how to get 3week old dd to sleep without the boob? is it possible? or am i destined to be a human dummy for the next few months?

[newbabyjustarrived]

When it's sleep time my lo cries a particular cry and nothing seems to work to get her to sleep apart from boob. the minute she has the nipple in her mouth she closes her eyes. trouble is i cant move then for the next half hour or her eyes shoot open and she yells for boob again! I dont have a problem with this in principle... but ive got a 15 month old ds and i simply cant lie/sit motionless with baby unless my dh is home. help!

dummy? some are just sucky tbh. i'd leave it for a few more weeks, but then you can try the nipple/ dummy switch lol.

Hmm... a couple of suggestions - wean her onto something else (dummy, muslin square corner, thumb/fingers?) by slipping boob out of her mouth almost with the dummy so that it replaces it straight away - or try using a sling, if you can keep her latched on while moving around with the sling on you can still look after your DS.

is it possible for them to stay latched on in a sling?

It's definitely possible as people feed in slings - I've never managed it myself though as DS hated the cradle hold, and in the upright positions you have to have the sling quite low down which means it wouldn't be tight enough when he fell asleep. I think you'd need a stretchy wrap and make it very very tight in a cradle hold. Or a ring sling perhaps? Something which can either be easily adjusted or pre-tightened. Have you got a sling?

no, can you recommend one?

I bf in a sling a lot, I had an Over the Shoulder Baby Holder, I have older ones to look after too, and she was so happy in it!

A friend used a stretchy one to good effect, which I think was a Mai Tei?

Mei Tais aren't stretchy, they are like a square of material with 4 straps.

Umm not sure - I would probably recommend a stretchy wrap. And tie it really tight, then squeeze her in and it should be sturdy enough to hold her in place. But it might not be that easy, if you need to adjust once she's in place.

I will have a dig through old threads and see what I can find.

Stretchy wrap brands btw if you want to google: moby, huggababy, kari me. Or you can make one yourself by buying 4 metres of jersey cotton and cutting so you have one 4 metre long bit 20 inches wide and one 40 inches wide. You can be rough and don't need to hem as jersey cotton doesn't fray. Use the thinner one for now (wider one is for when they get slightly heavier) and tie it around you not as tight as it would go, but don't leave room for the baby - the stretch of the fabric means there is room, and she will be able to breathe, it's like swaddling, you have to do it tighter than you think.

There are videos on youtube which show you how to tie it - search for "moby wrap cradle carry"

If you have a slingmeet or sling library near you that would help, as you could try before you buy. www.slingmeet.co.uk

A Moby would work perfectly in this situation.
Baby might be happy enough to sleep without being on the boob as they are snuggled up tight, feeling your warmth and movement and hearing your heartbeat - just like being in the womb again. In fact I call my slings my 'womb extension'.

I don't have any advice apart from to say 3 weeks is SO EARLY to worry about getting into bad habits. Just go with the flow a bit - if you're still saying the same at 6 months then perhaps try some things. At 3 weeks I'd do whatever works!