Our daughter is 4 weeks old. The night we brought her home from the hospital she was up and from the very first night I began sleeping with her in my arms sitting up on the chaise end of the couch. I have been doing this for four weeks and it works and it is easy for me. I want to transition out of this because although I am a light sleeper, I am aware of SIDS, and I also don't want her to become accustomed to sleeping with me. I know she is only four weeks, but has anyone else ever done this. When did you transition your baby to a bed or pack and play bed? It seems like when I do try to lay her down in her pack and play or her papasan bouncer she cries at night, she wants to be held to sleep. Any suggestions, personal stories, or advice? Thanks. :wave:

Orange ~ I understand your concern. My ds won't go down in his bassinett for long.

Our evenings are always as follows : he lays in my mother's arms at around 6pm while I go to bed for a couple of hours.

I then get up to feed him, then go back to bed for another couple of hours or so. At 1am, my mother and dh go to bed and ds and I go through the same routine - I change him and feed him and put him in the bassinett at the side of our bed, where he frets for a while and I keep stroking his forehead or adding slight pressure to his legs. He EVENTUALLY settles for maybe 1.5 hours, then we get up for a feed and I then put him in his car seat, laying on a soft blanket, where he settles for a while. Then we feed again and change, then I put him in his 'infant to toddler rocker' with the vibration going and I lay on the couch at the side of him.

It's tough as it takes him a while to settle, he's very hiper and wide awake in the early hours, sleeping during the day! Typical.

The SIDS thing is certainly a worry and we have to be very careful. I really don't know what to advise you but I hope you can use one of my methods with success.

Good luck. :)

I felt very concerned with my babies sleeping on our chest or arms while on the couch and such. I understand that SIDS is a very big concern and I actually had this conversation in a post about 9 months ago when my DD was that same age. I really feel now that the scary part is over for the most part that babies need this connection with you at that time and will soon ajust to sleeping on their own. I helped this along by putting them in the pack in play while I took showers or did dishes during the day. I found it easier with my second as I was perfectly content holding DS 24/7 and probably felt that it was my duty even. My advice to you is to enjoy this short time that they love to have you snuggled with them as much as possible and try not to worry. A poster has brought up that it is less than 1% of 1% or something like that for SIDS. Good luck and enjoy :angel:

well maybe because she is propped up in your arms and then when you lay her down she is totally flat??? is she in your arms on her back or does she lay on your chest?

My baby has been a belly sleeper since about 8 weeks or so - she is now 13 weeks. She sleeps much better that way - we switched her when she went thru a fussy /gassy phase... and she won't switch back. I used a slanted sleep positioner when she was first home from the hospital it elevated her head like the hospital bassinets... and also - I took the wheels off the foot of the bassinet so the bassinet would be on a slant as well - and this has worked nicely for us.

I let my girl fall asleep in my arms often at that age - but the older she got around 6 weeks or so I started to put her down when she was ALMOST sleeping etc. it took a few rounds sometimes - of going back to get her - walk around with her, put her back down etc. - and try again - and again - but eventually she got it. Try it during the day to start and let her fall asleep in your arms at night for a while - ...

Friday
13 week old - baby girl

Most babies do not sleep well flat on their backs. Our first two of three were born during the era of tummy sleep and I can tell you that it was almost unhead of to have a baby less than about four months old who didn't want to sleep almost all of the time. Try tummy sleep as the PP suggested if you are comfortable with it. SIDS rates are actually not even 1 in 1000 for a newborn tummy sleeper and for a newborn back sleeper are about 1 in 1500.
You might also try having him sleep in his carseat or swing, swaddling him tightly in a light blanket or the Miracle Blanket or propping him on his side in his crib in a positioner.

Nancy

I still sleep with DS, he's 6months old. DH works night shift and I breastfeed so it was easy for me to bring him to bed and just nurse through the night without the worry of DH rolling on top of him. I don't worry about myself because I am well aware and there is enough space between us so my arm wouldn't lay on top of him if I stretched out.

Babies do need that closeness from their mom's and its important for you as well. Your baby is only 4 weeks old, so she's still getting used to being out of your belly. They need the security and comfort that they had when they were in your belly.

Even thought I still sleep with DS, I don't think I would recommend it. I love him so much, and love that he loves me, but sometimes I need a break. Since I have always had him with me everywhere, even in bed, if I left him at his grandparents, he'd have a fit, already. This is my first child though, maybe he will lighten up.

Try to make her basinette as cosy and as much like arms holding her as possible...

* preheat her bed with a wheatpack or hot water bottle... (not too hot just so it takes the chill off her bed and feels like body temp.)

* pack around her some rolled up cloth nappies or small towels... place them each side of her and pull the blankets up so they're nice and snug.

* you may like to wrap/swaddle her if she waves her limbs about uncontrollably.

