Baby Only Sleeps If Being Held

I got a baby sling and wore my son most of the time.
Things seemed to settle down a bit at the 8 week point but he always loved to be held and I think he was about 3 yrs old before he didn't want to sit on my lap all the time.
He was definitely my snuggle baby!

Three WEEKS? Yes, that's normal. Hold him, he's barely been out of the womb. Also, he may sleep better swaddled in his car seat than in a cradle or crib.

When you think about it. Baby has come from a warm, secure place. I don't remember how long this lasts. It's important to hold her as long as it takes. DDoing so builds security and she'll be more independent soon.

I agree with those who say do NOT let a 3 week out CIO. That's way too young - and the reason my MIL was not welcome at my home when my last baby was born. I held my babies all the time, nursed on demand, slept with them in my bed, etc. My children are now 6, 8, and 10 - all amazing sleepers, eaters, smart, active...I have very little complaints at all.

All 3 of my kids still like to cuddle...even my 10 year old! My 8 and 6 year old are always in my bed if my husband is not - sometimes I wake up and find him sleeping in one of their beds and one of my boys next to me. (I go to bed early, husband goes later...so the boys take advantage sometimes.)

I would continue to hold him. It won't last for years, but it will make him feel safe and secure. Confidence and trust starts at this age. If you do not want to carry him around all the time, try swaddling, but please don't let the baby cry it out.

3 weeks old is to young for cry it out. Do you swaddle him? My babys slept better if wrapped securely so that there legs and arms didn't flail around. My mom swore my daughters first word would be "wheeee" because if she fell asleep in the swing I left her there. She was secure and slept good. No way was I moving her lol. My youngest son slept in the swing and or the carseat. My grandson slept the best in an infant carseat. pediatrician said it wouldn't hurt anything to let them sleep like that. and he was right lol.

Oh my gosh! Don't let a 3 week old cry it out!
All 3 of mine went through this phase. Some more than others but it was still there.
They did all outgrow it and went on to be able to nap absolutely anywhere and everywhere we went, where ever we put them down.
We found different things worked for each one. My youngest had to have something touching her feet at all times while she slept. Her sleepers had to have feet, she would not wear the sleep sacks we used with the boys. We put her in her crib the short way and made sure her feet touched the bumper. My second and third hated being swaddled and would scream like we were torturing them but my first needed it and slept much better. We never made it super tight and would make it looser and looser every few days. My second had to have his head touching something at all times.
Those first few weeks were the hardest while we figured out what did and did not work. They were all held an awful lot while we figured it out and they sorted themselves out, getting used to their new world.
I had a sling that I used a lot. We had a moses basket for our third that was amazing. We kept it on the floor in the living room while we were in here and would put it in the crib at times, then putting her in it to sleep.
It was short lived for all 3 of them. It's hard I know. Give that baby the cuddles and security he needs.

Watch for the yawns and signs of being tired and then put him down. If you catch the window, you can start helping him sleep naturally on his own.

Get the book the baby whisperer solves all your problems.

Please don't let your 3 week old baby cry it out. He's so tiny. My daughter went through this phase and now my 7 week old son is doing it too. During the night they both sleep/slept on their own but during the day, it was on me. I think my daughter only did this for a few weeks. She ultimately found her thumb at about 2 1/2 months old and then she didn't need me so much. My son seems to be ok using a pacifier and that helps a lot to put him to sleep.

You don't have to go through this. Lay him down and pat his stomach or side, according to how he lays down. Let him cry. If you stop holding him, he WILL learn to sleep. If you don't stop holding him, you are only hurting yourself. It will NOT hurt him to lay him down and pat him. He will cry because you have let him learn that the only way to sleep is by being held.

I promise you that you will get through this if you really want your life back.

Hold him. He is not even three weeks. Don't see a problem.

Hold him. He's used to being in the womb.
He's only 3 weeks old.
Soon the times in between being held will grow to longer periods.
What might help, too, is to be swaddled. Babies like this as they feel
safe & secure like being in the womb.
Soon enough your baby will like sleeping in his car seat & possibly
infant swing.

