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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Unsettled fidgety baby

5 replies

Taler · 28/12/2013 00:33

My 7 week old DD could, if we let her, sleep peacefully on myself or my DH 24/7.

I appreciate babies may prefer the comfort of a parent as opposed to their own bed but it seems the minute we put her in her Moses basket she is fidgety, making noises and generally unsettled. It is always worse at night too!

We try a mix of swaddling and a sleep bag. To be honest I'd rather swaddle her every night as I'm convinced her 'startle' reflex just makes things worse, but sometimes the swaddling just doesn't work for her!

We've put rolled up t- shirts of ours wedged down the side of her Moses basket, plus tried warming the mattress with a hot water bottle before putting her down. Neither if which seems to makes any difference!

Any suggestions??

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glossyflower · 28/12/2013 07:06

Mine used to fidget when she had a little trapped wind.
Swaddling helped too, plus I introduced a dummy despite swearing I never would, it has helped.
If you are breastfeeding you can try putting in some breast pads with your milk on in the crib.
Good luck xxx

glossyflower · 28/12/2013 07:08

Oh, and what do you do when she fidgets? Do you leave her or pick her up? I suspect she is learning that by fidgeting she will get picked up and babies naturally prefer to be around their parents to soothe but she needs to learn self soothing.

Original poster

Taler · 28/12/2013 08:09

As she does this fidgeting with her eyes closed I generally tend to leave her. I only pick her up if a) I think it's wind- related and b) if the noises/fidgeting get to a point where it is starting to turn into a cry

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Original poster

Taler · 28/12/2013 08:10

Ps we also use a dummy to settle her to sleep and also had no desire to use them! Funny how things change ;)

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beckslovestimmy · 28/12/2013 08:35

I found with swaddling DD I had to do it tight. I used a stretchy jersey cot bed sheet as it could be wrapped right round her and if she fidgeted it didn't come loose. It was at about 7-8 weeks that she started to settle better in her cot so hopefully it will improve soon. I also heard it was better to use a t-shirt from the dad as its comforting whereas the mums t-shirt smells of breast milk and may make them look for a feed/the breast.

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