Not settling in Moses basket

[lavalamp08]

Evening all, basically I'm after tips re my little one not settling in the Moses basket at night. I'm breastfeeding and this is our pattern, she feeds, I wind her (I'm told I don't need to due to breastfeeding but still try, sometimes she does sometimes she doesn't I don't worry if she doesn't), put her in the Moses basket, she snuffles, snorts, makes noises etc, then gets hiccups, then cries.
I try to rock the basket to settle her, she just mardies and I cave in and pick her up, she settles in minutes on me, but then if I try to put her back in the Moses basket we have to same performance. She is only 11 days old.
I've already tried the put a t-shirt in the basket to see if she can smell me etc but it doesn't seem to make any difference

She sleeps more or less all day long either on a bean bag or an inflatable baby mat thing.

Any advice or tips great fully received xx

[TeddyIsaHe]

Newborns usually take a while to get used to day and night, so lots of naps in the day for you to keep you going through the night!

Google the 4th trimester, it will explain a lot about why your lovely baby doesn’t like to be apart from you at the moment. It’s all completely normal! I don’t know a baby that did settle in a Moses basket instead of on mum.

I honestly don’t think there’s a sure fire way to get the to settle, it just comes with time and patience. The sleep deprivation is horrendous, but they do get better and quite quickly. Even if it doesn’t seem so at the time!

[MoMandaS]

Prop it up slightly at the head end. Hiccups are a sign of reflux.

[MoMandaS]

Could also try warming it with a hot water bottle, wheat bag or whatever before you put her in ((take out before she goes in) and leaving a used bra pad in it.

[MoMandaS]

But, 11 days old is tiny. She's basically a little animal that wants to curl up in a cave with its mummy at night, and feed on and off freely for food and comfort. So you could consider safe cosleeping.

[Shmithecat]

First thing - it's bullshit that by babies don't get wind, of course that do! They're still breathing whilst feeding and can quite easily take in air to cause wind.

Second - as pp has said, Google the 4th Trimester. She's 11 days old. Read up on how to cosleep safely. It will save your sanity. And look at this pic. It explains an awful lot.

[KirstenRaymonde]

She’s 11 days old, she doesn’t know night and day and she’s far too little to get into a routine. For at least the first few months babies will Just wake and sleep as they see fit, they won’t fit into an adults definition of when sleep time is

[4mogirl]

I had the exact same thing, my little girl only slept in her Moses basket twice. She never likes it.

You could maybe look at getting a ‘next to me’ crib, which goes alongside the bed. It’s got 3 sides which are fixed and the 4th side can be lowered for easy access. I used it to co-sleep, but you can keep it raised if you prefer. My girl loves it and now sleeps there quite happily. I found it very easy to breast feed (not sure if you are breastfeeding)
But she was in a sleeping bag, and when she started to stir, I simply pulled the whole bag over, (bed was same height as crib) and fed her then pulled her back, all whilst she was basically asleep, and she never woke up fully. She didn’t even realise she had moved and went right back to sleep. Life saver!!
I have attached a picture.
I got mine off Gumtree, £70.

[lavalamp08]

Thanks for all the replies
I know she is only a little tot just yet and not trying to force her into a routine or anything like that. She has ended up in bed with us for the past few nights, I need to google safe co sleeping
We've got a sleep assessment nurse coming tomorrow I darent tell her about the co sleeping as I'm not the best when it comes to professionals going 'textbook' on me

[Shmithecat]

I'm a bit baffled at a sleep assessment at 12 days old!?!? What on earth is there to assess???

[TittyGolightly]

WTF is a sleep assessment nurse?

[TittyGolightly]

Biologically your baby should be inside you for another 10 weeks. They aren’t, but they miss being held constantly, rocked to sleep and the sound of your heartbeat.

Don’t analyse at this stage. Go with the flow, do what you need to do to get through each day.

[lavalamp08]

The assessment nurse comes to make sure baby isn't being put in a Moses basket under a window, in a smoky room, etc it's quite patronising but I suppose there are some folk that need educating

[Pooshy]

This all sounds totally normal. It's takes a few weeks before they establish their sleep, hang in there!

