Do some babies just not let you put them down to sleep?

[neptunesdaughter]

I'm really struggling with my 11 week old DD. No matter what I do I can't get her to go to sleep in her moses basket or anywhere except on me or DH. She feeds to sleep and has never settled by being rocked or on her own.

At night we have to co sleep as there is no other option, so I feed her lying down and then sometimes manage to detach myself from her and move away leaving her asleep. We really want to get her sleeping in her own moses basket and then cot but have no idea how.

I've had loads of advice from people about patting and shushing and leaving them in the moses basket/cot but we have tried for hours and hours every night and no matter how many times I feed her, let her sleep a few minutes then put her down, she will not go to sleep. If I left her on me she would sleep quite happily but if I put her down she is wide awake - sometimes before I even lie her down. She then screams, I have to feed her again and then I go through the same thing again and again. She never wears out and goes to sleep - it's me and my DH who give up after about 4 or 5 hours of the same thing. We can start at 7 and literally spend all evening tilll midnight trying - we have to give up as DH needs some sleep for work!

We've tried rocking her, singing etc but she will not go down and goes from being deeply asleep to wide awake in a second. Other babies I know just seem to go to sleep and then their parents can put them down in the cot/pram etc. Some parents can even put their awake babies in the pram when they show signs of tiredness and they go to sleep on their own! (I've seen this when out with friends). What am I doing wrong?

Are some babies just like this and does anyone have any advice or similar experience to share?

my dd2 is 12 weeks and like this
i just give in to it, firstly, because i'm lazy and prefer the easy life, and secondly because i am not sure that babies this young have the capacity to learn from sleep training.

we too are reluctant co-sleepers, and will be until 6mo, when i feel babies can be sleep trained more easily.

i'm with you re other people's babies though - nothing worse that watching a baby gently nod off in its car seat

Hang in there, by 4 months most babies will go into a deep sleep after about 10 minutes, and then you can move them pretty much anywhere without them waking up. Until this time they only alternate between much lighter sleep periods and take much longer to get into any kind of "moveable" sleep. My son is 12 weeks and I know exactly what you are experiencing.

However I do remember the same thing with DS1 and it did become easier to feed and move by about 4 months.

Hi. DS is 6 months old and was just like this at 12 weeks. Would only nap and sleep on chests! During the night I would feed him and then sleep sitting up!
It does get better though. Keep trying to put your DDs into their cots when they fall asleep. If they wake up then hold them. It will only be for a little while longer. Eventually they will sleep for a few minutes in cot, then half and hour, then an hour, then a few more hours, then one morning your boobs will wake you up cos they'll be full cos your DD slept through the night :)
Good luck.
It will get better.

my ds was like that and round about 14 weeks he decided that the moses basket wasn't too bad afterall.

I have to say my little girl was exsactly the same and i just co-slept with her as it seemed she wasn't able to be too far from me. I didn't mind as i was bf and it is so much easier. I am now putting her into her cot (7 months) with controlled crying however she's doing great.

I think a lot of it is personal choice. My midwife always told me though that babies get scared if you put them into a bed/cot/moses basket asleep. Have you tried putting her in there awake and doing the pick up put down. Other things i was told was put a hot water bottle in there, piece of clothing, swaddle and lastly my friend swear by fisher price sea horse.

Hope it all works out xxx