Newborn Sleeping

I would also suggest swaddling. My niece got used to being in bed with her mom and it was the body heat she liked. My sister-in-law started to put her blankets in the dryer right before putting her down so they were nice and warm. you may have to spend a few nights with you hand in the bassinet comforting him, but he should get used to it.

Good Luck!
M.

My daughter would only sleep in her bassinet if we had a Supreme Snuggle Nest with Incline inside of the bassinet. It made her feel like she was snuggled. You might want to try swaddling as well if you haven't.

I really dont know what to tell you. I had my 4th child last July and he still wont sleep through the night. He's almost 8 months now. My other kids were really good at sleeping at 3 weeks, 2 months and 4 months old they finally slept by themselves all night long. As for the bassinet, How long to you leave him in there? Does he nap in there? Mine always slept better on their stomach than on the back. Im finding my boys are not as good as sleeping as my daughter was at 3 weeks. I hope you can get some sleep. Im still not. :)

What my boys needed (both of them) was touch. They needed to feel like I was close. So, while it made my arm go numb, it was worth it to pull the bassinet right up next to my bed and rest my hand on the baby's chest. They would instantly relax, and fall asleep in a few minutes. When I would lift my hand before they were asleep, they would wake and fuss. Even though my arm was numb, I got some blessed sleep!
Another idea I've heard of is for YOU to sleep on one of his blankets one night, then wrap him in it to sleep the next night. Your "smell" will be on the blanket and will comfort him. Or so I've heard. I never needed to do that because my hand on my babies' chest worked like a charm.

I had this issue with my son too. I learned to swaddle him really well, and finally introduced the pacifier once breastfeeding was well established. There's a video called "Happiest Baby on the Block" that really helped. It talks about how to soothe your newborn by swaddling, sucking, motion, and white noise. Those things really helped, because once my son was well soothed, he fell asleep in the bassinet much better.

I have a 5 week old that sleeps great. What I did was made a slight incline on her crib matress and I also wrap her up nice and tight in a thin baby blanket so that she feels secure. It worked on both of my kids. Good luck!!

Try using one of your shirts that you wore during the day for him to cuddle with. Babies are soothed by the smell of their moms. I know it sounds gross but the more it smells the better it works. Hope this helps you!

Dear K. P.,

Try taking a night gown (or pj's) you have slept in and with out washing them, put them in the bassinet with him. He will pick up your scent and be comforted by it.

Hope this helps you.

L. J

I had the same problem with my oldest. It turned out that the bassinet was too enclosed for her. She needed to be in a bigger bed. As she got older the same problem occurred with the crib. Some kids/babies just need to feel like they have more room in their beds. This has happened with my second daughter but only with her toddler bed. She moves around so much that it was giving her enough room. So I put her in a twin and she's fine now.

K., My newborn slept best when she was swaddled and sleeping on or near the shirt I wore that day. What I would do was take the shirt I had been wearing that day and put it "on" the bassinet mattress, tucking the excess in the bottom so baby wouldn't get tangled. I then would swaddle her and lay her on the shirt. I think my scent on the shirt would help reasure her I was still there allowing her to calm down enough to sleep. Good luck!

Hello K., If you feel supported by reading, I recommend, "Nighttime Parenting: How To Get Your Baby and Child to Sleep," by Dr. William Sears or "The No Cry Sleep Solution," by Elizabeth Pantley. Both of these books give lots of different ideas you and your son might like ~T.

Girls are smarter than boys.lol Let him fall asleep in your bed then put him in his bed he will get used to sleeping in his own bed very soon.In addition it is not very safe to have him sleep with you.

I had this problem with my second of three daughters. I found that swaddling all of them worked well the first month or so and made them feel secure. I also found that if you let them fall asleep on their own rather than in your arms - they are more likely to sleep wherever you put them. My problem was she fell asleep every time i fed her, so when I put her down she woke up and then proceeded to cry for what seemed like forever unless I picked her up. I eventually had to let her cry it out when she was about a 5 or 6 weeks old - because it had only gotten worse. I just know that my other two girls were world champ sleepers and the difference in what I did was letting them fall asleep in their crib from day one. My other two took 3 two hour naps a day for at least the first 6-9 months and took at least a 2-3 hour nap up until 3 years of age. Sleep for a little one is truly the key to a happy baby (not to mention mom) Good Luck.

