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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

Baby who wont be put down to sleep-- Help!!!!

9 replies

kbaby · 16/06/2004 11:51

Not sure if ive posted this in the right place but im hoping some of you may be able to help me.
My DD is 2 1/2 weeks old. Since birth she hasnt been able to sleep if we put her down. If shes being cuddled shes fine and sleeps for hours even if we just lay her on our laps and dont actually hold her. However the minute we lay her in the moses basket or bouncy chair she grizzles on and off for half and hour before screaming and then we cant comfort her unless we pick her up. This is causing problems as during the day I cant do anything or have a nap as I have to hold her all the time. She was doing ok at night and would sleep in her basket until she needed feeding, but the past few nights it seems to have detoriated and shes begun grizzling and crying all night unless held. Anyone know what could be causing this or what I can do. Im knackered from lack of sleep and tired of having to constantly hold her.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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mears · 16/06/2004 12:06

Have you tried sleeping with her?

mears · 16/06/2004 12:09

In case you are worried about sleeping with her , here is some infobedsharing

The other alternatve is to get someone to take her out in the pram while you get your head down.

katierocket · 16/06/2004 12:12

kbaby - been there, know exactly what you mean and how hard it is. I used to have this with DS (now 2.8) and I clearly (and painfully) remember nights of holding him in bed with me trying to sleep sitting up with him in my arms.
agree that sleeping with DD might help - with my DS it did sometimes and sometimes it didn't.

have you tried swaddling her? that really helped with my ds

hewlettsdaughter · 16/06/2004 12:13

kbaby - I haven't got much time but if you look at the April babies thread (under Parenting), there was some discussion about this recently.

casa · 16/06/2004 12:13

kbaby, this looks like what my husband and I went through with our ds, now 3 months. We gave up trying to put our son into his bed and I would lie in bed holding him so at least we both got some sleep. During the day I couldn't get him to go to sleep at all. I'm not sure I can offer any practical advice but I can say that gradually things got better. We progressed from me holding him to having him sleep next to me (following WHO guidelines about co-sleeping), then we moved onto me and the baby sleeping in the same bed as my DH - a big breakthrough, and finally we got him into his moses basket next to the bed.

During the day I can now get him to go to sleep on a cushion on my knee, not ideal but at least we both get some rest. I can move the cushion to a safe spot and get on with things.

I know it is really exhausting but it will get better after a few weeks. My advice really is try doing things in small stages.

Gingerbear · 16/06/2004 12:14

Sympathies kbaby. My DD was like this too.

I bought a sling and she slept in there during the day whilst I could at least get on with some things.

She slept in the bed with us at night (even though this is frowned upon in some quarters, it enabled all of us to get a good night's sleep and she is still here to tell the tale 2 years later) By the time she was two or three months old, we were able to get her off to sleep then gently put her in her moses basket.

We had to do controlled crying as she get older and into her cot. I don't think CC is a good idea for such a young baby.

This is a very common problem, and you will get lots more good advice here. Hope my little bit has helped.

poppyseed · 16/06/2004 12:17

Hi Kbaby. Our DD was very similar. At night I swaddled her when she was newborn and in the first weeks to make her feel protected and safe and on occasion she slept with us. I used a Baby Bjorn carrier with her almost constantly during the day so that I could get things done. She was always a highly demanding baby who breast fed continually - now I know more for comfort than anything. I wish that I had made sure that she was clean, dry, fed and not poorly and left her to it more. Sounds a little heartless, but they soon learn to comfort themselves after a while and I am sure that all the holding/rocking etc just makes it worse. After a while she became more alert and as soon as she took interest in her environment she was 'pacified' for much longer periods of time. It won't be always like this - and you're not on your own I am sure! How is the breast-feeding going?

homebird11 · 16/06/2004 15:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Madaboutcake · 16/06/2004 16:33

Likewise I can recommend Baby Bjorn sling. Also if you need a break (not to sleep but at least to semi have some time to yourself) go for a drive as she'll likely sleep in the car.

It does get better, so if you can, make the most of the cuddles. My DS is now 6 years old and thinks kissing is girly - and god forbid if I try and kiss him goodbye at the school gates!

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