Tips to help 4 week old self soothe

[carly190117]

Hi,
My 4 week old son is having trouble sleeping at night. He will happily fall fast asleep in my arms but as soon as I put him in his crib he wakes and cries. When I pick him up he will stop and fall back to sleep. He is in a Chicco next to me crib and I have tried keeping contact with him (hold his hand, rub his belly, stroke his head etc) to try help him fall back asleep without picking him up and I've also tried letting him cry it out but he gets himself that upset he will then be sick. Does anyone have any other suggestions/advice??

MissClarke86 Good question, and probably the next question on the mind of the original poster!
I don't know what other people's experiences were but with my little one I fed him to sleep (breastfed) and when he was asleep enough he would let me put him down. If he cried when I put him down, I picked him up again, let him comfort feed and then held him for longer until he seemed 'more asleep' (if there is such a thing), also, I think swaddling and warming the crib with a hot water bottle can work as there is then less of a difference when you put them down. This did mean I got very little sleep, took maybe an hour to an hour and a half after his original waking to put him down and then he'd be up again an hour and a half later.
I think what you need for your own sleep is firstly to go to bed when baby does, so at 7pm ish or whenever you've managed to establish a bed time, if you're lucky enough to have a baby that naps well during the day then sleep when they do, and other than that, get some help, someone to look after the little one for a couple of ours in the day so you can catch up on some sleep.
If baby just doesn't sleep except on you or co-sleeping, then I'm afraid the advice of the hospital to not let baby sleep on you just goes out he window. Mum's need sleep too!

I didn't even think of co sleeping before I had DD1. We breastfed and she hated her moses basket, she just wanted to be held or close. I was sooo so tired, so my HV actually suggested co sleeping and told me how to do if safely. From that night my world was a better place, baby was happier and we both slept! For peace of mind I bought a 'snuza go' whigh was an absolute god send. It's just a tiny alarm that clips tof the nappy and beeps loudly if no movement is detected ie breathing.
We also invested in a poddlepod and she slept in that very soundly for naps during the day.

Not heard of a snuzo go before - they look amazing!!