5 Week Old to Fall Asleep by Themselves....

I agree, this is much to young! A baby this age "communicates" by crying when a need is not being met. Letting a 5 week old cry it out is teaching them that their needs will not be met.

Since you are a busy mom, a sling or some other type of carrier would work great, baby can be all snuggly up close to mama and drift off whenever he needs to and you have 2 hands free to chase after the other kiddos!

I swear by white noise!!! So i say white noise, swaddle snugly and lay him in bassinet when sleepy. Perhaps the carseat isn't working for him. The white noise will keep the big brothers from waking him. Answer his cries as soon as you can, soothe him and put him back down. He'll get the hang of it! Good luck!

H.,
I understand that you now have three little ones and that you are very busy. But I think it's unrealistic to expect your 5 week old to fall asleep consistently on his own. I think you would produce faster results at bedtime if you establish, and stick to a bedtime routine that he gets used to from this early age. Make sure he is clean, dry, warm and fed before you begin rocking, etc. Maybe rock for 10 minutes and place him, swaddled in his crib, drowsy, but still awake.
I agree with playing some soft music, white noise or using a soft lights-type of lullaby machine. It will help and will get him used to the "routine" of what comes next--sleep!
Good luck and hang in there. I have O. little boy and I can't imagine the demands of 3!

Hi. I truley believe that there is a fourth trimester with a baby, and that is from birth to 3 months. This involves them still not being able to sooth themselves. He needs you! I understand that you are a bust mom, but guiding him on how to sooth himself now will help later. When you let him cry for a bit(which is fine), go in a touch him. Do not talk and do not pick him up. Now if he is screaming like a banchi, pick him up because something could be wrong, or maybe he needs to burp....Have him sleep in the crib when you are home.
It takes time, but he can not sooth himself at this point, so he needs you.

5 weeks is hit or miss-usually miss! He can DEFINITELY make it through the night by 3 months.

If you don't want to build a dependence on your comforting for sleep-smart move!-then don't use any sort of rocking and nursing to put him directly to sleep. Do all your rocking and cuddles during the day time and finally for the pre-bed routine, but once he's had and done everything, including his last nursing, put him cuddly in his bed, and walk away.

He may cry a little, but will probably fall asleep. Don't let it be too long at this age. Try to gage if it's fearful frantic cry, or just a normal, tired cry. A little normal crying is fine, he's tired and learning when bed time is and how to fall asleep on his own. I think you're doing well with your comfort after 10 minutes at this stage.

Do come get him when he wakes up during the night and cries at this age. Feed him, make sure he's dry, get him comfy again, walk away, let him cry a little. If your demeanor is confident and kind and not guilty and scared, it will matter a lot to his ease. He will know, "oh, it's time for me to sleep, everything is fine".

As he gets older, be sure he eats a lot ALL DAY LONG. Babies won't over eat, but they will often seem fine when they could eat more. This makes them wake up hungry at night. The "On Becoming Baby Wise" routine of sleep, eat, wake did wonders for us as far as making the kids feel secure sleeping without eating. We would feed them immediately whenever they woke from a nap or in the morning, and let them dose off after being awake, not feeding them to sleep. A feeding before bed is still OK and needed. We did end up adding some extra feedings to get them full through the night too.

Once they are fully fed and used to sleeping without eating or rocking etc, they make it through the night by 3 months or younger. Take it from my step sister-mother of 12. They all slept happily alone by a few months old. Full belly (from the whole day, not just right before bed), good night routine, then walk away. He's way too young to manipulate you by crying. Worry about that later-but with a good foundation, it won't come to that! Good work, good luck!

Hi, May be you can try a soothing music in the first few days of putting to your baby to sleep, there after when you put the baby to sleep play the music. It worked for me. You also can try tips and advises on this site. http://www.bizymoms.com/washington/index.php They have an experts page as well probably you will find some advisor on baby care http://www.bizymoms.com/washington/experts.php

My son was 5 days old in his own crib and in his own room. I do not think it is too early to do this. I would just let him lay in there and cry. My ped doctor told me not to let him cry for more than a half hour. And I never did. After 3 nights of him crying for a bit he didn't do it anymore. He went right to sleep when I put him down. I think it's great that you are doing this! Best of Luck!

H.,
When my son was that age, I made sure he was fed and dry. After holding him for a little bit, I laid him in his bassinet and he would fall asleep after looking around for a bit.

Although I was very tempted to rock him, I didn't because I did not want to get up and rock him in the middle of the night.

Our daughter when she was that age we would wrap her up very snuggle in the carseat and sit it in the crib and let her sleep that way it worked and she slept.