When I brought my first son home from the hospital we put him in the bassinet and he cried until we put him in bed with us. I would think about buying a Co-Sleeper that attaches to your bed. This way you can put your hand on him for comfort. That may be all he needs. My second son was like your daughter, he loved sleeping alone.

Happiest Baby On the Block will detail pretty much everyones advice. It's worth the $15.00. Also sign up for an infant massage class (usually at local hospitals for about $40.00). These two things had my baby sleeping through the night (6 hours) at five weeks!
As for co-sleeping....it's not for everone, but I don't think there is anything wrong with it. Your wupette my only sleep with you becasue of your smell, the sound of your breathing, and the warmth of your body. Remember he was held for 9 mo. straight, so he's probably experiencing sensory deprivation in the basinette. My daughter would not sleep well in her basinette, so she ended up sleeping with us for 6 weeks. Now at 4 mo. she sleeps all night in her crib in her room. Good luck! Remember it's okay to need some good sleep. If that means putting the baby in the swing all night so you can recharge that's ok. Just don't make too much of a habit of it or else he'll never learn to sleep without motion.

Swaddling is your first line of defense. Usually (can't say always) it provides a feeling of being held. Also, you may try to use a sleep positioner - also gives a feeling of being held.

When he sleeps in your bed with you, it could be that you're close to him and (if you're nursing) he smells the milk and is comforted by that. If that could be the case, maybe wrap him in a blanket that smells like you. If you're not nursing, the same idea about a blanket that smells like you could be helpful. When I say to try a blanket, I mean swaddle him with it - not loosely around him or on top of him.

One item my husband and I found to be invaluable was a "womb bear" - you can find them at Target or Babies R Us for about $20. It is a cute teddy bear that makes womb sounds and the duration it stays on is for about 45 minutes and turns off on its own. My little one still sleeps with hers on - it's a comfort thing for her, and she is already 20 months old! Usually people use it for 3 months or so.

Will he sleep in the bassinet during the day? You may try to put him in the bassinet for naps, just so he's more used to it.

In the end, it's SO important that you get some sleep as well as your son. 2 weeks is not very long since your body went through so much, and I know how exhausted you must be without the sleeping dilemma. It may be that you have to give up a few nights of good sleep to keep putting him in the bassinet to show him that he can sleep in the bassinet, but it's so hard to do that when you're already so tired. I am sure he'll cry a LOT - but he may tire himself out and discover that he will finally give in and sleep. Can't promise though...

Just a few ideas. It's so tough to figure out the little ones sometimes. I would talk to your pediatrician and they may have some great advice too.

Congratulations on your new baby. Good luck and sweet dreams to you all.

K. try putting a small alarm clock that has a tick noise next 2 the baby were the baby can hear it be cautious not 2 place 2 close 2 baby. The ticking sound is like your heart beat the baby heard in the womb. Will sooth baby.

try putting your hand on his chest. all my kids slept with me ti bout 4 months so when i would lay them in basinet i would put my hand on them it seemed to work

Hello K.,

My suggestions is to be consistent. I have 2 kids and they are both great sleepers (on their own) and have been since the beginning. My husband is not comfortable with babies in the bed because he is too deep of a sleeper and doesn't want anything to happen to them and so we have had a "sleep in their own bed" rule from day one. This consistency has really helped.

At this point for you I would suggest putting him in the bassinet for naps and even for some awake time (not too long because you don't want him to think it is a place to play). If he can be familiar with the space he may be more likely to sleep there. The bassinet we used when my babies were little was actually quite large and so we had to use blankets to fill some of the space. We were very careful that the "extras" were away from the babies and secure so they would not unfold at any time but this really helped them feel more secure.

I would also suggest that you keep trying. It may take a couple days of fussing before he realizes this is where you would like him to sleep but those couple of days will be well worth it in the end. You might not get much sleep during this time but ask for help from those around you and catch a nap whenever you possibly can!

You might also try putting him in his own room. The noises around him could be a distraction and his own space and quiet might help. It was at about this age that we put our babies in their own room and things went pretty well.

Good luck.

