11 week old refusing basket, beyond tired.

[flowerpotgirl12]

Hi, I really want some advice, my 11 week old has suddenly decided he won't sleep in his Moses basket and only on me, this is become a problem, if he isn't asleep by 6.30pm he is a nightmare but means that from 6.30 onwards I am stuck, I have tried heating his basket, putting shirts in for my smell, a sling which he hated. I literally can't do anything and it also means that by default I am having to cosleep with him, which worries me as he was prem and my dp smokes and there is no where else for him to sleep. Not only that but I don't sleep properly with him in the bed and he's still waking 3 hourly for feeds, I am getting more and more exhausted. My dp tried to do night feeds last night, my lo cried till 3am eventually I had to take over and he was asleep on me within minutes but I have literally no break or rest. How can I stop this and get him in his bed?

Watching this thread as my 5 month old DD2 is like this. We co sleep but I would love to stop!

Cocoonababy. Worth every penny

Looked them up but they're £126 no way we can afford that at the moment. Thanks anyway

Tbh I be tempted to tell dp to fuck off to the sofa and cosleep - at least until you're in a state you can actually cope!

www.poddlepod.com/sale-15-c.asp This is a bit cheaper and while I didn't try one I've heard they helped other people?

My ds refused to be put down and I eventually (at around 4 weeks) caved and let him sleep on his front. It was magic, he went from waking within minutes of being put down to sleeping 6-7 hours for his long stretch just after the evening cluster.

With babies, when the need you they need you - there's no quick fix because a cuddle is the cure for everything pretty much. You can lay groundwork for better sleep later by introducing a routine and sleep cues (bath, massage, same story every night, aural cue like white noise/Ewan the dream sheep etc)

What kind of sling do you have? Some products are better than others and tbh most of the better ones have been somewhat overlooked by the major retailers

Tbh I don't want to tell dp to fuck off out of our bed, the smoking is not the only reason we shouldn't co sleep as he was prem and low birth weight. I have a mothercare sling, not massively expensive.

Ah, I'm just remembering being where you are now and the feeling of wanting to give my right arm for a few hours off

Is it made of kind of tee shirt material? They're fab as long as you tie it really tight before putting the baby in - I know several people who said their baby hated it but were converted once they'd got it tight enough. If it's a buckley type it probably isn't cuddly and supportive enough (most high street buckle carriers aren't)

All my DC hated baskets.

They were much happier in the big cot next to the bed. I took the side off, pushed the cot up tight against the edge of my bed, wedged it in place with door stops and tucked a big sheet plus blanket around both mattresses so there was no chance of a gap between the two.

I could cuddle them next to me but with more room and less chance of anyone getting squashed.

We developed a routine as the little b was a sod at going to sleep.

We got him to sleep on us and timed him. 6 1/2 mins later he was put in a warmed cot. ( warmed via hot water bottle). Fewer than 6 mins he woke. More than 15 he woke. If the cot was next to us he woke ( I reckoned smell of my milk).

We put the cot in his bedroom, next to what became his bed. So st various stages in the middle of the night if it wad desperate, and when he was ill it was, we could sleep with one hand on him.

Hth

Highstreet slings are generally very structured and not supportive for you or the baby, stretchy wraps (check out the Moby sling) are much more supportive and snugglier for baby as it allows them to curl up against you as they would naturally rather then dangling.

In all honesty my daughter is 13 months, still wakes every 2-3 hours through the night and screams whenever I leave her side so I am probably not the best person to advise about this but I've found that if the baby will only sleep on you then let them do that, it gives you both a break especially when they're so young.

With regards to sleeping arrangements I've resorted to co-sleeping part of the night just to get some rest too and I'm not particularly keen either, could you put him in a cot beside your bed? Some generoc cotbeds can be built with one side off so that its just like an extension to your bed but gives you/baby space. No need to spend on expensive co-sleeper cots.

Thanks all. Will look into a new sling as mine is quite structured. I may also try the cot, need to get a mattress for it so may do that sooner than I thought and see if he'll sleep in that.

The Ikea £15 cot works well as a co-sleeper - you can use cable ties to attach it to your bed frame.

www.slingmeet.co.uk should have a meet local to you so you can get some proper advice if you like (and there's usually some lovely mamas to chat to as well) :)

Do you swaddle? We got a love to swaddle suit that really helped my son when he was younger. He's wake himself up in the crib, but do fine on me. The swaddle suit was a real help. Might work well with a cot.

Flowerpot, I moved my ds into his cot and it was so much better!

He looks tiny in there and I balked at expensive gadgets so under the advice of my driving instructor ( ha ha true he is Mary Poppins) I rolled up 2 blankets and wedged them either side. He actually sleeps peacefully. In fact I woke at 4 am expecting him to be awake but he slept on! I actually woke him at 5.30 because I was worried. What a plonker!