Cannot. Put. Newborn. Down. :(

eliseandbaby · January 2016

Baby is a decent sleeper and will nap 1-3 hrs after a good feed. The problem is: she will only sleep if being held. Even if I wait till she's fast asleep, as soon as I put her in bassinet she starts crying and flailing her arms. It's frustrating as I'd like to nap when she does but can't if I'm holding her.

ANY advice or anyone in the same situation? Feel like I'm going to go crazy without some decent sleep.

Gingermom15 · January 2016

She might have too much space around her to feel secure. Have you tried swaddling or using something like a Rock and Play?

ETA It's recommended babies don't sleep longer than I believe 5 hours in a R&P but I found with mine since he is still waking at least every 3 hours to eat it hasn't been an issue. He loves the R&P and goes right to sleep.

thatgirlree24 · January 2016

Yes my 3 week old has been fighting sleep now for about 2 weeks. He sleeps maybe 3hrs during the day while the rest is spent eating on and off and trying to rock him to sleep. I'm beyond exhausted.

dec15mum · January 2016

I feel you, my LO sleeps great if he's bed sharing (personally trying to discourage because I get paranoid of rolling on him)
As soon as I put him in his bassinet he cries and cries and I'm at a loss on how to settle him in it

amye02 · January 2016

Agree with PP about the Rock and Play.

Holdmomma · January 2016

Swaddling works wonders for my baby; be sure to get it tight around the arms and a little looser in the hip area. He sleeps in his bassinet at night. We also found that the infant swing/glider works well for daytime naps. Also white noise or heartbeat sounds can help soothe baby while he is sleeping.

breezypip · January 2016

I also have a baby that prefers to sleep in our arms. She prefers to sleep in the day on top of that, plus she rarely goes down easy... Lots of rocking/swaying to get her to sleep. She's almost 4 weeks and we've had the most luck with the Rock n Play + Swaddle + white noise combination - although I don't get much sleep as she doesn't go longer than 2, maybe 3 hours at MOST in it, and that isn't often. Sometimes I can get her in her Halo bassinet when swaddled and laying up against the side net, but that's a gamble when I try it.

When I'm desperate I put her in my Solly wrap and wear her on my chest and sleep like that so she can't roll off, but I really don't like doing that with all the warnings on bed sharing safety issues. But I need to sleep and sometimes it's the only way. I don't sleep deeply like that since it's not the most comfortable and I'm always aware of her. I'm getting about 3-4 hours of sleep per night and it's rough. Soooo jealous of those with sleeping babies!

kdoak2015 · January 2016

Its normal, enjoy the baby cuddles while they are young. My DD sleeps longer stretches when she's swaddled and she hates her bassinet but will sleep in swing or bouncer(bouncer hasn't been successful lately either). It's a phase that will pass.

mkc0528 · January 2016

Rock n play all the way. I had this grand idea that he would just sleep in his crib right away but I also had a must be swaddled and held to sleep. After myself only sleeping 1hr each night I couldn't do it ne more. Bought the rock n play and within the day he was sleeping 1-2 hrs in it. Now at 6 weeks I'm finally able to transition him to the crib.

Bombmom3 · January 2016

The cosleeper cribs are worth every penny spent if you have a child who needs to be close but you are like I am and don't want to bed share for safety reasons (also, my bed is my bed - I had friends whose kids were still in their bed when they were six and eight and there was just no way I was going to share my bed with elementary school kids).

kksquared · January 2016

Our baby will only sleep if he's swaddled. I prefer the halo Swaddles since it is a lot easier and I feel safer then using a regular Swaddles blanket. I just have to make sure his arms stay straight at his sides of he breaks free

He will sleep up to 4 hrs this way in his bassinet. Also we use a pacifier to help him to go sleep. So far no nipple confusion between paci and boob!

esscapelle · January 2016

Rock n play, halo sleeper, and white noise. Perfect combo for my LO.

angelicac06 · January 2016

This was me for the first 2 weeks! Until my cousin recommended this travel lounger:

https://m.target.com/p/infant-travel-bed-lulyboo/-/A-21491006

They also sell it at babies r us. We literally put it on top of the bassinet and my LO started staying there for the 3-4 hour stretches. I guess something about a more confined space keeps them from being startled if he begins to wake up and goes right back to sleep. Goodluck!

oregonmommy-2 · January 2016

Swaddle, rock n play, and paci is a must!! That's the only way he sleeps during the night. He HATES his bassinet.. Won't even nap in it.. Sometimes for naps during the day he will sleep on my chest and I will nap with him.

dmendo01 · January 2016

I am dealing with the same. My LO is only 5 days old and I'm really hoping when my milk comes in she will do better. I was strictly against co-sleeping but feel that if she doesn't start letting us put her down will give that a try. We even have the Rock & play and swaddle her and are having no luck right now. Maybe adding the sound machine as some have mentioned. My hormones are crazy right now and I already miss my husband and sleeping with him but as of now I'm on night shift duty and he's on day shift...also concerned with going back to work already bc our sitter for sure doesn't have time to deal with this!! It's nice to be able to vent on here and would love continued advice as I am first time momma.

eliseandbaby · January 2016

It's so frustrating she's totally fine for hours in someone's arms, but 7 seconds on the bassinet and she's screaming and fussing. I tried to get the rock n play from toys r us but they were out and the lady there said they can't sleep in them?? Now I'm looking for a mama Roo chair I hear they are good

eliseandbaby · January 2016

So they can sleep on some of these chairs and swings at night?

blended10 · January 2016

My 2-wk old wants to be held constantly too. Some days she'll be content in her swing, the co-sleeper or the rock n' play - sometimes not. I try to just go with it.
My opinion on sleeping in a swing or rnp is I let them. They don't sleep for longer than a few hours, so long as they're strapped in & bundled what's the harm? But I also co-sleep half the time so there's that.
Do what you need to to get some rest!!

jennknitspretty · January 2016

eliseandbaby said:
So they can sleep on some of these chairs and swings at night?

