Newborn being a madam with moses...help!!

[HollyC255552]

Hi ladies,
My 6 day old wont sleep in her moses basket at all. Me & my DP have literally tried everything from swaddling to raising the head part of the moses. She only seems to sleep on us or very occasionally in her bouncer for 30minutes max. Me & my partner are so tired & dont know what else to do.

I'd be really grateful for any tips/advice you may have re this.

Thank you x

[LeaningTowerOfPizza]

Congratulations first of all

My baby is a teenager now so I'm not current with baby advice but I had a similar problem with her and I found if my scent was in the basket, she slept in it no problem.

I wouldn't put a loose t-shirt in because as a new mum I was overly freaked about EVERYTHING so I took to wearing the basket sheet inside my clothing for an hour or more before putting it back on the mattress.

That could be frowned upon. I wouldn't know why but I've heard all sorts about things I used to do that are now big no-nos.

Dd was actually a great sleeper but only if lying on one of us so though we weren't kept awake with a screaming newborn we were kept awake in a rigid position and full of fear we may fall asleep with her balanced on our chest. I don't even know how I came up with the scent thing but you'll do anything for sleep when you've been deprived for a long period.

Hope you get her settled in soon

[BonesyBones]

People may disagree with me but if she will sleep in a bouncer,/pram/swing/ anything other than the moses basket then just let her. Everyone will feel better after a decent nights sleep it's not like I had to ever modify a sofa cushion at 4am so Ds DS would sleep or anything you can always try the basket again tomorrow.

Is the basket on a stand? Maybe baby would prefer the basket to be on the floor? I have a friend this worked for but I couldn't figure out why it did.

[thinkfast]

I think Moses baskets aren't comfortable for them. We've bought a sleepyhead for dd which is sitting in her cot. It's expensive but she prefers it to a modes basket. Oh and try some white noise too

[MooMaid]

In hospital our DD was put to sleep with two cellular blankets rolled up either side of her to make the bedside cot (plastic box!) Feel smaller.

We did the same in her Moses basket and I also made sure my scent was in there. I know it's recommended that nothing is placed in cot etc but the hospital started ours! DD hated the space so the blankets, placed at her arm/feet helped a lot

[Justyouwaitandsee]

We have a great sleeper now 11 weeks old but she was like this too at the beginning. My DH and I took it in turns to stay up in shifts with her sleeping on our chest while we sat in a chair. Then we switched so I did most of the night and he would get up early so I could get 2-3 uninterrupted hours before she needed to feed or our parents would come and take over while we both slept.

Then we began getting her used to first lying, then sleeping on her back during the day. It helped her learn to feel safe in that position. Gradually we introduced her into her bedside crib. For the first week or so, we warned it up with a hot water bottle wrapped in the shirt/Tshirt my DH had been wearing that day. We then removed both bottle and shirt before placing her in. This really seemed to help. We didn't put her down until we went to bed ourselves. It was a gradual process but we stayed calm and gradually built up a bedtime routine which worked for her...

[Justyouwaitandsee]

Oh meant to say that the first place she got used to lying/sleeping was on her changing mat, on the floor with a blanket stretched over it, which she would lie on top of.

She hated bedding of any kind so we started her wearing a vest and terrytowel sleepsuit with no covers. Now she's that little bit older and a wriggler, we put her in just a vest and a sleeping bag but we only started using these a couple of weeks ago.

[PixelFloyd]

I would second the Sleepyhead suggestion if none of the other tips work. Expensive but a life saver when we had a 3-week-old Moses basket rejector (we were going mad from nights of either taking turns holding him all night, or attempting to settle in Moses/crib but it failing every time).

[QueenOfNothing]

Is she over tired when you put her in the basket?

Most helpful thing I read is babies shouldn't be awake more than 2 hours at a time.

They need LOTS of sleep. But once they're over tired it's harder to get them to sleep.

[spillyobeans]

Justyouwait- the hot water bottle is a great idea! My 3 week old wakes up when we put him in moses basket and im sure its the temperature difference. My midwife suggested that i put something in with my scent or breast milk on to comfort him but i too was paranoid abour suffocating so wearing the fitted sheet sounds like a good idea too!

[mugglingalong]

None of ours liked the moses basket. Sleeping improved when we put them in a cot. Gave upon the moses basket by #3.

