Newborn sleep

[ARodeoQueen]

Our beautiful baby girl arrived on Tuesday. In the hospital she slept like a dream in her bedside cot. Now she is home she will only be held to sleep. The moment I lay her down her eyes ping open and she cries. I have tried swaddling with no luck. My DH and I are sleeping in shifts. Please reassure me this is normal and gets easier. I have slept 4 hrs and am now on shift!

First 6 weeks are the hardest. Sleep whenever you can. Are you sure she doesn't have wind? Are you laying her down from warm arms to a cooler cot?

I’ve got a 10 day old and we’re also in this position. She’s my second and my first was the same, we slept in shifts until about 4-6 weeks when she’d happily be put down. At 2 she’s now a fab sleeper (and was from about 3 months) and still sleeping through the night with a new baby in the house! It’s natural for baby to want to be held all the time, it gets easier! I’d suggest keep trying to put down to get baby used to it but don’t expect them to stay there for a couple of weeks then anything they do is a bonus!

all the best!

She is only three days old, of course she wants to be held at this stage, it's quite normal.

Thank you for your reassurance. Last night it was so cold in our house despite the heating being on as we had been out at the hospital so she wouldn't settle in the next to me at all. I have the moses basket downstairs and she lasts 5 mins max in there but will keep persisting when she is asleep.

Sounds standard. I was just watching a video i took of my newborn awake at 2am, on the playmat 😅around 8 weeks he started sleeping 6-7 hour stretches.

Hot water bottle in cot before you put her in it

Perfectly normal but doesn’t get much easier in my experience, I ended up cosleeping eventually as it was getting more dangerous with me holding him and accidentally nodding off .

It’s called the fourth trimester as your baby is still attached to you , you are all they know, I co slept safely with both mine. Totally normal and exhausting, congratulations by the way!

Very normal! The first 24/48 hrs they are very sleepy and tired after birth so often sleep well in the hospital. Then bang, you're home, and any cot feels like total abandonment to them. There's not much you can do other than plan how to get as much sleep as possible..

We did shifts, my husband would hold her from 8-11pm after a last feed and I'd sleep. Then we'd swap and I'd be awake until 4ish, then we'd swap back. We did this even when he went back to work - you both need to shoulder the sleep deprivation.

My second ended up being happy enough in the cot but with my first I ended up co sleeping quite often. Most parents go into parenthood not wanting to do so but honestly, it's a game changer. Look at the safe 7 rules and do it even for nap times so you can doze.

It'll all start to get better in a few weeks, the first 6/8 weeks are survival but it doesn't last. Keep attempting the bedside cot and you'll find one night they'll suddenly do a few hours in there! Good luck x

Have a look at safe sleep 7 as previous poster said, co sleeping properly is much safer than falling asleep unsafely as you are too tired! Also look up safe chest sleeping as well on happy co sleepers page on instagram. It saved me in the first few weeks, DC2 now sleeps happily in a cot after spending the first 6 weeks on my chest!

It’s normal. Consider that she’s gone from a warm wet quiet cosy space to being out in the world where it’s cold and noisy and loose. She’s looking for comfort. Read up on the 4th trimester: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sarah-ockwellsmith/fourth-trimester-newborns_b_9607642.html