I agree with Denise's advice, and second the bedtime routine. I also second the Happiest Baby on the Block book. Also, go to Ebay and find a "woombie" swaddler...he will definitely sleep MUCH better when swaddled. Five weeks is still to young to consider "cry it out"..."They" say to wait until at least 6 months. For the first year your baby is learning to trust that his needs will be met..if he cries, the best thing to do is to attend to his needs. :)
Good luck! You sound like a great Mom...and KUDOS for nursing!!

Hi, H.,
Good for you! No, it is not too early to begin bedtime rituals. The earlier, the better. By the time babies are 4 to 8 weeks old their tummies are big enough to make it to breakfast on one final feeding before bedtime. With each of my children before bed I nursed them, and gave them a small bottle I had pumped earlier as well, beginning at 5 weeks of age. Both of my babies slept peacefully through the night. Beginning a nice bedtime ritual of bathing, reading, rocking, singing, etc. prepares them for sleep and instills a ritual that lasts. My son is a teen and my daughter is 8 and she showers herself each night, brushes her teeth, chooses two to three books, kisses everyone goodnight and we proceed to her bedroom for the reading, storytelling, final kissing and hugging and tucking in, all completed by approximately 8:15 p.m., and I don't see her again until 7 a.m. when she meets me in the kitchen for breakfast. She even has her own Hello Kitty clock-radio she sets for 6:45 a.m. Instill habits and routines early and repetitively and bedtime will be as it should be and not the nightmares some moms contend with. Of course, as I said, instill the rules early, firmly and repetitively. Love and discipline go a long way in maintaining peaceful sleep for all through the night. Best of Luck

I think at 5 wks you're going to be spinning your wheels trying to train him to do anything :) I started trying to get my son to fall asleep by himself around 4-5 months and it worked really well for us, but I think much earlier than that I would have been wasting my time. During those first few months, we dont train them, they train us! :)

My friend took a class called The Happiest Baby on the Block that worked wonders for her baby. If all of his needs were met (dry, fed, warm) she could put him to sleep in about five minutes! It has to do with finding the soothing method that works for your baby and then he won't be able to help falling asleep.

I believe there is a book and a CD, but my frined actually had a nurse come to her house and teach her the system. I don't know where you live, but if you're military it's offered thru the base for free. If not, check thehappiestbaby.com. This Dr. has been on Dr. Phil and GMA, and I have seen his program work wonders for my friend. Good luck!

Yep, in my opinion that's totally too young. I didn't Ferberize until my daughter was four months.

Are you swaddling? An awesome swaddler is the Miracle Blanket. Check it out.

Sorry I could not have been of more help. Good luck!

T. :)

Buy yourself a good sling or wrap and wear him so you can be hands frees. They can be expensive but if you know how to sew they can be created for cheap.
This would be much easier than trying to put him down to sleep on his own

Both of my children were able to fall asleep by themselves & sleep through the night by 1-month. They are now 6 & 2 & still are great sleepers with great routines. I think it all boils down to setting the stage & instilling routine. And you can start now.
To set the stage:
* room-darkening/blackout (not just light filtering) shades, especially important now that time has changed & it's lighter later, also keeps out moonlight, streetlights, car lights, morning light, etc.
* nice classical music CD's (the Baby Einstein series is great) or baby lullabys to play for your son when you put him down at night & nap
* swaddling is good as long as he seems to like it; my son fought swaddling very early, so I switched to sleepsack, which worked great; he is now in XL & I'm sad I won't be able to use this fantastic invention much longer
* save bedroom for low-key activities like reading, listening to music, resting & calmer play
* save crib for sleeping; don't use it for him to hang out in when you need to put him down; Pack-n-plays are great for that
* close his bedroom door

Routines:
* find a routine that works for you & him & stick with it
* routine that works for us:
- change diaper & into jammies
- put on sleepsack
- rock him as you read a story
- sing a few calming "night-night" songs (nothing too rockin')
- turn on CD
- put him in his crib
- turn off light
- leave room immediately
- close door

As he gets older, you work other things into the routine, like taking vitamins, brushing teeth, drink of water, etc. Another thing to note, neither of my kids took a pacifier, so from what I hear from friends, that adds a whole other element when it falls out.

These are just things that worked/work for me & I hope you'll find some nugget in here that helps you. Good luck & don't forget, the 1st month is the hardest & you made it through that!

Your baby will be around 4 months before he can fall asleep by himself. Until then, you can help lay the ground work of good sleep habits (consistent bedtime routine, low-light, quiet night-time feedings, etc) but it is really unrealistic to think a newborn is going to sleep on his own.

God bless you... I can't imagine 3 little boys. Your life must be very exciting! :-)

Your baby is very young, and too young to let cry to sleep. At this tender age, you want to try your best to meet your babies needs and create a secure attachment. I suggest you invest in a sling and some baby books.