[Plateofcrumbs]

Moses basket was the biggest waste of money for us. First few weeks DS would only sleep on me. I wedged myself in a semi upright position in bed with an L-shaped pillow and he slept on my chest whilst I slept. I know that breaks 'the rules' but I won't have been the first or last person to do this.

Sleepyhead pillow was our eventual saviour- didn't work immediately but over time he got better and better at sleeping in it

[ClunkyBoobster]

There are some good tips here but please rest assured this is very common. Your baby only wants to sleep on you or DP because that is where they feel safe. Obviously getting some decent rest is important. Can you and DP take shifts of need be?

My son would never sleep in his Moses basket. I am so thankful we got ours for free as it would have been a huge waste of money. I never set out to cosleep but couldn't see any other way around it in those early days so I just read how to do it safely, which is possible.

Congrats on your baby.

[Minesril]

"In hospital our DD was put to sleep with two cellular blankets rolled up either side of her to make the bedside cot (plastic box!) Feel smaller."

They did this in nicu, so I continued when we got ds home. Then when the cow community midwife visited she yelled, "get that out of there!"

[Rollermum]

I struggled with this for about 5 weeks until I started cosleeping (following all guidelines). It was a lifesaver for us. And it didn't create the dreaded bad habits for us.

[Plateofcrumbs]

Oh yes I remember all the 'making a rod for your own back' panic about the fact we were co-sleeping, no bedtime routine etc. It all just fell into place gradually when the time was right - DS has been in his own room since 6 months.

[cathpip]

Used maternity bra underneath the fitted sheet and rolled up blankets either side of baby worked for us.

[caravanista13]

Try googling 'the fourth trimester' - very reassuring.

[mrsmugoo]

I struggled to get mine in his Moses too then gave up and co-slept until he went in his cot at about 5 months.

Newborns just prefer to be snuggled by their mums and don't like being on hard flat surfaces!

[sweetkitty]

I wrote the exact same post 11 years ago!!

DD1 was the exact same would only sleep on me, I didn't know what to do. So we just went with it it's where she felt safe and happy, a tiny little newborn. We ended up buying a cosleeping cot and she slept in with us for 15 months, no problem getting her into her own room and bed. She's 11 now and she's not still cosleeping with us . Her 3 siblings coslept from the start too.

My advice is do whatever it takes to get as much sleep as you can, if you want to cosleep then read up on doing it safely, if you don't there's some great advice on here of things to try.

[EhricLovesTheBhrothers]

Don't call her a madam! That sounds so judgemental and as if she's doing it on purpose. She's a brand new baby and she doesn't want to be alone and that's completely natural. You could try some of the tips above or safe co sleeping but whatever you do, this is normal and don't start believing she's being naughty at 6 days old

[purplemunkey]

My DD wouldn't sleep in moses basket at first either. I'm another one who let her sleep on my chest instead. She slept in there eventually, we just kept trying and she'd gradually stay in there longer and longer. I don't think she ever stayed in there all night though, always ended up in the bed at some point!

We moved her to a cot her own room at 4.5 months and she sleeps in there fine. Fine for a baby I mean, we're still up several times a night but she stays where she is now (8m).

We found swaddling helped with moses basket. Sshhed her to sleep on us wrapped up in swaddled and then put her in basket, the swaddle meant she didn't feel a dramatic change in temp so would usually stay asleep in there... for a while

[sharonthewaspandthewineywall]

Ffs ehriclovesthebhrothers do you not think the OP was being lighthearted or does every single post now require a disclaimer?
And I'm quite sure a new sleep deprived mum can do without your scalding

[purplemunkey]

Ehric I think that's a bit mean. OP was just trying to be light-hearted about it I think rather than tearing her hair out with sleep deprivation. I don't think she really believes she has a naughty 6 day old.

I knew there'd be at least one post like this when I saw the title. Sigh.

[ThisIsClemFandango]

Unhelpful comment ehric. Op is clearly joking and bear in mind she has a 6 day old baby, won't have slept well at all since baby was born and is asking for help.

I had the same problem OP, DS hated the Moses basket and I had no idea what to do but it was torture and i was only getting about an hours sleep a night.
We ended up cosleeping on the advice from our midwife. There are ways to do this safely and it's much better to do it planned than to fall asleep by accident holding her.
We also tried a hot water bottle wrapped in my clothes in the basket so it was warm, then taking it out and putting him down. This only worked for a few nights but it's worth a shot.
You could also try seeing how she goes in a cot.
Good luck and congratulations