My 3 day old will only sleep on me - advice appreciated

TacoSarah · October 2015

Hi ladies.

I don't know what to do. He won't sleep anywhere else apart from on me today. It's now 10.30pm and I can't do this all night. I love the cuddles but he needs to go down to sleep in his bassinet.

I've tried everything I can think of. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

amm0512 · October 2015

With DS, I'd lay him down swaddled in the bassinet, then loop my robe around him from one arm down around his feet then back up to his other arm; it makes a U shape. I just made sure to start it far enough down that there was no chance his face could bury into it. It was the only way he would sleep at night for months.

lwentland · November 2015

I feel your pain. My 12 day old is the same from about 10 pm to 3 am!

MercyC1130 · November 2015

No advice, but this is the sweetest problem! No doubt really tiring, but adorable nonetheless.

mom4liak · November 2015

We have our dd crib at an incline and put a shiro wore for about 30 minutes around the mattress. She sleeps much better there now.

MoRay05 · November 2015

We had the same issue with my DD. Some nights I would swaddle her, let her lay on me until she was asleep then slowly put her down. Have you tried putting a t shirt or something with your smell on it near him?

poupoule · November 2015

I saw people on the forum advising to preheat the crib or the rock and play first, with a warm something. Have you tried ?

joforyoga · November 2015

Maybe a noise machine that has the white noise along with a heartbeat? Otherwise honestly, I think If baby is 3 days old then I would let it sleep on me. This is critical bonding time for a baby and your body, body warmth, smell and heartbeat and the most familiar and comforting things to the baby right now, especially if skin to skin.

Ashleyw · November 2015

I would try swaddling him or a woombie. My youngest slept amazingly in a woombie and if I didn't have that he would only want to sleep on me. I also liked pps suggestions to heat up the sleeping area and or getting a blanket to smell like you. Good luck!

oliarnmom1517 · November 2015

I am having the same problem.. Once he's truly in deep sleep I put him in his swing and that seems to be the only place he will peacefully sleep.. But once he's in and sleeping he will sleep for a good 2 hours then wake up for food..

ETA that I put a blanket that smells like me over him in the swing.. Never close to his face but that has seemed to really help..

oliviaann91 · November 2015

It will take time, ds is 5 weeks now and we have just started to find a routine. The first week was rough. He much preferred to be held or to sleep laying on my chest. Consistency is key. What has worked for us is (every night) bath time, a feeding, and after his last feeding I will swaddle him, lay him in his crib, and turn his sound machine on. Try throwing a blanket in the dryer for a few minutes until it's warm and swaddle him in it. Then you can rock in a rocking chair or walk him around until he hopefully drifts off and lay him down. Good luck mama! It gets better!

lvbyrd · November 2015

This is great advice thanks for sharing. The warming the blanket in the dryer especially .

Squirtgun · November 2015

A white noise machine has been really helpful for us. Ruth really does well with the heartbeat setting. (I set it to turn itself off in 15 minutes, and by then she's in a deep enough sleep that she stays asleep.)

TacoSarah · November 2015

Thank you!

I swaddled him, kept him close to my chest for an hour, put a white noise womb sounds track on and used one of my cotton t shirts as a base sheet in the bassinet and it worked like a charm.

In fact, it worked almost too well. He slept for 6 hours and I had to eventually wake him up for a feed. I still got hardly any sleep because I was convinced he might not be breathing or in a coma or something else ridiculous and had to check on him every half an hour.

lyankowi · November 2015

You could also use a heating pad on low and remove it right before you lay him down

AmoLovesAud · November 2015

Glad you fixed your problem, but gotta say, that's quite the adorable little thing to be stuck under all night!

MercyC1130 · November 2015

oliviaann91 said:
It will take time, ds is 5 weeks now and we have just started to find a routine. The first week was rough. He much preferred to be held or to sleep laying on my chest. Consistency is key. What has worked for us is (every night) bath time, a feeding, and after his last feeding I will swaddle him, lay him in his crib, and turn his sound machine on. Try throwing a blanket in the dryer for a few minutes until it's warm and swaddle him in it. Then you can rock in a rocking chair or walk him around until he hopefully drifts off and lay him down. Good luck mama! It gets better!

