1 week old baby won't sleep!

[Florenceuk]

Despite feeding, changing, burping etc, my baby won't go to sleep at all during the day - is this normal for a newborn? After a feed he looks sleepy but when put down starts to cry - and quickly becomes hysterical. He will take a dummy and then calms down but won't sleep - eventually when the dummy comes out he cries again. When picked up he calms down then starts to cry again. Funnily enough he slept last night but half of it was on my husband's chest. I thought they were meant to be extra sleepy for the first 3 wks! Any ideas as to what might be the problem?

This sounds familiar. Ds spent most of his early days on my chest as he wouldnt sleep if put down either. He hardly slept through the day. At this age they like the security after spending 9 months in a nice warm place. Things do get better, I enjoyed the closeness.

If things don't improve in a few days, I'd recommend that you bring your baby to an osteopath (there was another thread on this - and lots of mums were recommending it). Your midwife or HV might be able ro recommend one.
Good luck ... I know cries are distressing (and very tiring).

Florenceuk - my son has never been a good daytime sleeper and it drove me berserk when he was the age of your baby as all the advice is "catch up on sleep when he is sleeping" - thanks!!! Nowadays (he is 14 weeks today) he is a good nighttime sleeper (as he still doesn't get so much in the day) and he is responding well to some daytime sleep training, i.e., putting him down morning and afternoon for sleep. It will get better, and I am assured that early patterns do not establish themselves making a rod for your back for later life, which I was really worried about. Take solace in the fact that a wakeful baby is learning all the time (well so Miriam Stoppard says in her book anyway!!)

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How about a bit of light swaddling? I was told that newborns like the feeling of their arms and legs being able to touch the sides of something like a blanket as it gives them a sense of security, like being back in the womb.

I'd also echo Pupuce - we went to an osteopath and it worked wonders.

"Normal" is a funny word, seems most babies just don't get it! All newborns do sleep a lot it's just a matter of when and for how long at a time! My first got her days and nights mixed up as a newborn - she would sleep nearly all day and then be awake almost all night!

It's a bit of trial and error really to see what works. Rocking and wrapping are good comforting things to try. Wrap firmly in a bunnyrug, they like the security. Does he seem colicky or "windy"? One hold that worked on dd was laying her down along my forearm, tummy down, head to one side and resting on my hand, then walking/rocking, and patting her bottom. Patting to heartbeat rhythm-pace is also soothing, or an alarm clock ticking in baby's room. White noise is supposed to be soothing too, like a radio or tv off-station. There are a few baby lullaby cd's around too, which might be worth a try.

At one week, it's pretty hard as you are all still getting into a routine, your milk supply will still not be settled and you are no doubt exhausted! Things will sort themselves out eventually, the first few months are definitely the hardest, with frequent feeds and so on.
Don't worry, it's early days for all of you yet. I know at the moment it seems hard to believe, but it will get easier! Good luck, let us know how you go!

My baby didn't sleep for the first three weeks at night, unless it was on my chest and I was upright! The minute I tried to lie down she would wake up and yell again. However strangely she slept OK during the day, in a big old pram. I also tried the swaddling thing and that seemed to work. It was only once she was about 3 - 4 weeks old that she had any pattern or routine to her sleeping habits. Stick to it!

Try a lambskin, my two slept on them for years, also it was easy to take it everywhere, I could just put it on the floor and DS would settle straight away. he kept it in his bed until he was 5!

I used one for the new baby I looked after and he settled straight away, he was eight weeks old and mum started to use one and he went through the night a week later.

Will he sleep if he's more upright? My son wouldn't sleep if he was horizontal (even whilst being cuddled) but would cry. We found 'sitting' him in a bouncy chair and rocking it gently worked. We think it was slight reflux causing him discomfort. He's 4 months now and still prefers to nap at an angle so we've tilted the cot.

Hi Florenceuk, I think some babies aren't very sleepy in the first three weeks. Ours certainly wasn't. He seemed very hungry & very cross. Looking back on it, I now think that his poor little head was very sore (from forceps delivery) and he didn't like being put down on his back. He also loved being held close and would sleep alot better on one of us.
I have to say, and I know that this goes contrary to health advice, that during the day, I would put him on his tummy and he would always fall asleep. Eventually, when he was 8 weeks old, after agonising discussions with health visitors I put him to sleep at night on his tummy too. Obviously, I can't advocate that you do this because it is against cot death recommendations but it does go to show how all babies are very individual and won't necessarily do what the books say they will.
Good luck and many congratulations too on the arrival of your son.

Thanks for the advice - after he spent an entire day crying and not sleeping, he then went through the night from 12 to 6 - I woke him up because I was worried! I think he was just exhausted. He is quite a windy baby so the health visitor has suggested Infacol - we'll have to experiment. But it's nice to know he is not unusual.

Dont worry the first month is always the worst. My son never slept at the start and my husband and I were getting desperate, then we tried using the method suggested by Gina Ford in her book 'Contented Little Baby'. She recommends swaddling the baby and putting it to sleep in total darkness, during the day. We now have a 5 month old that sleeps from 7pm to 7am.
If all else fails try using a sling as the baby will probably sleep in there close to your body and you can get on with jobs around the house.