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Original poster

Getting baby to sleep in Moses

53 replies

clairerow7 · 22/03/2018 11:12

My little girl is now 3 weeks (tomorrow) she sleeps on my chest at night and refuses to go down.
I'm desperate to get her to sleep in her Moses basket for her safety! I'm after hints and tips to make this happen without letting her cry it out!!

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Lazypuppy · 22/03/2018 14:53

Why don't you want to leave her to cry it out? If she is tired enough its normally only 20 seconds or so.

I have always left my 8 week old to cry it out to an extent, don't let her get hysterical or anything, but she always gives in and falls asleep

Lazypuppy · 22/03/2018 14:55

If you know there is nothing wrong and she is fed and clean, give yourself a brake and put her down and give her a chance to settle herself.

Advise is to not put them to bed asleep anyway to encourage them to self settle

KMoKMo · 22/03/2018 14:57

My DD, 8weeks, is the same. She’s sleep in the Moses basket in the day but not at night. We got a sleepyhead. Expensive but it has worked and she now sleeps for short stretches at night in it. Could you cosleep? Would she lie on the mattress next to you? My DD wouldn’t but will in the sleepyhead on the bed next to me (DH in spare room).
Other things to try are hot water bottle in Moses basket so it’s warm and using one of your used pillowcases as a mattress cover so it smells of you.

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Original poster
clairerow7 · 22/03/2018 15:45

We've tried water bottle and covering the mattress but to no avail.
I keep hearing about sleepyheads...May have to give it a go!
I don't want her in our bed at all. For her safety and our sanity. She won't sleep next to us either, which is great!

If she isn't crying I leave her but if she is, I never leave her and never will.

OP posts:
happymummy12345 · 22/03/2018 15:55

There really is no harm in them having a little cry for a few minutes at all (surely there are times when you will have to let her cry anyway?).
I've only ever let my son self settle, hence he has from the start.

Original poster
clairerow7 · 22/03/2018 16:02

I know lots of people who have done the same as you but I just can't.
If she is crying she gets picked up. I will stop this after a few months when she is more aware but not at the moment. I just can't do it.

OP posts:
Lazypuppy · 22/03/2018 16:36

I'm not really sure how you will get her to sleep in the Moses basket without letting her cry a little unless you rock her to sleep and move her across

Lukeandlorelai4Ever · 22/03/2018 16:43

Have you a carrycot on your buggy? You could rock her to sleep in that?

ForeverBubblegum · 22/03/2018 17:34

I wouldn't leave baby to cry either, not judging those who do though not sure why people keep suggesting it when you've explicitly said you won't.

For us what worked was moving DS into a big cot (he looked tiny in it) and newborn grow bag. Some people get on better with swaddling, or sleeping pods. Try experimenting with bedding combinations to see what works for you.

inappropriateraspberry · 22/03/2018 17:37

Have you tried white noise? It's helping our newborn sleep in his basket.

Havana7 · 22/03/2018 17:41

At that age we used to let our baby sleep in our arms then put her down in the Moses asleep then carry it up stairs when we went up to bed. She would wake for feed then fall back to sleep whilst feeding then I placed her back in her Moses

Havana7 · 22/03/2018 17:43

I should have asked...do you have the Moses downstairs in the day? If not then it might be a good idea to bring it down so she can nap in it and get used to it, maybe also put a mobile on it so she can be awake in it too and entertained

TracyBeakerSoYeah · 22/03/2018 17:46

My DD hated her moses basket & would not sleep in it. I think it was because she was a very wriggly baby & was always catching her hands/arms on the basket sides.
At 3 weeks old we put her in the cot & she settled instantly.
I think she liked all the extra space.
( Still does now, takes over the whole sofa Smile )

Cornishclio · 22/03/2018 17:51

Do you swaddle her or warm the mattress with a hot water bottle first?

A white noise app on your phone? My DGD was difficult to settle in the early days and that helped. Rocking the moses basket slightly so there was some movement helped. A soother can sometimes help as well.

Bisquick · 22/03/2018 18:12

We had the same until 6 weeks when she finally started going into the Moses basket once in deep sleep. It will happen, hang in there (assuming you don’t want to try crying it out or co sleeping as suggested above). We just kept trying until she finally got the hang of the basket, and got a cocoonababy which was godsend

TittyGolightly · 22/03/2018 18:15

Google the 4th trimester.

Leaving a newborn - who by rights should still be inside its mother and only has needs, not wants - to cry is horrific.

Steeley113 · 22/03/2018 18:26

I’m normally all for sleep training but I’m amazed people leave 8 week olds to cry... But anyway, try warming the basket before you put her down asleep.

Bisquick · 22/03/2018 19:43

Also yes - surprised people would leave a 3 week old baby to cry. Seems insane. Sleep training isn’t recommended until they’re 6 mos old anyway. And at 3 weeks how would you know she’s not crying because she needs a feed or a cuddle or to be changed etc? At 3 mos I can barely figure out for certain why dd is crying.

TittyGolightly · 22/03/2018 19:59

Sleep training isn’t recommended until they’re 6 mos old anyway.

It’s 12 now, I think.

Lazypuppy · 22/03/2018 20:06

Letting a baby cry for 30 seconds when i know she is changed and fed and i know she is tired is not sleep training. It gives her a chance to settle, and if she doesn't I go to see her. 99% of the time she is asleep in 30 seconds

ShackUp · 22/03/2018 20:32

Google 4th trimester.

Buy a Chicco Next2Me crib - then you don't have to co-sleep.

Neither of my boys would sleep in a Moses basket (didn't even try with number 2).

If you'd like some interesting reading on why sleep training isn't a good idea at a young age, read Why Love Matters (it's an overview of studies into the effect of cortisol on the developing brain).

Original poster
clairerow7 · 22/03/2018 20:46

Thank you everyone for all your suggestions.
We normally feed her, wait until she is in deep sleep then put her down but she knows!! As soon as she isn't with one of us she is awake. Rocking helps on occasions...

I'm so glad I'm not the only one to not let a baby cry! 1 second or 1 minute. As soon as she cries I am there. It breaks my heart to hear her cry!!

OP posts:
TittyGolightly · 22/03/2018 20:51

As soon as she isn't with one of us she is awake. Rocking helps on occasions...

There’s a reason for that. (4th trimester)

Original poster
clairerow7 · 22/03/2018 21:46

Yes I know that!!!!
It's just not safe for us to have her in the bed with us hence why I want her in her Moses basket where it is safe!!!!
Please can you read my posts thoroughly rather than reply when you clearly haven't read any of it!!!!

OP posts:
user1493413286 · 22/03/2018 22:12

My DD would settle if I very slowly moved her from my body so she got used to it in tiny increments then I would rest my hand on her chest in the Moses basket to stop her suddenly waking at the realisation that she wasn’t being cuddled any more. I also used to gently rock the Moses basket

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