Anyone have any advice about how to break the cycle of needing to sleep on someone or in someone’s arms? Peanut will only sleep when in someones arms…this started about two weeks ago ( he’s 8 weeks old). I’m so sleep deprived that I’ve resulted in having him sleep in bed with me…this is not something I’m willing to do for the long term, Nap times are the same. I’ve tried putting him down when asleep - he wakes immediately. I’ve tried putting him down awake, he just screams. I’m not willing to lt him cry it out, I think he’s too young for that approach.
Once asleep on me however, he’s a brilliant sleeper and will only wake through the night for feeding and will go right back to sleep.
I don't know what the right thing to do is, but we were gifted a rocker by my phuppo. We would swaddle her, hold her till she fell asleep, then put her in the rocker (during the day), or the bassinet at night. The swaddling helped, altho I do think we stopped swaddling her aroudn 2.5-3 months.
The other illegal thing that I did is put her in a boppy pillow to sleep. I was always with her, and she would sleep feeling held.
But yeah, I don't think this is good advice. it's just what worked for us. We still had some tough nights.
An 8 week old is bound to feel cold, and requires warmth. Thats probably the reason why your baby feels more comfortable while snuggled up to you. Try making him warmer by adding to what you already wrap him in.
There can be many reasons a baby will not sleep unless held. Talk to your pediatrician. Some babies have reflux issue which can be treated.
Short of that try swaddling , if you do not like they sell snuggle nests which serve the same purpose.
Put your shirt which has your smell as a blanket .
Give her a pacifier.
Try a crib which is battery operated and can go on swinging on the battery power for a while.
I have an appointment with the pediatrician this week so I'll talk to him. We've tried swaddling but I'll try and put on an extra layer during bedtime to see if that helps.
Put your baby to bed when he's sleepy but not asleep. If you get him used to falling asleep in your arms then he'll definitely wake up when you put him in crib. Also keep him swaddled in light blanket, room temperature should also be slighly cool but not cold.
CA .... I've tried putting him down sleepy and he just cries and cries.
My son was like that too. Wait for a feww minutes till you are sure that he is asleep and then put him down. Keep the bassinet near where you are sitting so you can put him down immediately. The bassinet works better as the crib is very low and there are more chances that the baby wakes up while loweing him down in the bassinet.
I did find there is a sweet spot for sleep, I think about 3-5 minutes after she falls asleep, that was the best time to put her down. If I waited too long, she was easily disturbed, or if I put her down too early, then her sleep was not set enough. You might want to figure out the right timing for your child.
I have a 11 weeks old and he does the same. What works for me is turning the lights off and making sure he is in the same room where his bassinett is when he goes to sleep. You don't have to walk to another room with him in your arms which may disturb his sleep. I put him down in his bassinett but he wakes up so I sit there and pat him lightly until he goes to sleep. Sometimes it takes longer. Sometimes it doesn't work so I put him in my arms again and make sure he is sleepy again and put him down in bassinett. Honestly it takes a lot of patience but I refuse to put him in bed with me. Even in the middle of the night I feed him and of course all of this happens again. Even then I don't put him in bed with me. Just don't give up. Try to get your sleep during the day too when your baby goes to sleep.
Also, CA's advice works too. Put him in his crib when he is sleepy but not asleep. This works for many people.
I have an appointment with the pediatrician this week so I'll talk to him. We've tried swaddling but I'll try and put on an extra layer during bedtime to see if that helps.
When you see him make sure you rule out the possibility of your baby having acid reflux issue.
waited until he had "limp limbs" so if I picked up his hand and dropped it he didn't wake.
i put a warm towel over a pillow I use to feed him and also on the crib and took them off before putting him down
swaddled him and put an extra blanket on top
and i put the pillow by his side so he could smell it
He stayed asleep for two hours in his crib and when he woke I fed him and put him back and he went to sleep !! He woke up another two times for food.... It worked until about 4:00 am when he just kept waking up and would cry in his crib so I bought him in bed with me and stayed awake until he was in deep sleep and then I put him back.
All this week I'm going to keep putting him back...I'll try patting him to see if he'll sleep and if not i'll pick him up and then put him back.
I think I want him to get use to sleeping in his crib and then i'll start to try putting him to sleep when he's sleepy......the books I've read say you can't really spoil babies before three months but I guess the earlier he gets use to falling asleep by himself the easier it'll be.