When did you start bathing every night? Is it more like a warm sponge bath?

oliviaann91 · November 2015

After his cord fell off around 2 weeks. It's not a long drawn out submerged bath, more just a 5 minute wipe down. Plus he enjoys it, so it's a comfort thing as well. Not all babies like baths. Trust me if he hated it I would not be bathing him every night!

oliviaann91 · November 2015

MercyC1130 said:

oliviaann91 said:
It will take time, ds is 5 weeks now and we have just started to find a routine. The first week was rough. He much preferred to be held or to sleep laying on my chest. Consistency is key. What has worked for us is (every night) bath time, a feeding, and after his last feeding I will swaddle him, lay him in his crib, and turn his sound machine on. Try throwing a blanket in the dryer for a few minutes until it's warm and swaddle him in it. Then you can rock in a rocking chair or walk him around until he hopefully drifts off and lay him down. Good luck mama! It gets better!
When did you start bathing every night? Is it more like a warm sponge bath?</blockquote

After his cord fell off around 2 weeks. It's not a long drawn out submerged bath, more just a 5 minute wipe down. Plus he enjoys it, so it's a comfort thing as well. Not all babies like baths. Trust me if he hated it I would not be bathing him every night!

ETA quote fail

MercyC1130 · November 2015

oliviaann91 said:
After his cord fell off around 2 weeks. It's not a long drawn out submerged bath, more just a 5 minute wipe down. Plus he enjoys it, so it's a comfort thing as well. Not all babies like baths. Trust me if he hated it I would not be bathing him every night!

Of course not!

I love baths before bed, too. Just wondering as I am hoping to find a schedule that works for us as soon as we can!

wulfpackgirl · November 2015

TacoSarah said:
Thank you!

I swaddled him, kept him close to my chest for an hour, put a white noise womb sounds track on and used one of my cotton t shirts as a base sheet in the bassinet and it worked like a charm.

In fact, it worked almost too well. He slept for 6 hours and I had to eventually wake him up for a feed. I still got hardly any sleep because I was convinced he might not be breathing or in a coma or something else ridiculous and had to check on him every half an hour.

Might I recommend a snuza. It attachs to their diaper and an alarm goes off if they stop breathing. It gives me such peace of mind at night that he is breathing. It was one of the main things I wanted that we registered for. I especially love it since he was a preemie who spent 12 days in NICU with lung issues.

makeoutside7 · November 2015

When my daughter was in the NICU for he first week of her life, the nurse rolled two blankets and places one on each side of her body to prop her into place and make sure she didn't roll. I have been doing the same thing here since she's been home. She can sleep anywhere, her crib, the bed, couch, bassinet. Maybe you can try that if nothing else works. Good luck!!

joforyoga · November 2015

I think the bath thing is great. It's good if you can get them to like baths as soon as possible, wa and gentle and may remind them of the womb since they were in fluid there. I am hoping to do this and then keep the routine. Most parents I know don't bath there kids in the morning but have bathtime as part of thier bedtime "wind down" routine for quite a few years.

VexedMommy · November 2015

JodyS said:

I think the bath thing is great. It's good if you can get them to like baths as soon as possible, wa and gentle and may remind them of the womb since they were in fluid there. I am hoping to do this and then keep the routine. Most parents I know don't bath there kids in the morning but have bathtime as part of thier bedtime "wind down" routine for quite a few years.

Not to mention, as our newborns turn into babies and then toddlers they get dirty by bedtime. Dirt, food, bodily fluids all over and who would want to go to bed with that on them? Or have to wash the sheets that often. lol.

dsty1213 · November 2015

I was having the same issue so took the the advice of @MoRay05 . I wrapped one of my nursing tanks on the mattress of the cradle, swaddled him, and slid him in there. 4 hours later and I feel like a human again. Thank you!!

My 3 day old will only sleep on me - advice appreciated

Re: My 3 day old will only sleep on me - advice appreciated

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