Transfer to cot

[basilflower]

Please could you all give me your tips of how you get your baby to sleep in their cot?

Ds is 4 weeks old and I'm struggling to sleep at night because he prefers (understandably) to be held than put down in his cot.

I've read up on 4th trimester etc, so am not looking for reasons why he wants to be held, I'm just looking for practical tips on what works for you.

For example we were in hospital recently and the nurse taught us to swaddle. So Ds is fed, happy, here is how I get him into his cot - lay down on swaddle,, wrap swaddle around him, lift upright to burp, lie on swaddled. Wrap one side over body and underneath other side (that's why it's handy to watch in this.) wrap other
Side of swaddle. Then carefully put Ds into sleepyhead in cot. Place one hand on his stomach, another on his head. Then go shhh whilst gently patting on tummy. This worked well in hospital.

How do you get your dc into the children/lifts etc! Thank you!

[Glitteryunicorn]

My dd didn't like the openess of the cot so we make a little nest from a rolled up blanket under the fitted sheet which snuggles her in, in the first 12 weeks we also put a worn t-shirt over the mattress so she could smell us.

Ewan the sheep is also a god send

[MinnowAndTheBear]

Ewan the Sheep was a waste of money for us. DS is nearly 1 and I'm still rocking him to sleep. He won't be fobbed off with any of this tummy rubbing stuff.

[soundsystem]

Ewan the sheep here too

[Cupcakegirl13]

Sleepyhead saved my life

[Notso]

Keeping a hand on their tummy, rocking crib/Moses basket stand, rubbing a soft toy or muslin on their cheek while feeding then keeping it there, dummy and patience.

[sycamore54321]

I'd be extremely cautious about putting anything extraneous in the cot or bassinet at all. It's not advised due to suffocation risk.

I'm not sure what a sleepyhead is but I'd suggest you are best to try to get him used to sleeping without too much special equipment, especially if it isn't actually working for you right now. A kind-of as you mean to go on, as far as the sleep environment is concerned.

Is the sheet nice and warm when you put him down? You can put a covered hot water bottle on it while you are holding or feeding him - obviously remove it before putting the baby in and check it hasn't made the sheet overly hot. Better yet, if it's a small basket mattress, put it behind you on the chair as you are feeding him. This warms the sheet and prevents any cold shock, and also adds your smell.

Goes without saying but be extremely gentle in your movements when laying him down - my husband was much better at this than me.

Apart from those few tips, just perseverance I guess.

[sycamore54321]

Oh and do the swaddling before the final feed - saves you faffing about and disturbing him when he is ready to drop off.

[Star8181]

Sleepyhead for us here too. And womb sounds on YouTube! You can get ones that play for hours - I play it on my phone.

[Crispmonster1]

Am struggling with this too...8 weeks....

[basilflower]

Gosh where did all those extra words come from in my 4th paragraph, sorry!

[MiniMaxi]

If you can afford it, Cocoonababy or Sleepyhead. Both great.

Our son never settled in his Moses basket so was (and still is) a lifesaver!

[FATEdestiny]

Swaddle before feeding. I would:

• Note newborn is tired/hungry
  
• check nappy, put in swaddle
  
• breastfeed to sleep
  
• lift to shoulder to slightly rouse and wind/cuddle
  
• put down, hand on chest until asleep.

[basilflower]

Children/lifts at the end, what on earth was I supposed to mean there!

Thanks all for your replies, a few tweaks I can try tonight!

[basilflower]

Nothing worked the last 2 nights, he would only sleep cuddled up to me, chest to chest. Which makes me think he'd probably go down on his front, but obviously sids stats won't let my head try that. I've got a sleepyhead, and ewan, just nothing works, a few minutes after he's down, wham bam he's awake screaming. I can cope in the day, but I need some sleep at night. Help!

[welshweasel]

Swaddle, sleepyhead, Ewan, dummy, cosleeper cot so I could lie curled round the sleepyhead til he was asleep. Other than if we were out with him in the sling, all naps in the sleepyhead during the day too.

[Batch74]

My DS is in a similar position, he's just coming up 4 weeks. He hates being in his Moses basket and during the day I end up holding him all the time (although I actually enjoy this!). During night times, we swaddle him tight, put a hot water bottle on his mattress whilst feeding him, then carefully lay him down whilst listening to womb noises app on my phone. This has seemed to work the last two nights - I'm hoping it will continue as last week I was up most of the night every night with him.

[FATEdestiny]

basilflower - have you considered making your cot into a cosleeper by removing one side?

You can cuddle right into the cot then.

[Sunnie1984]

Possibly reflux?

Is the cot flat? We had to put a few books under the legs at one end of the cot to tilt the mattress, that helped a lot!

[Chocolateorangegoblin]

With my first I used a woombie swaddle sleeping bag thing. I've always fed to sleep and put down asleep tbh. With my second he didn't like being swaddled so we tried the rolled up blanket under the sheet thing but he just wouldn't stay asleep. I ended up putting him on his front at 10 weeks which isn't ideal but he has a co sleeper next to me and an angel care monitor plus good head control.

[FartnissEverbeans]

I agree with pp who said swaddle first, then feed. Baby will likely go into quite a deep sleep after feeding and it'll be easier to move them.

[basilflower]

Thanks all. I've tried some of these ideas, and whilst I can get him into his sleepyhead now (right beside me in bed) he just wakes 10 mins or so later, so I'm getting zero sleep.

Any ideas of how to get him to stay asleep a bit longer? He doesn't always need a feed when he wakes, just cuddles. Is this just something a 5 week old needs (I know they need cuddles) and he'll gradually go longer in the sleepyhead?

It was OK with my first as my dh could help do the cuddling, but he's too busy cuddling our older (non sleeping) toddler to help this time :-(

[FATEdestiny]

A dummy will help baby sleep independently of you.

[EsmesBees]

Have you tried feeding him lying down and then co-sleeping? There is lots of guidance about how to do it safely. It may be the answer if he wants to be cuddled. Don't worry about 'bad habits'. I did it when mine was tiny but she was sleeping in the cot at 4 months.

[EsmesBees]

Oh yes, and second the dummy. I used to put a dab of milk on it and then do a switch with the nipple as she was drifting off.

[Macauley]

Baby in to sleeping bag for last feed, dimmed lights and babymoov cosy pillow. We also have Ewan but he eats batteries. Womb sounds on YouTube work just as well.