My first was like this, but he was very colicky also. I think it lasted around 2 or 3 weeks until I transitioned him into sleeping in the swing. One thing I found that helped, esp at night, was to put down a warm heating pad on the spot where he laid in the crib and let it warm up. Then remove it and lay baby in that spot. Hope this helps.

I'm a foster mom, and have tons of babies come into my home. Some of them were going through withdrawal or had special needs. Most of them craved touch. I carried most of them in Moby Wraps or a Mei Tai wrap as much as I could so they could relax and feel secure. At nighttime though, I need my sleep! I invested in some good swaddlers and a positioner to keep them feeling secure in their crib. If they are swaddled tight and tucked into the positioner, they seemed to sleep better. Of course, some babies just need held more than others. Good luck, mama!

I wore our daughter in her Baby Bjorn constantly for the first 6 months. It goes fast! Hold and cuddle your new baby as much as you possibly can. They need to be next to mom as much as possible at this beginning stage. We swaddled at night.

Swaddle that baby and put him down! Does a pacifier help? My youngest needed to be swaddled (tightly) and have a pacifier to sleep, but once we did those two things, she'd sleep forever. It's not so much a phase, as a preference, I think. My youngest is still super snuggly (and she's 8!).

Well, my son did it until he was about 16 months and my daughter (1st born) did it until my dad bought me a Graco Baby Soother. It is the swing that has a seat, and then you can take it off and put on the carseat, so they don't wake up when you bring them in. This is how I finally got to put them down and get some sleep. So, I don't know if I really know how long it took. It also had sounds that came with it, or you're mp3 player. Oh, one other thing is that both of my kids had severe colic and being held helped the acid stay out of the throat.

My daughter was like that. She was my firstborn.
My son was not like that.
Every baby is different.
My daughter was like that, for maybe until 6 months.
It is all a blur.
LOL
But she is a good sleeper now! She is 10 now.
Your baby is very young.
Sleeping while being held, is very common.
Baby was in your womb only 3 weeks ago.

But with both my kids, since infancy, they were nappers and napped everyday, as needed and per how I knew them and their cues.

Well I had the hardest time with my first sleeping, I got him to sleep but it was such a struggle! With my second and third I let them tummy sleep. I Talked it over with my pediatrician and he said he couldn't officially recommend it but he had many mothers in his practice who did this. I had no problems with either of my last two children and sleep when I let them tummy sleep, with my third I let him tummy sleep from day one and he did so great, so it may be something to think on and talk over with the doc, good luck!

I agree this is too young to CIO, which you didn't mention you're considering I know, but just in case.

I also second the heating pad approach. My older son was like this and I eventually theorized that it was partly the sudden temp change from my body to the bed that stirred him. I put a heating pad underneath a receiving blanket in his bassinet. I turned it on low. When I was ready to lay him down I'd turn it off and unplug it, but leave it there and lay him on it. This way the temp very gradually changed as the heating pad cooled down.

This phase is so hard. Hang in there.

Our daughter was not good as a back sleeper. Once she could roll over and sleep on her stomach, she slept through the night. I could lay her down and she was out..

Thank goodness the child was rolling over by about 4 weeks. The doctor at 6 weeks, said it was fine to just let her sleep on her stomach. Do not attempt this without the doctors ok..

Have you tried swaddling? Also place his head up against the corner of the bumper pad in the bassinet or the crib.. Infants are used to being in really tight spaces.. That slight pressure on their heads with their arms and legs tight so they do not flinch and then startle themselves.. It just helps them feel secure.

I slept sitting up holding my younger kid for about 3 months. Hence, those days are super foggy. During the day, she was in a Maya Wrap.

Sleep sacks seem to really help some kiddos, you might give that a try.

M

My first and third were like that. My third was by far the worst sleeper! I think things got more "normal" for us around three months. I realized that part of the problem was that my son has food allergies and was reacting to some of the foods I was eating. He would always want to nurse, but then he would break out in a rash or writhe in discomfort right after I nursed. Things got much better when I changed my diet.

Good luck to you. Isn't three weeks the typical age when colic starts? Sigh. Hang in there.

Oh yeah. And I had to do a lot of babywearing to get anything done.