Newborn Sleep Help

[WatersBroken]

Hi everyone,

Had our first baby on Tuesday at 5.30am,

The first night he slept quite well but the last two nights he has not settled in the crib whatsoever - he settles for maybe 10 minutes or so but then is crying to be picked up.. He then will only sleep on me - which of course is exhausting

Not sure if this is a given or if there's something the matter?

We was in hospital a few days so could be a case of getting used to surroundings but just wondering if anyone has any tips or advice? Or even just share my pain

Thank you

Congratulations!! This is so so hard but so normal. They ‘wake up’ after the first 24-48 hours and then start cluster feeding to the extreme. They have no concept of day or night at this stage so will wake up round the clock. A lot of babies just don’t want to be put down either which is completely understandable - look up the concept of the ‘fourth trimester’, I found that very helpful. Are you swaddling? We found this helped my boy a bit in these sleep deprived first weeks. Good luck - rope in as much help during the day as you can xx

Congratulations! My DS was the same (he’s 4 months old now). It’s tough but it sounds like you’re doing everything right. Me and DH took night shifts in turn during those early days - he’d do the first stint till 1 or 2am and then I’d get up and do until morning, with a nap later on in the day. We just kept trying to put DS down in the Moses basket until it worked, with a lot of rocking! I’m not sure how long it took but the fact that I’ve forgotten already tells you something! In the meantime, try not to get too frustrated with people telling you just to enjoy the newborn snuggles - lovely as they are, the tiredness is real 😂
If I’ve learnt anything over the past four months it’s that, with babies, nothing lasts forever. You got this mama!

Probably just craving comfort and familiarity in a new environment but if it continues and you notice any discomfort it could be reflux? We have to hold our baby upright for a while after feeds - if we lay her straight down on her back she’s uncomfortable with it, can usually put her down 15 mins later (usually after she’s fallen asleep on us first). It took a while for her not to wake up when we did this but things that helped: playing white noise, keeping her pressed to my body for as long as possible while lowering her into the crib, letting her bum touch mattress first then her head, then putting a hand on her tummy for a few minutes so she still feels the reassuring weight of my body. Good luck and congratulations on your new baby! X