* recognise her tired signs and put her down at the most optimal time for her to relax into sleep. Overtired babies cannot relax well and most often require holding while drifting to sleep... Some signs are:

** jerky movements of limbs
** rubbing eyes
** sucking fists
** shuddering of bottom jaw
** yawning (the most obvious one :) )
** starring blankly into space
** frowning and ceacing to smile when entertained.

Try her in her basinette and put your hand on her torso while you rock the basinette... making sssshhhhhhing sounds (it reminds them of the uterus sounds) if she cries you need to increase the noise level of the ssssshhhhhing so she can hear it...

Once she is asleep you will feel so good so keep trying, you'll get there... it may take a while but you will be rewarded with a baby who knows that bedtime equates to sleep time... :D

Good luck :wave:

I asked my dr about thias and at 4 weeks old when they cry they need to be held, they are still experienceing a scary wide open space, try wrapping her in a blanket nice and snuggly

hi orange
sam always falls asleep in my arms and then i transfer to his cot. after his middle of the night feed he always fallls straight back to sleep after but he does not do this at any other time :confused:

Orange~
I did the same thing with my DS until he was 3 months old then I started putting him in his crib, he hated it! I then tried him in his crib on his tummy and he has been there every night since and he is now 8 months old. I was also concerned about SIDS so I bought one of those angelcare breathing monitors for his crib and it has helped me sleep much better. Good luck, I know how stressful it can be.

It's very early days and I'm sure your baby will learn to sleep on her own in time, with a bit of help from you. In time she will learn to continue sleeping when you put her down, and maybe even to fall asleep when you put her in her cot when she is awake but sleepy, which will benefit both of you.

I used to fall asleep a lot with my daughter in my arms, especially in the early days when I breast fed her in the middle of the night. It frightened me a bit as I thought there was a risk of her falling out of my arms, so I tried to get in the habit of putting her back in her cot after I fed her - sometimes this was when I woke up after we had both been asleep for an hour or so! We had a few times when she cried each time she was put down, but she gradually got the hang of going back to sleep as I persevered with putting her in the cot each time she fell asleep. I never let her 'cry it out', but I did give her a few minutes when she started protesting about being put down. Even I was surprised when she started going back to sleep without needing to be picked up. Who knows, it could also work for you.

It's lovely when they fall asleep and snuggle up to you, and DD still does this sometimes, but it's great that she will now continue sleeping when I transfer her from my arms to her cot.

I tried some of the suggestions which Sherbet gave and I think they worked, so it's worth giving them a try.

Rebbie

I'm what you call a light sleeper since my kids were born. I co-slept with them for a good 6 weeks. As long as you take several safety precautions, like making sure you have plenty of room in the bed, no pillows or thick blankets getting in the way, and a cooperative spouse, there should be no problems. The transition to the crib may be difficult, at first, but can be accomplished in time. Perhaps a binkie, or swaddling your newborn may help make this transition a bit smoother. A bassinet is another alternative to co-sleeping and very comforting for the parent knowing their little one is right next to them, and no walking across the room like a zombie when he/she starts to cry. Good luck!

Thanks for the great advice. I have never slept with her in our room or in our bed. I sleep with her on the chaise portion of the couch, so I am totally sitting up and she is cradled in my arms. My biggest concern is her getting use to sleeping with me or in my arms. I don't want a child to want to be sleeping in my room or bed down the road and screaming because I won't let them. I want her to get use to sleeping on her own. The biggest challenge is that sleeping with her is EASY and I don't have to get up, I can just fall back asleep whereas if I put her down in her own bed, then it will take more time on my part diring the night. I am going to try.....I lay her down in her bed during the day and sometimes she takes to it, she just has to be sleepy for real in order for it to work. Luckily from day one she knows night is night and has no problem with sleeping at night. I will try to make her bed as warm and as cozy as possible so the transition goes better! Thanks again! :)

My fiance and I did the exact same thing with DD. He slept with her on his chest on the couch or I slept with her in my bed until she was 2 1/2 months then we put her in the crib. It took about a week until she got used to the crib and then just like that she slept through the night in the crib all in a weeks time. We were so worried she would never get used to sleeping in the crib but she did. But when she was a new born, forget it, we had to sleep with her. If we put her in the crib or bassinet she would wake up 15 minutes later crying. Now she is 4 and a half months old and sleeps like a log through the night.
I don't see anything wrong with sleeping with your child in your arms. Just be careful about it and by the time the child is 2 to 3 month put them in the crib, they have to sleep in the crib eventually. But for now most newborns just want to be held all the time so what can you do? It worked fine for me and my baby is not spoiled. Good luck.

You know what I did that helped....I put a small pillow underneath the crib sheet to prop up my son's head, and it helped - alot. Plus, when it's underneath, it won't bunch up or smother baby. good luck!