Have you tried swaddling? That made a real difference for our 2nd child but out 1st hated it

[FusRoDah]

Try using the Moses basket for all the daytime naps for a while as well as at night? We decided co sleeping wasn't for us, but DS wasnt so keen on his cosleeper crib to start with. We put him down in it for every sleep for a couple of days, he actually got on better with the daytime naps then the nights followed on from there.

[catyloopylou]

Neither of mine slept in the moses basket, only on me during the day and co-sleeping at night. Moses basket was only used as somewhere safe to put them while I quickly did chores and they could still see me.

[userabcname]

If you roll up a blanket and squish it round the moses basket then cover with a sheet, that can create a cosier feel for the baby (kind of like a Sleepyhead) and worked for my little one to some extent although at 11 days old I have to say he was basically held all the time! Safe co-sleeping is a life saver to be honest.

[CanIGetARefund]

A couple of tips. Most newborns sleep much better by day than night. They can be gradually gently nudged into feeding more in the day and sleeping more at night. The Moses basket is probably a lot less comfy than the things she sleeps on in the day. So if she sleeps in it for daytime naps, she is more likely to wake more frequently and she will also get used to sleeping in it. At night time, you could put a baby sheepskin under her sheet to make the Moses basket more comfy. There is a good leaflet you can download from UNICEF called Caring for Your Baby at Night, which is the latest professional advice on the issues you have raised.

[fleetingthinker]

If you have a sleep nurse coming to assess you, be honest and ask for some advice about how to get baby in the crib.

I would also ask for some advice on safe co-sleeping. There are guidelines and millions of people do it so she should be able to tell you.

[katmarie]

My ds is 9 weeks and sleeps very well in his Moses basket, he has done from day one. What worked for us was swaddling, and white noise, particularly rain noise. We realised about the swaddling after he kept falling asleep on the boob, tucked up under my arm rugby ball hold style. He would wake up though as soon as we put him in the basket, so we tried swaddling him and he stayed asleep. The white noise thing we worked out after my dp took him into the kitchen and was cooking with the extractor fan on, he just was out like a light!

He grew out of the swaddling at about 6 weeks, and now just sleeps tucked up under cellular blankets. It was trial and error for us, but the swaddling was like magic, I couldn't believe how well it worked. I think it just helped him get used to being in there. We didn't swaddle him during the day and he doesn't sleep nearly as well in his basket during the day, he much prefers to be on me.

[mummyzzzz]

Sounds like she has trapped wind. All babies need winding after every feed whether you are breast feeding or bottle feeding. I was told to do this for at least 20 mins. There are lots of different techniques recommended online. Also I'd recommend keeping her upright for half an hour after each feed, as that should help with the hiccups. Mine never liked her Moses basket as didn't like lying flat, so slept on me, in her sleepyhead or in the carrier in the first few weeks. Our daughter had severe reflux though, and at the same age as your baby started showing signs which the doctors and health visitor called colic. Keep an eye on it, as they shouldn't be grunting in their sleep etc. Also think about what you're eating as it may be causing her discomfort from the breast milk... eg. Caffeine, gluten, dairy.

[Unexpectedbaby]

It's not a sure fire solution but it can help to place something hard like a hardback book under the mattress. Those cots that they go in in the hospital are solid and help them feel secure whereas the Moses basket it the opposite.

Can help in some cases.

[YoohooDorothy]

Yy to swaddling and white noise. You just need to persevere really with putting them down. It won't be quick but they do get used to it eventually. I hated co sleeping but knowing how to do it safely can be really helpful in the early weeks and is much safer than falling asleep holding them

[RiceBaby]

Hiccups aren't reflux - every middle class mother on here thinks their child has reflux

Hiccups suggest excitement/mild distress. A good trick to get a baby to sleep in their moses basket or cot is to rub downwards between their eyes (from forehead to bridge of nose). It calms them and gets them to close their eyes. Stick with it!

[RiceBaby]

Oh, and invest in a dummy - it gives them great comfort.

[MoMandaS]

RiceBaby it's true that hiccups alone don't necessarily mean reflux, but they are a sign of it - regardless of the mother's class . Babies with reflux (there are a lot of them because their digestive systems are immature) don't like lying flat, for obvious reasons, so it's something to consider if all else fails.