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8 week old has to be attached to me all the time

2 replies

NSW14 · 23/01/2025 18:05

My little boy is just over 8 weeks old and has always only wanted to sleep on me or my partner. At first we would have a bit of luck getting him in his side sleeper for an hour or so at a time but this got worse at about 5 weeks and now he basically won’t go in at all. We can very occasionally get him to co sleep in bed with one of us but again this is rare. To do this he has to be in a really deep sleep otherwise he wakes up immediately and cries. Most of the time we have to work in shifts and sit on the sofa whilst he sleeps on us. 8 weeks in this is becoming increasingly hard and we are very sleep deprived. In the daytime he will only nap strapped to me and I have to spend a lot of time getting him down to nap (I am constantly bouncing on an exercise ball to get him to nap). As a result of sleeping on me, unless I don’t do anything - any movement or noise wakes him up so I’m not even sure he is actually getting a good sleep. He used to sleep in his pram really well but he doesn’t like that anymore and gets very very upset if I leave him in there especially when stationary. He is such a sweet heart but I would love for him to be a bit better at napping in a cot or pram. We tried religiously at the beginning to get him into his cot etc. but now because he cries so much (and I then feel terrible) I don’t try and much and often just let him sleep on me. The occasional time I do try, I have limited to no success. I am worried that he is so clingy and that he has got worse rather than better. Will he just grow out of this? And am I making a rod for my own back letting him just nap on me and constantly soothing him (I feel like I’m always on the ball or rocking him around the house). Now he is 8 weeks should I be being more persistent? Any guidance would be very much appreciated!

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
CatherinedeBourgh · 23/01/2025 18:07

It's really hard, but some babies are like that.

I would work on seeing if you can get him used to co-sleeping, it was a lifesaver for me with two similar babies.

Mrsttcno1 · 23/01/2025 20:23

Some babies are just like this, 8 weeks is very very young still. My daughter is 9 months old now and still contact naps and although she is getting better at going down to sleep in her crib we do still sometimes co sleep. I know it feels like forever when you’re tired but honestly 8 weeks is so tiny still, babies are used to being constantly warm, fed, hearing our heartbeat in the womb, it takes time for them to adjust. It will get better and in the meantime do what you can to get as much sleep as possible, look up ways to safely co sleep x

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