Velcro baby

[Newusername2024]

My baby is 2 weeks old but will not sleep unless it’s on me or my husband. We have tried swaddling but unable to get it tight enough so his legs soon escape. Does anyone have any advice? The sleep deprivation is hard but made even harder when you cannot put the baby down.

This is really normal but exhausting. I personally 9 weeks in got a love to dream arms up swaddle sleeping bag and it was a total game changer so would recommend getting one.
Congratulations on your new baby 😊

I'm afraid this is normal. Sometimes thinking of it as the fourth 'trimester' can help. I embraced afternoon naps when possible but it was hard.

Have A look at the Lullaby Trust guidance for co-sleeping. Staying up all night with a baby on top of you, where you are at risk of passing out from exhaustion, is far riskier than creating an optimal co-sleeping environment where the risks are minimised if you nod off.

Totally normal, they’re biologically hard wired to want to be on or close to their mum at all times, it’s survival instinct. Swaddling can’t replace you. Look into safe bedsharing (Lullaby Trust and safe sleep 7) to get more sleep, and settle into holding them on the sofa all day. Leave everything you can to DH as well, your only job is baby and rest

It's normal. Just enjoy your newborn and bond. Precious times.

Get something like the purflo sleep nest - they feel held, and you can have it in a low bedside crib (you aren’t supposed to just put it on the bed next to you, because it’s not supportive enough overnight) or next to you on the sofa and maintain some contact with you hand, without them actually sleeping on you, which is knackering and can become a long term habit.

You can use a swaddle sack - like halo or something - as well.

It’s all v well people saying enjoy your newborn, but you’ll enjoy them a lot more with a bit more sleep.

We switched to planned cosleeping after I fell asleep holding dd in the recliner. She only dropped an inch onto the pillow on my lap, but it could have been very bad.

dd was a committed Velcro baby. I would try a few different sleep sacks, because it is worth the effort. Ultimately though, make sure you get enough sleep to not be dangerous, somehow, even if it means giving up on the cot.

Yes, completely normal.

I am on my fifth baby (8 weeks old), and with all our children we have had to co-sleep at night (I push the cotbed to the edge of our bed and remove one side). During the day she wont sleep unless I sit on a chair and hold her after her feed, and she is happiest in a sling while I walk. She literally manages to shuffle next to me at night from her cotbed just to be close.

I remember it gets easier at around 3/4 months, when their digestive system calms down and they can pass gas without waking up every 5 minutes. I was then able to put them down for a few hours for a nap in the day and they will sleep deeply. It is easier at night when they sleep soundly as well.

Good luck OP, it is a rough ride. That is why I barely remember these first weeks. So tired!

They don't even really know lots they are separate from you yet! Google the fourth trimester. Relax, this is normal, it's only been two weeks! I slept with the baby on me while hubby watched us both, which allowed me to get a decent stint. Keep trying to put them back in their bassinet as they will eventually go in, also when you do put them in, do it super gently and put your hand firmly down on them until they are definitely asleep

Normal but it is tough. You have my sympathy. My friends baby was just like this and are cosleeping was the way. Carrier during the day to get up and about.

My baby was happy to fall asleep on me then transfer at 15 minutes when in a deep sleep. I would time it. He also loved the 'love to dream' swaddles and a tuck sheet.

At 2 weeks I think 4-5 of the 7 babies in our NCT group were like this. By 2 months it was down to 2 and by 4 months just my daughter. In the short term sharing the night alternating holds and staying awake but in the end we decided that it was much safer to deliberately cosleep than accidentally cosleep. So that's what we did. It turned out that my daughters velcroness was due to silent reflux ans food allergies so keep an eye out for that in the coming weeks but at 2 weeks perfectly normal.