It isn't recommended but if that is the only way baby sleeps...

I swaddle LO using a swaddleme to trap her arms and then feed her on 2nd boob. Get her nice and milk drunk and she passes out already swaddled. Leave her in my lap 15-20 mins to get deep sleep - but not against my chest because that would be too warm. Then I bring her to bassinet and do a 2nd swaddle with blanket in the bassinet and luckily she stays asleep. If she stirs but eyes don't open I use a paci and munchkin sound machine.

Works maybe 80% of the time which allows me to get a few hours at night!

Daphneh28 · January 2016

My LO will sleep like a dream in her halo swaddler. I wait till she falls asleep in my arms and then stick her in it and close it up. She will flail her arms for about a minute and then boom falls asleep. Last night she slept 4 and 5 hour stretches! It was awesome. She also sleeps in her rock n play during the day but I dont like the way she places her head in it so I only let her nap in it. I move her head to a straight position abd she will move it back to an awkward angle

so naps in RNP and halo sleeper for nights. Try it.

maiatene · January 2016

angelicac06 said:
This was me for the first 2 weeks! Until my cousin recommended this travel lounger:

https://m.target.com/p/infant-travel-bed-lulyboo/-/A-21491006

Do you let the baby sleep in this overnight? I would be so nervous about the sides being padded

Omniblacklight · January 2016

warm blankets. Mine won't sleep well if I feed him then put him in the bassinet, it gets cold too quickly! I take the blanket he'll be using that night and put it under mine against my stomach to warm up while I'm feeding him in the night, then wrap him up in it and he usually stays asleep for a bit. Plus it keeps the blanket smelling like Mommy so that may help

celainev · January 2016

My baby sleeps almost exclusively in the bassinet. What I do is I first feed him, change his diaper, then swaddle him real tight, but leave his hands so they can touch his face (I keep his nails real short.) Then I put him against one side of the bassinet on his back. I know we aren't supposed to put anything else in the bassinet, but I put a rolled up receiving blanket on the opposite side of him, so he feels secure. Sometimes I also put the shirt I was wearing that day on the other side of the receiving blanket so he can smell me. I have a fan always going in my room for background noise, it helps my DH and I sleep, don't know if it helps DS.

I always put DS in the bassinet while he is awake. If he wants to suck but isn't hungry, I give him a soother. He loves the "soothie" soother. He sometimes will only suck for a minute and then he falls asleep, so I hear this and remove the fallen out soother. Sometimes he grunts and whines, but I leave him alone, he usually will fall asleep after 5 minutes or so.

For the first couple days, I rarely wanted to put him down. So it created a sense of comfort for him, being in my arms. I did use my mamaroo for a couple nights, when I had to set an alarm to feed him every two hours. Now that he wakes up on his own, I don't need to use the mamaroo at night anymore. I personally didn't like using it while I was sleeping because it lacks the head support he needed.

I hope any of this helps!! It is a learning curve for both of you! Sometimes it's okay to let them cry if you know they aren't hungry/in danger! Since newborns don't really follow if it is night or day, I try to stick to a routine at night as much as possible. After nursing is finished, there is no more cuddling. But during the day we cuddle all the time. ❤️

Taylovesbrad · January 2016

I use the mamaroo for my son to sleep in. For waking hours we just figured out the Maya wrap carrier. HuGE

eliseandbaby · January 2016

Taylovesbrad said:
I use the mamaroo for my son to sleep in. For waking hours we just figured out the Maya wrap carrier. HuGE

Where did you get the carrier from? Is it hard to figure out how to use it?

laurabwalker · January 2016

So far not much sleep for the most part. Usually I have been staying up in the living room at night and feeding baby usually hourly. Once my husband is up around 7, I move to the bed, side lie nurse and she falls asleep usually for two hours. This is the only time I bed share, when it's just the two of us and I can move all the blankets and pillows. I have tried all different swaddles, the swing, a Moses basinette, I have the halo basinette (which she will nap in but only day time hours of course! Lol). At night in between feeds she will only sleep on my chest and I sometimes doze off but I can't really sleep. Oh sleep i miss you.

yl1m32015 · January 2016

My daughter will be 8 weeks this week and still can't stand being put down. I really don't mind it though. I rarely put her down. If I need to do things I out her in her wrap carrier.

groovylocks · January 2016

Not sure if this was said... Try the car seat. A drive if you can manage it. Once babe is out good and cold, you may be able to transfer her.

Also get an elevator for her head. Some babies don't like being flat and want their little heads elevated. They make them for cribs and maybe for bassinets too.

dmendo01 · January 2016

Update on my post the other day: our rock and play was not auto. We went and got the auto rock and play and it has made all the difference. She loves the rocking motion and will sleep 3-4 hours in it at night and does all daytime naps in it as well! So far it has been a life saver!

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