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Baby boy won’t sleep on his own

8 replies

Shabtique · 03/12/2018 00:18

It’s been 9 weeks since our second bundle of joy joined our family and 9 weeks with little sleep for me. He arrived via c section, for first couple of weeks he had an awful lot of mucus going on, terrifying as he could hardly breath. Then he had a chest infection and on antibiotics being only 5 weeks old. So a lot has been going on in his little life from the start. And so he would always be on me, day and night, 9 weeks on.. he will not stay on his back in his sleepyhead, in his bouncy chair, in his Moses basket. He sleeps on me. We tried cranial osteopathy as it worked with our fist son but this time round it had no effect. We suspect there’s a reflux too, I am combination feeding, mostly breast but at night he will get bottle of formula from daddy. So I can have 20 min of sleep.. I’ve been sleeping in sitting position with him on my chest. I know it’s not safe but I am a very light sleeper so i feel like I have some control but of course I am also extremely worried. I just bought another swaddle and I was in heaven when he lasted in it 30 min on his back in his sleepyhead. Tried that in the evening in his Moses basket and he lasted 5 min. He’s fast asleep on me as we speak! What do I do? Will he ever be able to sleep on his own in his basket and then cot? He will sleep on his side but only for a little, tried putting him on his tummy during the day and again it works for max 15 min and then he does something funny with his head, and ends up face down. I am exhausted, my husband is snoring next to me and I am looking for help here! Do we need to start sleep training? We have not had any sleep problems with our first son, he truly was an angel baby, sleeping for hours, anywhere and everywhere. So we don’t know what’s going on this time round. My pregnancy was very challenging too and I feel like I have not slept since January!! Any thoughts ladies? I am in a need of a sleep! 😉 xx

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
lancslass17 · 03/12/2018 01:47

Hi,

Have you tried propping cot up a little (under rocker not the mattress) if it is reflux a little gravity might work.

WinterCoat · 03/12/2018 04:17

Definitely much too early for sleep training!! My first is only 5 months so I'm far from experienced but she was just like this and honestly we just had to push through it. Can your husband hold the baby say 7pm to 11pm then 5am to 7am before he goes to work assuming he does a 9-5 type job so you can sleep lying down during those times, and he sleeps 11pm to 5am? This has worked for us during those phases. Plus I've always napped with her on me in the daytime in as safe a position as possible. You have my sympathy but i don't think there's anything wrong with your baby as such, he just wants to be close to you.

Shmithecat · 03/12/2018 04:28

Absolutely no sleep training. Far too young. Can you try safe co sleeping?

thisisreallyfunny · 03/12/2018 08:27

Following as am in a situation with my DD2 who is 10 weeks. Posseting is settling down but when it comes to sleeping in cot at night she's having none of it! I'm sleeping half lying down with her across me... am slowly transitioning to co sleeping. Good luck x

Shabtique · 03/12/2018 11:02

Thank you so much ladies for your messages and support! This might sound ridiculous but what is safe co sleeping? Our 4 year old was always sleeping on his own so I never had to look this things up! Last night I kicked my husband out to spare room and put the little monkey next to me on his side, he slept quite well, waking up frequently but I was on my back 🎉 I didn’t sleep well as I was worried but at least he was not on me! I am looking for any help, been looking at the Next to me cribs, they cost a small fortune but will it change our sleeping habits? 😰 thank you again! It’s so amazing to have other mums understanding and seems like we are all in similar situations! xx

OP posts:
BlueRaincoat1 · 05/12/2018 13:26

Hello, I have a 15 week old. His sleep has been pretty bad (he had reflux) but he will now sleep a decent stretch in the evening in his cot between 8pm - midnight (it's still pretty bad after that).
Just a suggestion about where he sleeps - my baby is quite big and outgrew the moses basket v quickly. From around 8 weeks I moved him into a cot. I have the side off the cot and have pushed the cot right next to our bed. So although he's a little lower than me, I can easily stroke him and hold his hand from our bed. It meant I didn't have to get a special 'next to' cot, which are quite dear. He can't fall out as the side of the cot is against the side of the bed. Just an option to consider .

PrtScn · 05/12/2018 16:59

@shabtique I wouldn’t bother with the Next to Me cribs unless you can afford it and have the space.
My baby is 8 weeks old and like yours, will only sleep on me. In our desperation we tried a standard crib, a moses basket and a next to me crib and he refuses to sleep in any of them. I now just sleep on my back with him lying across me (he is in a baby sleeping bag on top of our covers), or he is lying on his side next to me where he will fall asleep having boob. I find this position (despite it being a recommended safe co-sleeping position) really uncomfortable though. I sleep really lightly when he is in bed with us, I wake up whenever he moves.I generally get about 6 hours sleep all in like this, in about 2 hour blocks as he generally tends to wake up 2 or 3 times a night wanting boob. When OH is at work we will monopolise the bed and have another lie in. So I can get another hour or so kip like this.

Also I have a baby sling which is a godsend. It gives me a little more freedom with 2 free hands. He will sleep in the sling and I can go pee or make a cup of tea! Otherwise he will scream if he is not stuck on me. Thankfully he will sit in his bouncer for 10-15 minutes before getting cranky which allows me to have a shower in the mornings (I take him into the bathroom with me).

So my suggestion is to look into safe co-sleeping and getting a sling. I’d have fallen into a black hole long ago otherwise.

thisisreallyfunny · 19/12/2018 20:17

Just wanted to update you on my situation. My LO is now 12 weeks and one night (while she was full of cold) I put her down next to me after a feed and lo and behold she slept!! Now all I do is feed her and put her down in the cot (I have a cot which is joined to my bed) and and whenever she wakes up at night just feed her and put her back down. Not had her sleep on me since... happened completely by accident! 😁

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