Help please She won't sleep in her cot

[kellymoo]

Hi guys
My 4 week old won't sleep in her cot at night. The only way i get any sleep is to sleep with her on the couch but last night she fell off. She is fine but it really scared me and i want to sleeo in my own bed again! She will sleep in her cot during the day but not for every sleep. She is doesnt sleep for long with me on the couch at night either but it is better than nothing.
Any ideas?
Ta
Kelly

[punkbaby]

have you tried wrapping her? maybe she feels a little insecure in the cot also wear a t shirt all day then put it in the cot so she can smell you, silly i know but it works (well at least i think thats what worked when mine didnt like the cot)

[kellymoo]

I used to wrap her but she hates it now. I will try the Tshirt idea though thanks for that. If anyone has any more ideas too i would appreciate it!!!

[Susan_75]

Hey Kellymoo!

My advice is not directly related to getting them to sleep in a cot, but getting them to sleep better at night generally. With my two girls, I discovered (the hard way) that they were restless sleepers (particularly at night) if they weren't fully fed. Don't know whether you are BF or not, but in that first couple of weeks sometimes I would feed them every 30 minutes of so leading up to bedtime so they would be nice and full and hence have big sleeps! Your milk supply doesn't really come in properly until the 6 week mark, so sometimes they are just hungry which is why they are so unsettled.

Good luck, I hope you get some good advice which will help you catch some more zzzz's :yes:

Susan.

[RmumR]

Hi, my suggestion is to go back to wrapping and wrap tightly. my DD is 12wks old and at about 3 weeks i stopped wrapping her cause she was fighting it and getting frustrated with being wrapped the nights following i spent with her sleeping on my chest on the couch or in my bed....sounds similar to what you have been doing.
I rang Karitane and tresillion helplines for advise and both told me to start wrapping again and keep doing it no matter how frustrated bubs looks as they'll get used to it quickly.

my bubby is 12wks old today and just loves being wrapped for sleeps, whenever she is showing tired signs i just wrap her up pat her to sleep in my arms (takes about 5-10mins) and then put her in the cot where she sleeps soundly.
I also got those anti roll pillows so that she can't move around the cot and she is kind of snuggled in a bit more.

hope that helps......my other saviour was getting her to take a dummy.

[cornflakegirl]

Hi Kellymoo!
Congrats on the birth of your little girl.
My DD was the same. At first I tried to get her to sleep in her cot as all "good" babies do then I realised that she just wants to be with me.

Your DD is a tiny, vulnerable newborn and needs to be close to you. She has spent 9 months snuggled up safe and warm inside you so feels very insecure and lonely when placed in a huge cot all by herself. She is biologically programmed to want to be with you - it's a survival mechanism. You say you have tried sleeping on the couch with her. What about taking her to bed with you in your usual bed? We co-sleep and have found we all get more sleep this way.

[ShadyCharacter]

Hi Kelly,

Is there any reason you can't both sleep in your bed instead of on the couch?

Sleeping on the couch with a baby really is not a safe idea (as you discovered!), especially when you are sleep deprived. But if you have a nice firm mattress, sleeping with her in your bed snuggled up to you would help you both get some much needed rest :sleeping:

[samken]

This isn't going to be any help but I'll tell you anyway. My SIL is co-sleeping with her baby on a single bed, the baby is 1 year now. Anyway the baby has been walking since 8 months so is pretty active and last time I saw them 3 days ago they mentioned the baby had head butted mum gone over her and off the bed. My first reaction was to ask the baby, I was holding her, "and why were you on a bed where you could have fallen out?". They reminded me of the co-sleeping and all I said was I would have probably confirmed she was alright and laughed myself silly. Yours is much too small for that reaction but when you see how gracefully babys fall once they near 1 you have to laugh and my niece is a very graceful faller. I know, sorry, heartless but my niece (and the other 2 nieces) thinks I'm great and just for the record there is no way I will co-sleep or have a baby on a bed/couch at night where they couldn't be constrained. I'm sorry that you are so exhausted that you had to find this out the hard way. Good luck and try not to beat yourself up too much, you can only do the best you can.

[allysophia]

Why rule out cosleeping?

I used to snuggle DS next to me and he slept like a.. well, like a baby! :D

[shed]

she might feel like there is too much space around her or she might just be lonely.

Maybe try a snuggle bed or consider a bassinette next to the bed.

Or just pop her in bed with her mummy.

[kellymoo]

Hi again all
Thanks for all the tips. I will give them a try!!
The reason i haven't put her in my bed is because my husband is working really long hours and i have found it better to keep her in the lounge room so as not to disrupt his sleep too much. The problem is that not only willl she not sleep in her cot, but she also doesnt sleep very long through the night so it is a constant disruption to his sleep. I dont really want to get into the habit of co-sleeping anyway. I have nothing against it but am worried that it will just be really hard to get her out of once she gets older. The only reason i am doing it now is cos i literally have no choice if i want to get any sleep at all. I have tried the dummy but she spits it out. Does anyone know any tips on making them like the dummy! Just another bad habit i know but hey we just do the best we can dont we!!
Thanks agian everyone for your help!!!
Kely

[LilMissnBoo]

Hi There :wave:

My DD is 4 weeks today and I have the same problem. She used to sleep in her cot during the day but all of a sudden she would sleep for 10 minutes and wake up screaming! She now sleeps in her basinnette in our room during the day and at night she is in bed with DH and me. we get lots of sleep and she settles staight away. It is also so nice to cuddle up to her and watch her as she sleeps!
Do try wrapping her again, it makes bubs feel really secure and safe. In regards to the dummy, I have no idea as DD won't take one either! She does one suck and then frowns at me becasue its not her boobie! :laughing:

[justmum]

I had the same issues when my DS was that age. I often slept with him on the couch - but I would prop myself up with lots of cushions and have him strapped into his baby bjorn - sounds crazy but it worked for us and he slept safely. I had to wary of too much heat tho.

I agree that wrapping and dummies are great - until you get to 18 weeks. My DS hates being wrapped now so I am trying him in a sleeping bag. Problem is that he hates having his hands out as they stop him getting to sleep and they wake him up when he does get to sleep.

I think the snuggle bed is a good solution. We used a "My Little Bed" to create a feeling of security for DS.

My best word of advice is this - Beware of whatever solution you decide on - it can be just as hard undoing it later on! (I will be asking for help on stopping swaddling in another string)

[Boymum]

I have rented a Amby Baby Hammock, they are used in Nurseries and Hospitals for babies with many sleep issues.

My bubs has reflux and doesn't sleep well at the moment....well she didn't until I picked up the Hammock and set it up, took about two days for her to get used to it as she is now 10 and half weeks old and was used to sleeping in my bed a lot (or in her Tetra Snuggle Bed next to me in my bed)...but now she can go over 6 hours in a row with this Hammock. It is very safe and they can sleep in it until they are 12 months old....I will probably move her at around 5-6 months though.

It is brilliant for us anyway.

You can google Amby Baby Hammocks and find out all about it.

Good Luck.