It's so hard when they are so little and you are desperate for sleep. I think the first post had great suggestions - swaddling in a blanket that smells like you (I found it easiest to just sleep with one of my baby's blankets one night and then use that blanket the next night to swaddle them). They really do love your smell.

Babies also like white noise - so if there is a fan or anything you can turn on that won't disturb the baby or you (or make it cold) that might help.

I could never sleep with my children in my room unless it was in my bed. (And that never worked because I was paranoid of my husband rolling on the baby, so I never really slept.) My son was in our room for 3 weeks before I finally moved him to his own room. I was waking up at every move or sound he made and we were waking him up when we moved around. When we brought our daughter home, she was in her own room from the beginning and we all slept a lot better.

I hope something works for you.

I sympathize with you! 2 of my 3 kids had a difficult time sleeping in their bassinet. They always slept much better in my bed. I know that works for a lot of people, but it really doesn't work for me. If I could script it, I would have them in the bassinet for a couple of months and then sleeping blissfully in their own room in their crib after that. I've just found that some babies catch on to my vision more easily than others.

For those, like yours, that resist the bassinet, this is what I suggest. First of all, take heart & don't give up! This too, shall pass. Just keep trying to teach them to soothe themselves to sleep by themselves, in the bassinet every time. (Swaddling also REALLY helps with most babies.) Until they're 4-6 months old, they're too little to let cry, but I definitely let them fuss. If they cry, I pick them up, give them a binky, swaddle them better, etc. - whatever it takes to soothe them. If it's the middle of the night & I really need sleep, I would bring them in bed with me just so we all maintain our sanity. But for naps & sleep the next night, I try again with the bassinet. I know how hard it is!!! Hang in there!! It may take some time, but your baby will learn. He'll be sleeping in the bassinet before you know it. Good luck!!

It is no accident that your son sleeps better in your bed with you. Most babies sleep better that way. In most of the world, this is how babies and parents sleep. Co-sleeping has worked for us with all four of our babies. I love it, and it makes nursing during the night so much easier. When our first baby was about five months and we knew that we would continue co-sleeping, we invested in a king-size bed, and it was worth it! We transition them into a toddler bed right around 2 years old and have never had any problems. If you decide that co-sleeping is not for you, please do NOT consider the "Babywise" method, especially if you are breastfeeding. There are much better books out there to help you get your baby to sleep. If you want more info on co-sleeping and other baby topics, I recommend books by Dr. William Sears, starting with The Baby Book. It was what helped us with so many things with our first little one.

If it makes you feel any better, my daughter would only sleep next to me for the first 11 weeks. I tried a co-sleeper, bassinet, etc. but she would only sleep right next to me. During the day I kept trying to put her down for naps on her own and then eventually I tried putting her down in the bassinet at night and then would move her into bed with me after she woke to nurse. After 11-12 weeks she all of a sudden started going to bed earlier and was able to go to sleep on her own! It seems she just needed some time to regulate herself. I have heard that it also helps if they are carried more during the day in a sling or front carrier. I think it helps fulfill their need to be close.

J. (mother to Zach, 2 years old, and Talia, 3 and 1/2 months old)

Make sure he is swaddled and snuggled in. It is great you are doing this now as being in your bed doesn't allow anyone to get the real sleep everyone needs. It will prevent it becoming a harder habit to break down the road. Just keep the bassinett by your bed. I did this with my son, then he was so big I had to put the crib into my room until he was 6 mos, then I put him in his own room. There were nights I had to keep my hand on his back until he fell asleep when he was an infant but he would then sleep by himself just fine. Gradual change is good for them and they will adjust fine. Maybe make sure you have a back positioner for him too as that will keep him from moving around too much and help him feel secure. Then when you move him into a crib it will have something he can take with him to feel consistent with.
Good luck.

it's ok to sleep with him. He needs you and you need to sleep! If you don't get some sleep, you will struggle more. Think about the fact that he has been attached to you for 9 months. It's natural to need to be connected to you still. Even for months. We still sleep with our baby boy and he is 4 months. we all sleep better, not all night yet though. He slept on a little mat called the incline to sleep. It's at babies r us. that way, he is raised up a little bit and not on the sheets. Then, we moved it into the bassinet after about 3-4 weeks. It was nice to finally have our bed back. But, now he is back in bed with us because the bassinet is too small. I am not ready for the crip yet!