Hugh demand baby

[CamillaAUS]

Hello everyone.
My partner and I are expats living in Australia, welcomed baby girl in May. She is now 7.5weeks.

Our midwife and GP have both said our LO is quite demanding and super alert and as such needs alot of intervention to fall asleep, (bouncing, shushing, white noise) as she struggles to switch her little brain off and can become overestimated. When she is asleep, she naps for about 2 hours but only if she is on me. If I put her down or take her out in her pram she wakes after one cycle (30/45mins). This means I have basically been housebound with her since she was born as taking her out ends up with her crying or having a short nap which has become a source of loneliness and isolation.

To make matters worse, we have no family or support network over here and our family cannot get to us because of how strict the boarder/international flight restrictions are.

Feeling alone and a bit lost, any advise or support would be amazing.x

I'm sorry but 'strengthen her lungs' in the first comment 😂 I'm sure you know now as many pp have said but please don't follow that advice

I know this is probably not what you want to hear but it just sounds like a normal newborn. The days to get better in time I promise! My little girl is 8 months now. The first 3 months were just a haze of her falling asleep on me, patting, sushing, witching hour, crying.

7.5 weeks is still so tiny and she's not yet processed she's in the world. It takes some adjusting on both sides (yours and hers.)
Google the maximum awake windows and try and work from there. But when my LO was that age, to make life easier, we just went with her cues and slowly, she adjusted and I adjusted. Now she naps lovely and settles herself. They just need time.

It's a long slog - but I promise it'll get better.

Also please don't take notice of the 'leave her to cry to strengthen her lungs.'

As long as she's safe, take a 5 minute breather to recharge and go back but I could never leave my baby to cry longer than a couple of minutes.

Babies cry. That's the only way they can communicate. I don't think your baby is demanding.

Being a parent as a whole is demanding - it's all part and parcel, as tough as it is sometimes!

She's a baby! That's what they do.don't leave her to cry she's far too young.

DD1 was also a high needs baby. It's tough. She slept on top on me for the first 3 months I wasted HOURS walking up and down the room to get her to sleep and as soon as she smelt the cot she would wake up I gave up for the sake of my health.

I agree with PP, get a sling!

Don't get too worked up. Babies aren't made in a factory, what works for one, doesn't work for another. You need to parent YOUR baby, not the idealistic one in the books

I remember the nice snoozes we used to have together in the afternoon couldn't do that with my other babies

I think it's ok to put a baby down or teach her to fall asleep without being held. If she needs holding to sleep, she may just start to learn to wake earlier when she's put down, before long, on the basis you're nit there.

I held a couple of my babies for some months until I had my third, when I realised I just had to put him down sometimes, and he needed to get used to it. I had an older toddler baby also, and it was a case of whose turn it was. The older one needs food and changes too.

I think it's ok to put a baby down or teach her to fall asleep without being held.

The baby is 7 weeks