11 wk old refusing to be put down

[aliphil]

DD was sleeping pretty well until the last couple of days; sometimes she'd wake for a feed in the early hours and sometimes she'd sleep through. The last couple of nights, she has fed to sleep, but has woken up and started screaming as soon as I put her down. After that, she will fall asleep on DH or me, but again screams if put down. Last night we ended up with DH having her on his chest for the last couple of hours of the night (morning!) so I could get some sleep, but he said she only slept fitfully there. This morning she is obviously tired but still fighting sleep - but then she's never been very good at sleeping in the daytime. Does anyone have any advice for getting some night-time sleep for us all? Only not co-sleeping, please - I can't cope with it and end up getting no sleep myself even if DD and DH manage some.

I would say this is a 12 week growth spurt. It hopefully shouldn't last any more than about 1 week. Try carrying her in a sling during the day so she gets as much contact with you as possible. I always find my LO is very very clingy during growth spurts, I just keep him as close as possible (which does end up meaning co-sleeping). I never wanted to co-sleep, but I find that if he sleeps well in bed with me for a while he is much easier to handle during the day, and even if I'm not sleeping at the same time, I can still 'rest'.

It should pass soon!

Thanks. A friend suggested warming her basket with a hot water bottle before putting her down, and that seemed to help; last night was much better. Someone else told me about Magic Bumpers which could make co-sleeping easier. It's just that there never seems to be enough room for all three of us; DH is 6'3" and not exactly skinny, and I'm still carrying the baby weight (at least that's my excuse), and we only have an ordinary double not a king-size. It will be easier when I don't have to be frightened of her getting under the duvet.