15 week old won't sleep unless on me :(

[Gingernut81]

DD has become a bit of a nightmare at sleeping. We'd managed to settle into a fairly good routine: bath at 6pm followed by bottle & bed. However this has all gone to pot since her 2nd lot of immunisations
2 1/2 weeks ago. She didn't react well to them & then started with a horrendous cold on top of the chaos that comes with Christmas. For the past week she's ended up sleeping on me part way through the night as she was better sat upright because of all the mucus & catarrh. I now think she's teething - red cheeks, constantly chomping on whatever's available. Anyhow the last couple of nights she's only fallen asleep on me (following several attempts to put her down).
I'm knackered & have no idea what to do for the best. I'm worried that by letting her fall asleep on me I'm getting into bad habits but then part of me wonders if it's just a phase while she recovers from being ill & teeth come through. Any suggestions/experiences would be gratefully received!

I have no solution but I do have a 5 year old who sleeps amazingly. However for his first few months every nap was on me or DH and night sleeps we had to rock him to sleep, none of those habits became permanent and eventually he could be put in his cot and slept soundly. We just did what we had to, to get him sleep that he needed.

I'm sorry because I have no idea! But - regarding the stuffy nose, have you heard of a 'Nosiboo' before. Google it, and have a read on reviews etc.It may not be for you and little one but I know someone who swears by it.

Things will get better.

So 2 1/2 weeks ago she was about 12/13 weeks old?

This is less about her immunisations and more about the 'fourth trimester' coming to an end. For the first 3 (ish) months baby is just getting used to being alive, so much is going on that baby mainly just eats and sleeps eats and sleep, eats and sleeps.

As you move out of the newborn phase at around 3 months old, baby starts realising that there is a big scary would out there with lots of distractions in it. On top of that you've had Christmas to deal with at the same time, adding to the distractions and chaos.

Now is the time when babies often need active help to get to sleep (something other than just a full tummy, which works as a newborn). Have you tried:

Dummy
Swaddling
Bouncy chair (for daytime)
Co-sleeping cot (for nighttime) with you snuggled right in with baby

Just thought, you shouldn't start swaddling after 3 months if not done before (Lullaby Trust identify this as a SIDS risk). So scrap that unless you have used a swaddle before.

Abi, thanks for the hopeful message! I'm just knackered st the mo & have been fighting off this cold too!

Frank, we've tried something like it...she screams!

FATE, thanks for the advice. We didn't swaddle as my midwife scared to crap out of me by saying baby could overheat & she didn't recommend it, I so wish I'd ignored her! DD would have dummies prior to this but now refuses, she chomped away on a teething ring last night but kept getting frustrated as kept dropping it. She's also gone off her bouncer, seems to prefer being more upright. We've got a co-sleeper so going to get that attached to the bed again. Fingers crossed it gets better again soon :(