7 week old sleeping issues

[Cowboyphantom]

Hi all,

I'm a new mum to a 7 week old baby girl (almost 8 weeks). Since birth she hasn't slept in her next-to-me or her Moses basket, etc, although she will settle in her pram overnight to sleep which has been a relief. During the day she will only nap on me or her dad. I am aware that this is typical fourth trimester behaviour, but I am at a loss a little because she fights sleep for every nap. This morning she was up from 9am and has slept for half an hour in her pram on a walk. She woke up as soon as I got home again and has been fighting sleep since. She is so tired and starts crying and fussing and I feel bad for her and frustrated that I can't settle her. Have tried wearing her today in a carrier and swaddling her (she always seemed to break free from swaddling as a very new baby so we didn't persist - wonder if that was a big mistake!). She is exclusively breast fed and it is the only thing that comforts her when she is like this. I had a natural birth with no complications and she is thriving otherwise. She does have wind which I think is common for breast fed babies, and recently her nappies have changed to the extent that she doesn't do a dirty nappy after every feed (much less frequent) although she produces plenty of wet nappies.

I love her and would do anything for her but I also need to be able to get up and go to the loo or eat something during the day! As soon as I put her down she wakes up, regardless of how long she's been asleep. She was grumbling in the carrier today but I wonder if I waited too long to carry her in it (when she was overtired already).

It is getting me down. I love cuddling her but it isn't always practical or feasible, especially when she fights sleep so much. I am trying to bring her into the bedroom to nap during day (white noise, no lights but blinds up) to settle her more. HV has advised us to put her down and let her cry for a minute more each time but I don't have the heart to let her cry - I know she's far too small for any sleep training.

Any advice would be appreciated. I'm sleep deprived which makes things seem worse than they are! But it would be nice to be able to put her down for an hour each day.

This could very well be normal baby behaviour, especially if you've ruled out tongue tie.

You could try using a T-shirt that DH has worn as the sheet in her Moses basket. Yours will smell of milk so it's probably best to use his. Have you tried warming the Moses basket slightly too before you pop her in?

I think I'm with you on the advice from your HV too. It is fine to let them grumble for a minute or two while you have a wee, but my DS would have screamed the house down at that age.

Have a read of this book instead. Hopefully you will find some tips in there that can help her to settle more easily

The pooping is normal too, have a read of this on Kellymom.

Is there a LLL group that you can go to locally? Spending some time with sone local Mums who know what you're going through might help you to get through this too

Thank you so much for your advice. I've tried warming the Moses basket/pram with a hot water bottle and I tried using my worn t-shirt with no joy. I am planning on joining baby classes etc in January just to get out the house more, so will check breastfeeding support groups too.

Thank you for your help 🥰