Baby wants to be held all the time

[Daisysimply]

Hi,

my little girl is nearly 16 weeks old and constantly wants to be held. I obviously love the cuddles and don’t mind it so much during the daytime however she also will only sleep face down on my chest at night. I’ve tried laying her next to me in my bed or in her next to me crib but she wakes up constantly throughout the night and having her sleep on either me or her dad is the only way we can get any stretch of sleep. Obviously this is not the safest way to sleep so im trying to change this but she just won’t sleep any other way. Has anyone been through something similar and know how to break this habit? Or what might be causing it? I thought maybe silent reflux could be causing issues. I know I need to keep persevering with trying to get her in her own bed but im just so exhausted.

I was in your shoes. The problem was reflux . At 13 weeks I got in a super nanny to help .
We put DS in a Moses basket with head end up and towels at the bottom to stop him slipping down. Sleeping bag not blankets.
Dark muslin over the cot to reduce stimulation. I had to stand with my hand on his chest until he settled then slowly raise my hand and back away. We also used a dummy as the sucking helps reflux.
Good luck !

Thank you for the reply! Did you use any medication to help with the reflux? Doctor mentioned using gaviscon but I’m a bit unsure of giving her anything in case it isn’t reflux. Mine took a dummy up until a few weeks ago now refuses it for some reason

Many also just go through this with nothing wrong! Its incredibly tough, but they do growout of it. do you swaddle at all? Helps them to feel held and warm. Seconding dummy as helping in this regard too

We never bought a swaddle so haven’t tried this. Thinking I should have now but is probably too late with her being nearly 4 months. She won’t even let us put the dummy in her mouth, only wants to suck on her hands now🤦‍♀️

Can she roll over? You can swaddle her until she can roll, my little girl had to be swaddle for the first few months, it might be worth a go even as a transition period. Otherwise I would wait until they are in a very deep sleep and then very gently lower them down, feet/bum first and make sure wherever your putting them is warm. Maybe keep trying next to you in bed first and then progress to the beside me crib if you it's going ok?

We're pretty much in the same situation with our little boy. I hear it's pretty normal and as this stage they know they're no longer part of you and want that closeness.

Again, I know you're not meant to, but for us the only way to get him in the next to me cot was to get him really sleepy (so his arms would drop) and then carefully place him on his side and patt the back for a few minutes.

We've also found sleeping bags to work and a dummy! Good luck!