6 week old sleep

[LoveYouHoneybear]

Not sure if there's an answer seeing as how my baby is so little BUT would love any advice. She pretty consistently starts the night with a 4 hour stretch in her next-to-me cot and then I change and feed her and it takes about 2 hours to get her sleepy and back into the cot! How can I make this any shorter? Is there any way? Also, when I put her in the cot the second time, she usually wakes up and won't settle until I bring her into bed with me. Ideally I want her sleeping in the cot the entire night, but for whatever reason she will not handle the cot that second time! Any help?

Does she need a change each night? I only bother if she’s got a dirty nappy, not just a wet one. You might find she stays sleepier and goes back down easier without the change if it’s not necessary, it can really wake them up a lot

I'm in a similar position with a 5 week old, 2-3 hrs at the start in basket and then unable to settle for about 4 hours until I cave and he comes in with me, I don't think there's a magic fix at this age - just riding it out and waiting for the next set of sleep phases to start. DD was similarly crap at sleep and I drove myself mad trying to 'fix' her. They're tiny still and a new pattern will emerge soon. Netflix to get you through the night and coffee for the day!

You don't need to change a nappy unless there is poo.

At this age, a swaddle and dummy will significantly help baby settle to sleep independently. How are you currently getting baby to sleep?

It's early days yet. I don't think there's much you can do right now.

If it helps, by 12 weeks both of mine were sleeping through from about 10pm until 5am. So hopefully you will get a good stretch of sleep soon.

@FATEdestiny I use a Miracle Blanket swaddle (she hates it and frequently tries to break out!) and a dummy. So the sequence is this: take her to the dark bedroom with white noise, breastfeed her, hold her until she's sleepy, swaddle her and lay her in cot. This works the first time. The second time I do the exact same but I also change her nappy. I will try not changing though!

Swaddle her before feeding (so feed with the swaddle on). Then lift to your shoulder to wind, still with swaddle on. Then put dummy in and put down (veryyyyyy gently), leaving your hand on chest as you veryyyyyy slowly lean away after putting down.

@FATEdestiny okay great. Trying this tonight! Another question: trying to get her to nap in a small cot in the living room during the day... should I be doing the exact same swaddle-nurse-burp-dummy-slowly put in the cot? She just hates the swaddle so much, I'm only using it at night and then she sleeps on me (or in the sling or pram) during the day!

Yes, definately better long-term to put her down for the nap.

Careful with your use of phrases like "she hates...". She's not capable of actively having preferences. She may cry and struggle against a swaddle, but struggling against a swaddle and crying is actually a sign of when a swaddle is most needed. A calm baby doesn't need a swaddle as much. A distressed agitated baby needs calming down and the sensory deprivation of the swaddle (and it's recreating of womb-like conditions) is exactly what baby wants - but clearly baby cannot understand those wants/needs or communicate them to you in any way apart from crying.

@FATEdestiny you're a genius. Did what you recommended and although she struggled against the swaddle for about 20 mins each time, she did two long sleeps in the cot (4.5hrs and then 3.5hrs). I kept her in the swaddle from the beginning until this morning and didn't change her nappy in the night. Thanks so much. And yes, you're right re: her "hating" the swaddle, thank you for reframing that for me! Really appreciate your help with this x

That's great news!