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Sleep

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Original poster

How to get a baby 8days old sleep in her carry cot?

18 replies

TruffleTasha · 04/08/2011 19:12

Hi All,
Our baby is now 8 days old and is struggling to settle in her carry cot to sleep. We feed her and then when she seems to be in a deep sleep, we put her down with a blanket but seems to wake up and cry straight away.
Does anyone have any tips to help her settle?
Thanks again :)

OP posts:

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Ragwort · 04/08/2011 19:14

Try putting her down before she is in a deep sleep - I used to lay my DS down and then stroke his face gently for a little while and then leave the room so he got used to going to sleep on his own (but that's not a very popular view on Mumsnet ).

JiltedJohnsJulie · 04/08/2011 19:17

Have you tried a grobag? Sometimes it can be the change in temperature that wakes them or the carrycot being colder.

sophe29 · 04/08/2011 19:22

Take your t-shirt/shirt/whatever you have been wearing off and put it under her in the carry cot. It will smell of you and be warm and reassuring.
However, be prepared to accept that some 8 day old babies don't want to be put down ....EVER! If this is the case, get her used to being put down during her awake times e.g. on a mat or in a bouncer and gradually increase it. Some mums swear by swaddling also. I never managed it but its worth a try. Lots of newborns don't like lying flat either.
Good luck. She will do it eventually. Promise.
x

IwishIwasmoreorganised · 04/08/2011 19:22

8 days old is still very young, so don't worry about getting into bad habits / spoiling her or any other old wives tales!

Have you tried swaddling her? I know it's warm atm, but you can do it in just a thin cotton sheet, neither of our ds's would sleep in their crib if they weren't swaddled when they were very young.

Also having something that smells of you in the crib is supposed to help - so keep a muslin very close to you (tucked into your bra strap!) for a good few hours then have it in her crib so that she recognises your smell! We never tried this but a few friends had success doing it.

Things will settle down soon enough, just enjoy lots of cuddles in the meantime.

notnearlyasblondasiwas · 04/08/2011 19:32

My dd is 16 days old and i bought a swaddle pod from mothercare, that has helped loads, as she settles now in her crib, whereas before she just screamed when i put her down

Original poster

TruffleTasha · 04/08/2011 20:26

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the tips. :) We do have a grobag but got told today that she doesn't way enough to be put in it, so it has kind of put me off...

We haven't tried swaddling yet, but have heard about the Swaddle Pod from Mothercare, so i think we might go and get one and see what happens.

I don't think the hot weather has helped either as baby has been quite warm over the last fews days.

Thanks for all the advice, as a 1st time mum it can be a little daunting at times :) and glad this will pass from what everyone has been saying

OP posts:

JiltedJohnsJulie · 05/08/2011 08:53

Truffle I'd check the grobag instructions yourself, just to be sure. My cousin was told by her HV that grobags were unsafe for babies under 6 months but I've never seen any evidence to support it.

The swaddling idea is a good one. Like you say the nights are hot so just make sure that anything you use for swaddling is light.

Hope it works out for you soon.

LadyInPink · 05/08/2011 09:03

Hi Truffle my DD was also born in a particularly hot summer and she didn't want to go in a moses basket either. i found rolling up a blanket and putting it behind her while covering her with a muslin wrapped around her and the blanket (a cotton one not wool) made her feel like I was cuddling her still from behind and the tip about laying her down while not too deep a sleep is a good idea as they get used to dropping off on their own. It's all trial and error but all the best and hope it works.

JiltedJohnsJulie · 05/08/2011 09:21

Truffle Dr Sears suggests a couple of alternatives to swaddling here and you may also like 31 ways to get your baby to sleep and stay asleep.

PadmeHum · 05/08/2011 09:26

Swaddle her or put her in a sling, or put her in bouncy chair.

BikeRunSki · 05/08/2011 09:30

I just used to swaddle in a cot sheet!

I also second the tip about putting the T shirt you have been wearing in her crib. Was told to me by a vet/mum, who does it with straw for baby animals who are seperated from their mothers.

victoriasmith · 05/08/2011 11:32

hi, we used the summer swaddle pod from mothercare, its very thin material with our DS, worked a treat. My DS would not tolerate being put down for three months so we co slept instead which worked really well, both myself and boyfriend got a half decent nights sleep as DS slept so well with us, either lying next to me or on top of me. Looking back wistfully now as he is 5 months old, in his own cot and waking every 2 hours!!! we also tried the t shirt thing in the moses basket and putting a hot water bottle in before he went down in it to try and warm it up but not much helped. He now sleeps on a fleece blanket from ikea as this is cuddlier than a sheet.

Jojay · 05/08/2011 11:34

Yes, swaddling is the way forward.

YogaMummy2B · 05/08/2011 11:55

Try a woombie or ergo Swaddle, they are easy to use and allow for slight movement , stop the startle reflex and help baby to feel secure like back in the womb.
I use for my 4 1/2 month old for all day time naps and used to use for night time too but she now sleeps fine in her bambino merino sleeping bag through the night.
I was very scared of swaddling as I kept thinking I was doing it wrong and that the blanket would slip over her head etc, so these took that fear away. Just wish I had discovered from day 1!!
You can get Ergo here
or the Woombie here

attheendoftheday · 07/08/2011 14:47

I don't have any further advice, but I wanted to say that my dd is now 12 weeks, wouldn't settle in basket/carry cot etc. from birth until about 8 weeks (we co-slept through necessity) but at 8 weeks she started to settle better. It wil happen eventually!

Bubandbump · 07/08/2011 16:12

Oh I was there 11 weeks ago. All the swaddle and cosleep advice didn't work, she could houdini out of any swaddle and I was too nervous cosleeping to sleep.

What did work was an ergococoon and a long bedtime routine Inc bath and get as much food into her as possible including feed, wake, wind until milk dribbled out of her mouth. We would then hold her until she went into a deep sleep - floppy armed just wasn't enough, you need it where the breathing becomes much stiller. We would then carefully transfer into a warmed, mummy smelling Moses basket and accept that this would only work for the first sleep of the night. Gradually it became the second and the third.

We also only tried max of twice after the first feed and never during the night till she did the first sleep.

BartletForAmerica · 08/08/2011 13:12

I swaddled my baby in a single flat sheet, which seemed to help. Sometimes we tried a hot water bottle to keep the sheets warm so he wasn't being laid on cold sheets after a feed.

For the people suggesting that the OP is worried about bad habits in her baby, I didn't see any suggestion of that at all. Instead I can definitely understand the need to be able to lay the baby down for short times to eat/sleep/go to the loo!

JiltedJohnsJulie · 08/08/2011 19:12

Truffle how are you now?

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