How did you get your 3 month old to sleep in a cot / crib / Moses basket etc?

[thingymaboob]

I need tips please. I am EBF and have a 10 week old. I have tried cosleeping - no one getting any sleep co sleeping so not an option. Massive boobs and very gassy baby means she needs burping after feeding lying down and she doesn't settle without swaddle which you have to remove to follow cosleep guidelines.
At the moment I feed to sleep, burp her then she falls asleep on me and I wait for deep sleep then gently transfer her into a swaddle bag with pink noise. She then sleeps a variable amount before waking (1-5 hours, mostly 2/3). I then can't get her back into cot for rest of night. How can I get her to settle to sleep? Patting? She doesn't take a dummy. I dunno what to do! Help please x

I’m having a similar problem with an 8 week old and I’m really starting to hit a massive wall without sleep. I know I have it better than so many people and I feel bad complaining, but I’ve also coming down with a bad cold which is making it worse.

My partner takes the early shift until midnight and baby generally sleeps until 2:30-3:30 but then he struggles to sleep after that (grunting and straining, fretting - SO MUCH NOISE) and I end up having to stay awake with him sleeping on me. My partner will often then take him from 6am ish for a bit before work so I get an extra hour then.

He’s no longer napping in his Moses basket during the day, meaning I have him in the sling the whole time and can’t nap when he naps.

I had really bad insomnia throughout my third trimester, and I’m really starting to struggle with the prolonged disturbed sleep.

I feel your pain, I have no answers, I hope someone else does!

(Oh and I’m formula feeding with some comfort feeds from breast, had issues with supply)

@thingymaboob @PoTayToes80 DS didnt want to sleep except on me or DH when he was tiny, I'm no expert but did learn a few tricks, hope one / some of these might help you both.

The HV suggested that we simply keep putting him back in his Moses basket and he would eventually get used to it - we practised lots during the day, patting and shushing.

We also used a Snugglebundl - at the end of a feed I would tuck this round him and use it to lower him in, he felt more safe and secure... apparently it keeps their heads steady so when lowered this doesn't trigger their startle reflex and wake them up.

snugglebundl.co.uk

I kept him in his sleeping bag for overnight feeds, didnt bother taking it off. Also he was small so we rolled up a towel and put in a U-shape around the bottom of the basket his legs (nowhere near his face!!!) which helped him feel cosier.

Its not for everyone but we also used one of these pod thingies which he loved, this one isnt the rock hard sleeping surface that the Lullaby Trust insists on but with this one there was nothing around his face and we felt that it was less risky than falling asleep holding him.

https://babymoov.co.uk/products/cosydream

He did get it eventually. 8 / 10 weeks is very tiny and for a lot of babies they are only just working out day and night, hope you will get longer stretches in their own little beds soon. for you both

sarahockwell-smith.com/2015/06/26/why-babies-hate-cots-and-cribs-and-what-to-do-instead/

We did shifts and I either got woken up for feeds when it wasn't my shift or sometimes expressed.

With my second DC, we bought some foam wedges that we put under the mattress sheet that cradled his hips a bit. He was too young to roll at that age, and we followed all the other safe sleep guidance with respect to no pillows, blankets, toys, etc in the crib. But the wedges that just slightly touched his hips on either side were enough to make him feel a bit more cozy and safe. It also worked when I rolled up a small towel and made a u-shape under the crib sheet around his feet and up to his waist. I never put anything higher than his waist to prevent the slightest risk of suffocating. But the sort of “nest” feeling from the waist down really seemed to calm him enough to not scream bloody murder every time I put him down.

Thank you all for your replies. I have an older child but feel like I'm getting this all wrong and should be in some kind of routine by now. She has a cold and we have been plagued by nasal congestion her whole life!

I used to stretch one of my worn vest tops over the mattress , so the mattress was inside if that makes sense and it couldn't get untucked, then I'd put a hot water bottle in. Put DS in his grosnug/grobag , feed him (bf) , once he was asleep I'd take the hot water bottle out and very very gently put him in, it was a next to me so I could almost roll towards it and gently place him down.
Sounds a faff but there was something about the warmth and the smell of me from my top that helped him settle. He was a velcro baby so I feel your pain!