New baby won't settle in crib....

[June2008]

I have a two week old DD2 and a two year old DD1.

DD1 sleeps well atm and other than wanting extra mummy time seems to be coping well with the new addition to our family.

However, DD2 will just not settle in her crib either in the day or night. She will sleep for up to two hours-ish in her bouncy chair sometimes, but prefers to be on her tummy with either mummy or daddy.

I know this can't go on as DH is going back to work and needs to sleep (and we are sharing the night waking atm) but I am not sure how to cure DD2's aversion to sleeping flat on her back. DD2 is bf so I have to get up anyway, not too worried about that, just need a little sleep in between times.

Does anyone have any ideas? Would swaddling help? Trying a grobag? I find coping with DD2 crying very difficult but the lack of sleep is even harder!!

I'm sure that with a little more sleep I'd be able to work this one out but any advice at this stage would be most welcome!!

Hello,

My LO (now two years old) used to hate lying completely flat in her cot as she was quite a windy baby. Things that helped:

Keeping her as upright as possible, which usually meant letting her nod off in her bouncy chair and only transferring her to the cot when she was deeply asleep (Floppy arm stage!).
Winding her regularly, particularly after every feed (even during the night).
Letting her nap in a sling, tummy to tummy position, or in the bouncy chair.

Some people also recommend raising the head end of the cot or mattress, though we never tried that.

Not sure any of those things will help you but perhaps there's something that could be worth a try?

My dd2 absolutely hated lying in her cot, she needed the reassurance of someone else close to her. I gave in and let her sleep with me in our bed. When she was about 4 months old we started a gradual transition into the cot. She's 2 years old now and sleeps beautifully, all night through in her own bed. Going with what the baby wants might be the easiest option.

Try a baby hammock? They're held in a slightly curled position similar to in the womb, and they don't have empty space round them so all nice and snuggly. Bit of an investment, especially after you've bought a crib, but worked for us.

I slept with DC2 and currently with DC3 (7 weeks). It is essential for our sanity. It wont last forever. We all get a lot more sleep and the baby is happy. I breastfeed on demand and so if I can just whip it out when she fancies some, there is minimal disruption. She prefers to sleep on her side or her tummy. So I let her. Sometimes I hold her in the crook of my arm while lying down and we both fall alsleep. I just make sure there are no covers around and there is adequate fresh air around and space. To be honest I love sleeping with my children when they are this age. I can't remember when we transferred DC2 to her own room. I think at around 6 months.

With DC1 I followed all the guidelines strictly - lying down - cool room etc and he never slept ! It almost killed me.I used to rock him to sleep on a pillow for 20 minutes after every feed until he fell into a deep sleep so that I could transfer him to the cot.

Anyway, whatever you feel comfortable with, but co-sleeping for me works like a dream. I never imagined I would be able to cope with 3DC under 4 !

The other two sleep through very deeply now, which helps.

we had the same problem and at about 5 or 6 weeks someone gave us some great advice that worked for us. Roll 2 towels up and put them to each side of the crib or moses basket. Cover with a sheet baby on top of sheet doesn't have as much open space and feels more secure. We left towels in there till about 11 weeks. It worked a treat for us hope it does for you.

Get an Amby nest (hammock) from Ebay. We got 2 for the twins after having a nightmare with DD who hated her cot. We got each one for about £60 2nd hand and hot-washed them both - they came out beautifully.

Does anyone have a baby settle in a crib?
I second newbielisa about the towels. Also hotwater bottle or cherry/microwave cushion thingy to warm up the sheet before you put baby down. Have to confess to co-sleeping in thick pjs though as the darling dc's weren't falling for any of it. And (with the drop down cot) b-feeding on my side and then sneaking away slowly. She's v little imo. It is possible to give more comfort now and still have them snoringtheirheadsoff sleeping soundly in their own beds a bit later

My DD would never settle in a crib/cot/moses basket. In the end we just had to accept it. She spent her days in a sling or her pram, or sleeping on me, In the evenings my H would take over and wear her in the sling (a moby) until we went to bed, and then she slept with us.

It was really hard, but it didn't last forever - by about 6 weeks I had her sleeping at night in a cot by the side of the bed, and then a few weeks later we managed to get her out of the sling in the evening and in the cot.

She's 7mo now and although I still have to lie down on our bed with her for naps (I'm working on that at the moment!) she is happy to amuse herself a lot of the time, and she's great at night - goes into her cot in her own room at 7pm ish and stays there all night.

Anyway, things that helped for us:
Swaddling - made a massive, massive difference. We tried it after 3 or 4 weeks and wish we had tried it sooner. Woombie swaddlers are good.

Warming the sheets - my dd would startle awake at every little thing, so a cold sheet was a big no no.

White noise - I downloaded an album of water-type noises from itunes and we play it all night still. It mainly helped to cover up other noises. She would startle awake so easily.

And most of all, breastfeeding lying down. I didn't want to do this at first, I was stressed about her being in our bed and didn't want to start bad habits etc etc, but god, it made a difference - I could put her down and sleep as long as she had access to a boob! And it wasn't forever, she never does this at night now, and hasn't for ages.

My dd is 2 weeks old...she is in a grobag in her crib. We have a fisher price cot mobile that plays heartbeat and nature sounds which is great. I also pat her chest to soothe her.

PP mentioned white noise-used to work brilliantly with my ds. I downloaded a hairdryer and vacuum sound track (from i-tunes I think). He was also in a grobag from birth (need to be over 7lbs) I think it helps when transferring them from arms to crib!

Swaddling worked miracles with Ds2 - it's definitely worth a go.

Swaddling, white noise, lullaby CD, Graco automatic swing - all these things helped my reflux newborn to sleep better. Then around 4 months she took to a Grobag and started being able to sleep flat in a cot.

Thank you for all the ideas!

I like the one about the towels in the crib, I think that might make her feel more secure.

We have had a couple of good nights where DD2 has settled in between feeds but still only in her little chair, rather than the crib.

I'm not so keen on the co-sleeping thing just because I sleep so heavily I would be worried about squashing DD2!!

Any suggestions for swaddling wraps?

I think I am going to wait for the weekend (when DH is around to help during the day) and then have a go with some of the ideas you've given us.

Thanks again!

I hear your story, my DS has refused to sleep in a crib or moses basket from day one. He hated sleeping on his back and screamed if he was in his pram. Swaddling never worked for us. I had to rock him or he would occassionally sleep in his swinging chair during the day.

We went for the co-sleeping option, he sleeps in the crook of my arm, its so convenient with breastfeeding and somehow I am very aware of his every move!

DS is now 5 months and sleeps a lot more soundly, (the littlest thing used to startle him, but I think that gets better with age, their sleep cycles change). He still sleeps with us, and at 6 months we are going to begin the transition to cot. I think it will be the right time for us all, and I am so glad he has had the closeness and cuddles he clearly craved in the early months.

Good Luck and it won't last forever!