3 day old DD won't settle in crib. Help!

[AgainPlease]

My newborn DD doesn’t settle in her Moses basket. After a feed she will only settle on me or my DHs chest. If I put her in the basket she screams and the only way I can settle her is by offering a boob.

I’m worried about SIDS and if we fall asleep with her on us and then roll over and squash her.

Please help - how do I teach her to love her bed??

A few things to try... Stuff a sheet down your top for a while so that it smells of you then put it on the Moses mattress slightly warm. Make sure baby is well fed then put her to bed and tuck in the blanket really firmly under the mattress so baby feels secure, or you could try swaddling.

Try a hot water bottle to warm the Moses basket before putting LO in. Remove hot water bottle before obviously. You could try swaddling but be careful what blankets you use as you don't want baby to overheat.

Babies tend to hate Moses/cribs as they are too open and exposed for them to be comfortable after spending 9 months inside a lovely warm squishy womb .

It does get easier and they do go down eventually. In the meantime could you and your DP do shifts to prevent you both feeling too tired? Take it in turns to get a kip.

Thanks both! Earlier this evening I tried the hot water bottle trick and even put her blanket in the dryer for 2 min to make it toasty. She lasted 10 minutes before kicking off

DH has been great at getting her to sleep but only on his chest.

Do I just persevere? Put her down, wait for her to cry, comfort feed and try again until she gets it?

I think it is the heartbeat noise that they miss - I have no suggestions for how to replace that! Our dd refused to settle in the crib - I ended up co-sleeping, with her in a baby sleeping bag on top of the duvet and me laying next to her. DH relegated to the sofa downstairs. I don’t think I ever moved when co- sleeping and would wake up in exactly the same position and my hair immaculate!

If it is any comfort - that phase did not last very long. Maybe 6 weeks of co-sleeping then she went straight into the big cot. She never did settle in the crib. Does your big cot fit in your bedroom? Maybe try that instead?

DD is now 15 and loves her bed - can’t get her out of it most of the day!

Do you have any white noise at all for her? Play some womb noises etc they love it!

Also do you give her a dummy? My dd was like this at first and we started with a dummy, it was literally the best thing we did.... I know some people don't like them, each to their own I suppose but I think it really helped her!

Also have you ruled out silent reflux?

White noise may help. We have been unable to find the trick and had to make the bed cosleeping safe

Womb sounds! Louder than you think. If you search ‘womb sounds’ on YouTube there’s a 90 min one with a heartbeat that soothes dd almost immediately when she was tiny. It’s also on Spotify!

Bless you, you will get there! Both of mine were like this (my second is admittedly easier than my first) for the first week DH and I sacrificed a lot of sleep and took shifts staying up with them downstairs so that they could have all the cuddles that they needed. Eventually we were able to put them down.
Try to remember about the 'fourth trimester' when it gets hard. Tiny ones don't know anything other than being carried and its a big enough shock to them during their birth! X

We had the same issue as you. After a few exhausting nights we switched to co-sleeping and are all now well rested. If you try this be sure to look up the guidelines for safe sleeping. Congratulations and good luck!

If you can’t get her down and may fall asleep with her then it is honestly best to sort out safe co-sleeping. I have three and have fallen asleep upright BFing on Lots of occasions and that’s far less safe than admitting defeat and doing it safely in the first place (including dropping two of them off the bed!).

So sheets only, baby next to you not DH, no pillow near them etc

So young...

Hold her for a good 15 mins after a feed until she's sparko. Gently roll her until she's on the sofa next to you. Stay there until next feed. Introduce swaddling, but only at night time.

Thanks so much everyone! Glad I’m not alone. Surviving on 2 hours of broken sleep a night isn’t much fun.

We have a swaddle grobag, I have tried her in that but I’ll try again x

Sorry, I mean try the grobag and then put her on top of the duvet. Let’s see...!!

My smallest was like this, ended up making a nest for him on the sofa that was completely safe. Once be was asleep I could roll him into his nest, but keep hold of him for ages so he stayed asleep, and then I'd sleep next to him on the sofa.

Disclaimer: Bed sharing on the sofa is NOT recommended, mine is a big flat, very deep sofa and he had his own section, and it was totally safe.

You could just go to bed and co-sleep for the next couple of weeks. Take your laptop. X

The white noise app, get it for your phone. I think it’s called sound sleeper or something like that. We have installed it on an old phone handset we just had lying around. It’s great

Oh also, look on you tube for ‘super swaddle’ - it’s amazing for getting babies to sleep! Whatever you do be consistent. We use white noise + super swaddle + a sleepyhead.

Most babies hate Moses baskets I’m afraid, no idea why they are so popular.

If you scan fork out on a sleepyhead. I have mine in one in the bed beside me. Once I figured out she is allergic to down and got rid of my lush vv expensive pillows, she has slept really well in it night and day

Don't roll her on to the sofa, if you fall asleep that's incredibly dangerous. Co-sleeping in the bed is not dangerous if you follow advice.

Fgs, I put a disclaimer...

It's perfectly safe if you create a bed that's on a flat surface and separate from you. The danger is if you fall asleep upright and slump over while holding your child, or if they're lying on you and slip between you and the sofa. I didn't suggest the OP co-slept on the sofa, but made a safe place next to her where baby can sleep. . Safer than falling asleep holding your child.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=cUwEiMNhOCM

This helped my DC to sleep in her Moses basket really well- annoying when we spent £45 on a myhummy.