Won't sleep in bassinet at night

KLHauck12 · October 2015

First of all the bassinet (as a part of the pack n play) did not work out - my baby rolls to the side with her face up against the side about 10 seconds after being put in there! So we had to resort to letting her nap and sleep at night in the rock n play. The first few nights went okay but when we tried to put it in our bedroom at night, she started resisting sleeping in it. We change her, feed, burp, and let her fall asleep....but when we go to put her in the rock n play, she wakes up screaming within minutes! I don't think she has her days and nights mixed because she falls right asleep but only if being held then wakes up when she is put in the rock n play. None of this happens during the day! I do the same routine and she stays asleep. I can even put her in their partially awake and she has put herself to sleep! Why is it different at night?!
I'm half tempted to start putting her in her crib in her nursery (we were going to wait until she is older) since we take her in there for changing and feeding to not wake each other up during our shifts. Then we could try white noise machInes or lullabies. And we could use a monitor to keep an eye on her instead of fumbling through the dark barely able to see her. And I would not end up laying in bed tense over every little noise waiting for it to lead to screaming (although it usually does). But I am worried it is too big for her at 11 days old or she will not like it after sleeping in the elevated, cozy rock n play.
We arent getting many opportunities to sleep at night...and I feel like I only quality sleep I get when someone is over help and I know they have control of it and I dont have to lie there waiting for her to start crying,
Any ideas what we could do?

cbolton19 · October 2015

Our little girl is the same. During the day we can put her down (sometimes) but at night, no way. So we sleep with her. So she sleeps on my chest or next to me in bed. It gives us the sleep we need. I figure we can move her to the co-sleeper when she is ready. She's only 12 days old and not used to being alone yet. I'll take all the cuddles I can get!

Edit: words. Middle of the night feeding time. I'm tired. Ha ha

wcm2b · October 2015

I have been cuddling my boy during all sleeps. He is one week old now and he sleeps way longer when held. He also is rolling onto his side but the nurses at the hospital told me to roll two small towels and put him between them so he can't roll. Start them at armpit to feet so it's away from the face just in case. It's hard to put them down for sleep. I know I should help him learn to lay down but I don't even care at this point. Attachment parenting al the way- do what feels right for you and baby! Have you tried swaddling to stop baby from startling herself awake? Might work if it's tight

christina4436 · October 2015

I know what you mean on pack and play bassinet. But can you use the pack and play regular part and put that in your room. That's what I plan on doing once she starts rolling in bassinet. Unfortunately it's prob not the sleeping device it's prob just the fact she's with you and then not. This happens to my baby sometimes too. I lay there and hope for not screaming too! Since you and your hubby take her to the other room anyway though I think it's worth trying in her room. Sounds like that may work out best for you guys and nothing wrong with it. Our LO got used to crib in NICU and I was going to but her room is down the hall so just would be harder during night. No harm in trying and then you're right you may get some quality sleep! Other suggestions I have heard are a tight swaddle and then white noise like u said.

kjacks6347 · October 2015

I started putting my baby in the crib around the one week mark. He hasn't really had any problems with it. We all sleep better with him in there. He will go stretches of 3 hours as opposed to his normal one hour ones when he's with me. Occasionally we put him in the pack n play in our room if he is being really fussy at night. Just do what's best for you and your family. If the crib doesn't work out you can always try something else!

satori15 · October 2015

I put DS (who is 3 now) in the crib within the first week. I had the same problem with the Pack N Play. I also couldn't sleep with him in our room! Swaddling helps the crib from seeming too big to the baby. DD is sleeping in our room but she really likes her bassinet.

ameares721 · October 2015

My baby has been a side sleeper since day one and she was 4 weeks early! My pediatrician said it was fine if she is doing it on her own and we haven't had any issues.

She struggled with the bassinet at first. We got permission to prop it up a bit (she hated being flat). We also used white noise and cover the bassinet mattress with a shirt my husband wore. That really helped! Once I got an Ollie swaddle she started sleeping really well in the bassinet. Then we put the bassinet in her bedroom at six weeks old and she has been doing really well. We usually let her fall asleep and then put her in the bassinet. If she is particularly fussy and won't fall asleep, we let her cry for three minutes and then she almost immediately falls asleep when we pick her up. She has a superficial cry that is more like whining than wailing though so it's not so bad!

