Is it really terrible of me to do this?

[mummy2b2011]

Hello!

My 5 week old DD sleeps very well on DH and me, but won't really sleep anywhere else for any length of time (longest has been 30 mins in her moses basket on her side). She won't settle on her back at all (flings her arms around and kicks her feet so much that she wakes herself up)... I fear that we have inadvertently 'trained' her to sleep on her front by having her on our chests so much! We are literally sleeping in shifts and, because DH is now back at work, my shift is quite a bit longer!

I have just fed her on a pillow and transferred her on the pillow into the moses basket... she is on her side and has been sleeping beautifully for 15 minutes and looks like she will go for a while longer... How 'bad' is this... she is on her side AND on a pillow. I know all of the guidance regarding 'back to sleep' and to be away from pillows/duvets... but she really won't sleep any other way. It's like she enjoys the pressure on her front.

Has anyone been in a similar situation?

Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

You can get wedges and/or use a Safety Sleep to keep her in a safe position on her side. It is often suggested to sleep reflux babies on their sides; mine did for months. In the meantime, roll up a towel and position is snuggly against her chest so that she can't roll onto her face. Just make sure that you alternate sides so that she gets to lie on each side of her head - side sleeping is a great way to avoid flat head too.

I don't believe it's possible for 5 week olds to form bad habits. My DS slept on our chests at that age - we resorted to it because he was very uncomfortable on his back. As she gets older she'll learn to sleep in other places if you keep trying it, but for now she just likes being close to you. It's such a wonderful time [goes all misty eyed]

Try swaddling. It is the only way I could get either of my DDs to sleep in the first few months.

The more I hear this the more I realise it's so common. Our DD lived sleeping on our chests when tiny, it was the only way we got sleep. At 5 weeks, I put her down on her side and things improved but not masses. I know it's completely against the rules and I would not suggest anyone does this as wouldn't want to 'promote' it but I then tried putting her down on her front. I constantly checked her and probably got less sleep but she slept through for 5 hours- she seemed to be more comfortable. I tried swaddling, bumper bar things before doing this.

I am pregnant with DC2 and will of course try to settle this one on it's back because I felt constantly in edge with DD however even to this day she still sleeps in her front or side and is 16 months.

I hope that makes you see that we all try different things and although not the rules not all babies fit the rule book mould.

Hello mummy, my DS won't sleep except on me (including in a sling) or DH in the day either. He does sleep on his back in bed with me at night but I need to be curled round him and shush/cuddle him when he goes into a light sleep, so it's very broken sleep for me!

I too am worried about creating bad habits but really can't get him to sleep any other way - he basically doesn't seem to know he is supposed to sleep in his moses basket and just lies there kicking and smiling at me, however drowsy or apparently fast asleep he went in, and then cries after a while to come out.

Anyone been though this and come out the other side?

I'm sort of trying pick up/put down but so far no success and after an hour or so I resort to the sling 'cos I want him to sleep a bit before the next feed! Also have older DD around so time to focus on this is limited. She'll be at school full time when he's about 8 weeks old. Do you reckon it'll be too late to break the habit if I really work on this then??

We had this problem as well, baby only slept on us or in car seat/bouncy chair. Solved the problem with an amby hamock which made an amazing difference. Sadly have somehow gradually allowed baby back into bed with us as he grew out of hamock and now cant get the monster back in his cot!

there was a case of a baby suffocating on a sleep positioner. anything in the cot is a potential risk, and an adult pillow is really not breathable at all for a little baby. mine settled with an extra thick/heavy blanket tucked tightly over them or we co-slept with him on his side facing me. i always put him in the moses basket when i could from the first sleep of the day and eventually he got used to it. i also had a womb noise box in with him.