep is best. My LO is 10 weeks old and sleeps fine in her crib now most of the time (on her belly) but ill still bring her into bed with me if she wakes up too frequently. Hang in there...it will get better! Enjoy the cuddles!
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  • Linzr0723Linzr0723 member
    buntonheather said:

    I just had my little girl 3 days ago and I'm so tired and desperate already.  My husband and I have been running on maybe 1 to 2 hours of sleep a day.  Our little one refuses to be put down at all reguardless if she's sleeping or not and then wakes up almost immediately after we lay her down.  I don't know if it's normal or not and i'm trying everything to get my sanity but it's hard to sleep when baby sleeps if you are holding her while she sleeps.  We tried swaddling her really well before putting her down and she would maybe sleep for an hour.  Please tell me this is normal.

    Completely normal! Not going to lie- newborn stage is hard!!! You just need to keep remembering it gets better. I have a 21 month old and 11 week old and both started out sleeping on my chest with me propped up for weeks because nothing else worked and then all of a sudden it was like they were over it and wanted their own space. Hang in there!
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