KLHauck12 · October 2015

We ended up swaddling her in a sleep sack last night. I had tried it one other night without success but I hadn't actually wrapped her arms in (just used for warmth) because it made me nervous that the material comes up so high close to her face. But we gave it a go...and it was our best night! She went right back to sleep after each feeding and slept for 3 hours each time! I was hesitant to use during the day too but th is morning she wouldn't stop screaming after her feeding so I put it back on....instantly calm and slept for 4 hours. Now she is sleeping on me since I didnt put it back on. She didn't seem to need a swaddling before but now she does. We are horrible at it so it will have to be the swaddle sacks. I'm just unsure if she should be in one during the day too??
Oh, and I'm still considering the crib even though the swaddling worked last night. I slept more than I have since she was born but I did struggle with waking up to her noises and laying there wondering if she would wake. And then wondering if she was okay when she was quiet (a monitor seems like a nice solution for that)!

arwestover3 · October 2015

Swaddling is the best thing ever! Woombies, halo sleep sacks, and those muslin blankets have all been great for us depending on the climate.

abkenyon · November 2015

I second the swaddle. We got swaddleme owns warlier this week and it's been great. She is sleeping in her rock n okay as well. I just fold down the martial from her face as that bothered me too.

KLHauck12 · November 2015

Except now here I am tonight and she is fighting the swaddle. She busts her hands out of the halo sleep sack before I can even get her to fall asleep. She is flailing and everything comes undone! So now of course she is back to waking when we put her in the rock n play and she is asleep on me. I just dont know why it went so well last night and tonight she is fighting it and we are back to the same problem!

abkenyon · November 2015

abkenyon said:
I second the swaddle. We got swaddleme owns warlier this week and it's been great. She is sleeping in her rock n okay as well. I just fold down the martial from her face as that bothered me too.

Exactly. This is us to the t. Baby girl cries at 10:30 until we out her in her swaddle (I fold down the fabric too) and she sleeps in her rock n play. I would rather her in her bed but it just doesn't work during the day, she wakes up after 15 minutes, so we are going with what works right now.

mihaelams1 · November 2015

For the first 2 nights home we tried putting our little boy in the pack n' play in our room (it doesn't have a bassinet). He hated it so much and I was on the verge of collapsing from lack of sleep. So the next night we put him in the crib and he's sleeping there since, with no (big) issues. The nursery is door to door with our bedroom and we keep both doors open, so we easily hear him even when he's just stirring. We also swaddle him in the Halo sleepsack, otherwise he wakes up after 10 min. The only time he can sleep unswaddled is when he naps on my chest. When swaddling during the night, I try to do it between breasts, when he's drowsy, so that the second breast will result in him sleeping. Sometimes he wakes up when being swaddled and tries to fight it, but I still continue and he calms down after both arms are in.

I would suggest to try the crib one night and see how it goes. Also, regarding the swaddle material being too close to the nose - try closing both flaps horizontally, not in a V shape. Also, tug the longer flap very tight, so that it goes all the way behind the back. It took me a few weeks to do it correctly, but now his arms stay put and not getting out through the top.

FLY77 · November 2015

Have you tried rolling up small blankets or towels on each side of the bassinet (below the mesh holes on each side) , then placing the baby in the middle? That's what we do and it works perfectly! A swaddle is also a must for us. We swaddle then place a lite blanket over top and tuck her in. She's still not sleeping through the night, but I generally get 3.5-5 hours at a time. She is currently 6 weeks, so I don't think that's too bad : )

JamieDubs · November 2015

My boy HATES swaddling! He loves to wave his arms around his head!
He sleeps well in out Moses Basket (same idea as a bassinet except it sits on nightstand instead of a stand. I have elevated the head about two inches using a towel underneath.
He doesn't like to be completely flat

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