Slowly losing my mind....

[mamabear1981]

My baby boy is almost 6 weeks old and since birth he's had issues being put down to sleep.

He will sleep for hours on end, no problem in our arms or on our chests. We can wait till he's in a complete deep sleep to put him down in the moses basket or put him down whilst he's sleepy, still awake and not quite gone off and it makes no difference. The instant we let go of him he gets a serious case of the wriggles and it's almost like watching a fish out of water and there's moaning that goes with it which can eventually turn in to crying. My husband is a fan of the 'tough love' technique but I don't think it achieves anything but stresses both the baby and me out even more.

As you can imagine this has lead to absolutely bugger all sleep for me and how it's having an affect on my health (dizzy spells, light headed moments, close to passing out).

I thought it might be something to do with his digestion and especially as he's just getting over a cold I raised one end of his Moses basket mattress but that doesn't achieve anything. I could put him on a cloud and he would react the same.

I'm on the verge of losing my mind over this, I thought at least at 6 weeks old I would be able to put him down asleep and actually have him stay asleep.

Where am I going wrong and how do I solve this? (Currently writing this with him fast asleep on my chest snoring...).

Also like to point out that yes I have tried swaddling and whilst he's kind of happy wrapped up he wriggles his arms out of it and at the moment I think it's too hot for swaddling. We have swaddlepod blankets with the Velcro on them which are a little thick and trying to swaddle him in a regular blanket or Muslin is pointless. I'd have more luck declawing a cat.....

Have you tried white noise? It really helped us with keeping our daughter asleep. We have a myhummy but you can try apps on your phone first to see if it helps. Also, are you swaddling him? It will help him feel more secure when you put him down if he is still wrapped up, with limited movement.

I think I got a sleepyhead at this point! It did really help but I don't think it would fit in a moses basket. I held him for day naps and then he slept in this in his next to me cot at night.

Sorry missed your swaddling comment when I wrote that! Alternatively could you try warming up the Moses basket with a hot water bottle before putting him in it? Also my daughter refused to sleep in the Moses basket and only slept in her sleepy head for the first few months. I think it was cosier, and was easier to angle when she had trapped wind and her reflux started. I found that most problems were down to trapped wind, so make sure you wind him for as long as possible after every feed and hero upright when feeding.

Poor you. Sleep deprivation is literally torture.

I don't know which of these worked, or maybe it's the combination of the whole lot, but my dd slept through from 5 wks with:

Swaddle
Sleepyhead
Orange lamp in bedroom
White noise on all night
Dummy

Always all 5!

Now she's 14wks I've got rid of sleepyhead and reducing swaddling, white noise and dummy reliance.

Is your baby bf? I think it's no coincidence they often sleep better if full up on nice stodgy formula. I started combo feeding at 4wk and she slept through from 5wk.

He's still in the 4th trimester and it is completely normal.

@letstryagainaaahhhh @Bananarama12 what's a sleepy head?

I've got an Olly Owl (gro.co.uk/product/ollie-the-owl/) that has an orange light, okays white noise and a heart beat which seems to help. But not 100%. It's almost like as soon as I move or let go of him he has a radar that goes off and throws himself around (lots of kicking involved) which is bizarre because he sleeps the best with his arms up.

I'm going to go back to swaddling but was waiting for the temperature go down as I don't think it's fair to him at the moment to overheat him.

He's EBF but I've raised one end of his Moses basket in case there's reflux involved. He seems very comfy propped up in the feeding cushion the other day so I've tried to replicate the height to see if that helps. He's fast asleep at the moment in it! (See pictures)

This is a sleepyhead. It makes them feel more secure, probably why he likes the feeding pillow! They are quite expensive but I got mine second hand off eBay. My DS still sleeps in it at 7 months. I'm not bothered about weaning him out of it as he won't need it forever.

Ah he's super cute!

My two DSs (both wriggly and on the warm side of normal baby temps) haven't managed to escape the miracle blanket which is a swaddle with inner arm straps. It's quite light cotton too.

The Sleepyhead also helped us. It wasn't a miracle cure by any stretch but DD could be put down and would remain asleep in it for a while. I'd give swaddling a go with a (very) large muslin if you're worried about the heat. What I wish I had known when DD was tiny is that you can swaddle babies with their hands up by their face (Google/YouTube how). DD always fought her way out of a 'normal' swaddle because she liked her hands near her mouth. Apparently it's the normal way of swaddling in France (but no idea where I read that!)

Swaddling saved my life. DD wriggled out of even the tightest muslin / blanket, but I bought the miracle blanket online, which she couldn’t get out of. Slept like a dream then, and was in it until 5 months old! I swaddled all through last summer - just had her in nappy underneath.

My 10 week old hates having his arms down so I use a swaddle up! for him. You can get in low togs so it's good for this weather. It's stretchy and my DS can still suck his hands if need be but it stops him from startling himself awake (which he does if not swaddled!)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005MATOM8/ref=ascdff_B005MATOM852681521/?tag=googshopuk-21&creative=22110&creativeASIN=B005MATQNK&linkCode=df0&hvadid=226583581656&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15901998543560382642&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045941&hvtargid=pla-392723615944&th=1&psc=1