My 15 week old baby won’t let me put her down. She won’t go to anyone else (will occasionally let her Dad bounce her), she won’t go on a play mat, in her Sleepyhead, In her pram, in her car seat, In a sling in the house. She barely naps and at night is only going down for an hour at a time (sometimes 2).
She may have silent reflux (one Dr thought so, one didn’t) and suffers with bad wind. She was medicated with Ranitidine when a few weeks old, but I took her off it as it didn’t make a difference and I don’t think medication is the answer here. Dr agreed. She’s also seen a cranial osteopath etc. Symptoms seem a lot better than when she was v little and she will lie down if I’m playing with her, so I don’t think she’s in pain. She had colic too and screamed for weeks but that has gone now, thank god.
Apparently you can’t spoil a baby. I’m happy to cuddle her but I feel that others think I’m spoiling her/ being some sort of neurotic mum for giving her what she wants, which is to be in my arms 24/7. I find it hard to get anything done and I’m shattered. She won’t go in a sling in the house but will go in one on a walk. It’s also unsociable because people want to hold her (relatives) and she just screams in their face.
Mums in my nct and baby classes have content babies who sleep in their prams. Am I doing something wrong? I feed (ebf) and cuddle on demand. I don’t want to consider controlled crying. I regularly try to encourage her to go down but she gets so upset v quickly and stops as soon as I pick her up.
I’m normally a laid back, confident, optimistic person. But I’m starting to think I’m doing something wrong and doubts are creeping in.
The ‘4th trimester’ has passed now. So does anyone have any tips or words of wisdom on how I can gently get her to go down a bit more?
Apologies for the long post x
For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.
Parenting
Am I doing something wrong?
Ohthatwilldo · 09/11/2017 16:46
Personally I think all babies are very different. Unfortunately I also had a baby who barely seemed to sleep until he was about 8 months old. When he turned 1 he became an awesome sleep monster almost overnight, so it may still come good at some point. 15 weeks is very very young still. You are not doing anything wrong but sleep deprivation is the total pits 
Thank you for your comments so far
Dd was on Ranitidine for about 5 weeks. I know some people find it amazing but we didn’t see a difference sadly. Now she’s a bit older, she still gets a bad taste in her mouth but she’s not unhappy (she was very unhappy in the beginning) as long as I’m holding her.
I’ve seen a lactation consultant and been to bf groups as I thought that milk transfer could be shite and making her grumpy. I’ve recently been told about the nipple thing, which I’ve just started implementing, thank you. Now you mention it, she’s been happier with her Dad since then!
Naps - Have you tried feeding lying down in your bed? If so, could you try to have at least one in bed nap so that you can lie and rest a bit too? I know you can think of a hundred things you could be doing but you need to recuperate as well.
My DD refused to sleep in any ‘baby’ bed products so cot, Moses basket and co-sleeper we’re out. She refused the pram until she was in the seat rather than the carrycot. She wasn’t keen on the sling inside after about 8 weeks. She has always slept in the car or with a boob in her mouth though!
With DS I decided not to fight it. I lie with him whenever possible to get as much sleep for both of us! You really can’t spoilt them. Your DD is still tiny, she’s out of the 4th trimester but her world is still very much about her needs rather than her wants. You’ll get through it though!
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.