help! newborn can't sleep without being cuddled!

[smittenkitten]

DD is 9 days old (very new I know!). she usually feeds to sleep, but has been rocked/cuddled to sleep a few times. if she goes in her cot she immediately wakes up and cries (and then wants to be fed...). it's making sleeping pretty hard. any ideas for how we can get her to sleep in her cot??

Have you tried swaddling? It makes them feel v secure like they are being cuddled.

i agree, swaddling is good, and gently warming the cot with a hotty before baby goes in. Have you tried resting your hands on her then very slowly taking them off ?

Swaddling is great, but basically at this stage she might just need more physical reassurance than that to sleep. I'm sure you're exhausted! Have you tried sleeping with her on your chest just to get a rest now and then? Don't worry too much about creating a bad habit and give yourself a chance to catch up on some sleep.

just cuddle her
please

He's 9 days old. Less than two weeks. If she wants to be cuddles, cuddle her - take her into bed with you if it helps. She'll be a different person in another 2 weeks with different wants and needs, I promise. Just go with her at this stage. it won't last long.

aw bless! The cot may feel too big for her. We put the carrycot from the pram inside the cot and used that instead as it was more snuggly.

I slept with both my dcs sleeping on my chest for the first 6 weeks of their lives (not at the same time I hasten to add, they were born 2 years apart!) I think newborns need a little time to adjust to not being really close to their mothers.

Cuddle her! She's 9 days old. They need cuddling. She won't take long to fall asleep.

NOt really sure what people have against cuddling their children.

And don't listen to those who say, "Oh you're making a rod for your own back," Children are meant to be cuddled. Get used to it. One day they won't want you to cuddle them at all.

Enjoy your new baby and cuddle, cuddle, cuddle, cuddle. Make her feel safe.

I was in a rush replying earlier and should have said first that you should just cuddle her! Babiessurvival instinct makes them cry until they are cuddled- she needs you! It won't be like this forever, and please don't worry about making a rod for your own back. However if you need to get things done get a wrap sling like a Kari Me and carry her about with you.

My DD was exactly the same. The sling for daytime stuff and having her on my chest at night were what got us through the first few weeks.

Completely normal.

Just cuddle her.

You will soon revise your definition of a good night's sleep.

Don't worry as it is not possible to create 'bad habits' in a baby this young.

She actually needs to be cuddled - it's not a 'nice to have' option at this age!

Agree the transition should involve swaddling. She needs to feel secure. She's had 9 mths of super close, warm, walls of your womb around her. The big wide world is still a bit of a shock.

Only by providing the constant security she needs at the start can she then trust you in the future that it's OK to be put down.

People should be warned about this before having children imo, and it would come as less of a shock.

And books which spout the 'rod for your own back' myth should be banned.

What everyone else said about cuddling, and get someone else to do all the housework and cook for you if poss. I know the tiredness is kind of unbelievable, but it will pass.

No one ever warned dh and I exactly how much time we would spend with dd flat out, snoring v.quietly on our chests in the first few weeks. She slept on us to start with, then next to us in the bed for a couple of weeks, then into a crib next to the bed, and now sleeps in a crib in a cot in her room- moving into just cot next weekend. She's now 14 weeks old, and I couldn't imagine her ever letting us put her down to start with.
You need a sling so that you can get ANYTHING done at all. Forget the housework, ask your mum to give you a hand if she's about, don't worry about anything. Cuddle, cuddle, cuddle. I already look back on tiny baby days with a lump in my throat and they really don't last long.
PS, you won't get much less tired, but you will get MUCH more used to it.

second what grimupnorth has said. give her cuddles, cuddles, cuddles! these days pass so quickly, enjoy them!

Awww, so sweet. I never thought I would've at the time, but now I miss that stage so much. My 18 month old goes to bed awake, purses her lips for a goodnight kiss and says 'buh-bye' to mean 'get out of my room and leave me alone now'. And that's lovely, but nothing's as lovely as a wee newborn blissfully asleep against your heart.

She doesn't even know she is separate from you yet & is so used to being rocked by you walking etc, that she still needs that movements & closeness from you.

Swaddling is good, but in the very early days I let dd1 sleep on my tummy until she was in a very deep sleep & then put her down.

Please take the time to cuddle her, she needs it is a good excuse to sit & rest, relax & recover from the birth & pregnancy!

and it is a good excuse to sit & rest, relax & recover from the birth & pregnancy!