Sleep aids? Help...

[thingymaboob]

We have a 2 day old. Obviously she's not got s routine or anything yet but she will not go down in the next to me side sleeper and only wants to sleep on our chest. I will not co-sleep and will not even entertain the idea. She seems to like the womb noises on the iPhone app. What are people's experiences of using Ewan the dream sheep or similar? Have they made a difference and do they sooth babies? Any recommendations please?

My DCs loved Ewan, he was my saviour once they were a few months old.

At 2 days old she is still tiny and trying to make sense of being outside the womb. The world will be a scary place for her now and she wants to be near you to feel warm and safe and loved. Feed her and give her to dad for a bit. You sound exhausted and you need to rest to heal your body after birth. Happy mum = happy baby.

And most of all, enjoy those magical tiny baby cuddles. They don't last long enough, even if it feels like it's all you do right now! Congratulations

We have found Ewan to be pretty useless but I know others rate him and the MyHummy. I just play white noise from Spotify through a speaker all night. He is still a rubbish sleeper though, hence the 4am reply 😂 congratulations on your new baby.

We haven't had much luck with Ewen and now I just play white noise on my phone so that it can keep going all night. I don't know whether it makes much difference but I find it relaxing anyway.

At 2 days old I think you're expecting a lot of her. I couldn't get DD to sleep in the Snuzpod until 6 weeks, before that were on a combination of Moses basket on a good night and on my chest on a bad one.

It’s totally normal for a newborn, and I agree I think you are expecting a lot from her. She’s so new to the world, untill 2 days ago she was curled up inside you, being close is all she knows. Give her cuddles while she adjusts to the world. If you really don’t want to co sleep (although you may find yourself being swayed to this because it is 100% less stressful in the early weeks if baby won’t settle in a basket/cot) then you could take shifts at night taking it in turns to stay up while she sleeps on your chest and while the other sleeps.

Have you tried a tight swaddle? A lot of newborns enjoy the snug feeling, sort of recreating being in the womb. We use white noise for all sleeps, including all night but it has to be really loud. We just use an iPad playing the same track from Spotify on repeat. Works a treat. We also have a sleepyhead which my DS loves, can’t recommend it enough. You could also warm the crib with a hot water bottle before you pop her in. Put something that smells like you in there?

I know it’s hard and you’ll be very tired in the early days but it’s normal and it does pass. My DS was exactly the same and I spent a lot of time co sleeping. He’s now 8 months and will not sleep with me at all, ever. He loves his own space. In the beginning even he wouldn’t settle reliably in the next to me crib for decent parts of the night/naps untill about 4 months. Now I miss the cuddles, he’s so busy these days I never get any snuggles.

Congratulations on your new arrival. Look after yourself and just go with the flow

We coslept for aboit 2 weeks newborns just want to be close to mummy and it's easier to feed in the night!

Thingy!!!!! Hi! I haven't been back to the thread (in my whirl of sleep deprivation) but CONGRATULATIONS!!! You made it. So happy for you.

I would say the easiest solution is to buy a white noise manchine off Amazon. £30 mains powered, let it run all night. They toys are a gimmick and I don't think 20 mins noise is helpful in any way. We messed about with every type of white noise going (Ewan, My Hummy, Apps on phone etc) and this was by far the best solution. If you let it run all night, it should help baby link sleep cycles when they get a little older and rouse between cycles.

Also, a swaddle was our saviour. The arms up Love To Dream swaddles are absolutely brilliant. Easy to put on, promotes the natural positioning (arms up, froggy legs) and lets baby suck hands and rub face to soothe.

A dummy helped us a lot in the early days, but we had to ditch it this week at 3.5 months as he kept knocking it out and getting hysterical. Love/hate them, can be help and a hinderance!

Sounds very similar to my DD at a few days old. Very normal but exhausting. I also really did not want to move towards co sleeping.

Things that helped us:
Tight swaddle (we used the miracle blanket, as she wriggled out of anything else!). It can take them a while to get used to it, but after a few days she loved it.
Dummy
Sleepyhead
White noise - I use baby sleep waves from a playlist on Spotify, same track on repeat
Gently patting her chest, alongside all of the above.

I found those very early days and weeks tough, as she really just wanted to be on me. But now she sleeps and naps in her cot like a dream, has done since about 8 weeks old! It passes before you know it. Don’t worry too much about ‘bad habits’ - just try and get her to spend a little bit of time in her next to me, so she can gradually get used to it.

Congratulations xx