14 week old who hates being exposed in crib!

[womba1]

My 14 week old son sleeps brilliantly on my chest in bed, in anyones arms and in a bean bag on the sofa. He obviously likes to feel secure and snug but, how on earth do I make him feel safe in his crib? He will sleep for a maximum of 3 hours but gets very fretful when he wakes and doesn't like to be put down again. I've considered putting the beanbag inside the crib so that it cradles him but have my reservations about this. During the day, when he naps he sleeps on his front and is very content but obviously, this isn't advised for night time sleeping. Please can anyone offer any kind of advice?

womba1 my dd was exactly the same, the only thing that worked was swaddling. I started when she was about 9 weeks and went on until she was 6 months! It worked really well, made her feel really secure. The only prob was when she got fed up with it but couldn't sleep without it. We had a night of cold turkey and then she was fine.

There is a book called "The Happiest Baby" by Harvey someoneorother which has detailed instructions on swaddling. HTH

DD used to thrash around so much she could not get to sleep so we folded 2 cellular blanckets up tightly and wedged one on each side of her so she couldn't move about as much. She fell asleep much quicker and slept for longer (although the hv said we should take them out immediately we ignored her as we preferred a sleeping baby to a screaming one!) Sounds cruel but it worked for us. If you orefer not to use the blankets then you can get a wedge of some sort or other from John Lewis ir Great Little Trading Company I think.

Have you tried swaddling him with a blanket or light sheet? Or you can buy a "guardian angel" which is 2 little bolster pillows connected by a strap of fabric. The fabric goes under the baby, one bolster each side and keeps them snug.

That is what I meant! SoupDragon - you are so eloquent!!

I've tried the swaddling thing but he gets really stressed and all worked up! Will give the bolster cushions a go...thanks for that. Also, as this is all new to me...could someone please tell me why your babies are being referred to as DD? Aplogies for probably asking avery daft question??

womba ... I made a 'nest' in DS's cot with rolled up towels under his sheet so that when he moved about he felt 'contained' ... I also swaddled him until about 4 months ...

dd = dear/darling daughter
ds ditto son
dh/p ditto husband/partner

Can thoroughly recommend the Air-Flow sleep positioner:

Sleep positioner

The site is American but has links on page to UK outlets etc. I have used the item with my youngest who is now one. (Suitable 0-6mths).

In addition, I would also suggest a baby sleep bag.I would not be without one. There are a number of excellent ones available from various outlets in UK and elsewhere (see some recent threads re same). You can buy a summer weight one just now from Tchibo at

this site

Hope things get better.