Any tips for first timers??

[Dancing Girl]

Hey all,

I have a 10 day old baby here who refuses to sleep any longer then 45 - 1 hr.

Feeds are pretty regular at about every three hours.

We get him down and he rests for about 45 min and then wakes up crying and refuses to go down again. My husband holds him and he falls asleep again then for the same thing to happen again.

It's quite hard for me being first time and i feel as though i'm doing something wrong.

Is there anything that i should be doing or that i am doing wrong?

Please any tips

[Mahjong]

You are not doing anything wrong. Some bubba's just find it difficult to sleep without the comfort of their parents. My son was one of them. Cat Napper from day he was born until he was about 6 months old. It's frustrating I know :(

My advice, just go with the flow, he will get the little routine under way soon enough, just enjoy the time with him and if you find you need to get things done, a baby sling is a great investment, he has you and then can sleep whilst you have your hands free.

[SassyMummy]

Some babies just don't want to sleep - and at 10 days old, there's not too much you can do.

Are you co-sleeping (as in, is he sleeping in your bed)? You may not want to do this, I didn't... but I found it a lifesaver... it meant DD was right near me all night and would sleep much longer. After 3 months I moved her into her cot, which was a LITTLE difficult but not too bad. Once she got to sleep, she'd sleep all night from 3 weeks onwards...

Co-sleeping, IMO, if you're okay with doing it, can work wonders. It might not be ideal, but if everyone is getting to sleep, then I think it's worth it. (It's also great for breastfeeding... I just lay on my side, have my baby face me, and have my boob out (towel under me in case I leak!)... if she got whingey I would wake up and put her on the boob... and I could fall half-asleep while it happened... and didn't have to support her weight or anything.

Very relaxing.

[purplefairy]

Hi congrats on bubs by the way. wow 10 days old. how little:angel:
The only advice I have to give you is what I learnt from my two. Ten days is pretty early and your milk is probably still coming through and so what Bub wants to do when this is happening is feed feed and feed because by sucking they make as much milk as they need so my advice is to do this. maybe that is why she is not sleeping for a long time. If it is your milk still coming in then it will settle down in about a week. To help bring your milk in which will help settle bub go to the health food shop and get rasberry leaf tinicture..not tea tinicture that will help bring it in faster.
Um what else feed them to sleep then sit them up whilst the are asleep laying them on you to get any wind up and then lay them down.
Wrap them up so they feel secure.
Its so hard when they are that little. I remember with our first we had many a sleepless crying nights and day.
If she is crying alot and she likes the bath try bathing her and add a vew drops 1 or 2 of lavender oil. This help calm them.
It relaxes them and it is also good for the digestive system too so if they have a bit of wind its a bonus.
I hope this helps. I know its hard. I remember walking the hall way night after night with my first...It wont take long and everything with start to settle down.:hugs: Enjoy your precious Angel:angel:
Also sleeping them in your bed is a good idea because it helps you get sleep and bub. At that age the bub just probably want to be close to Mum.
I hope this helps

[purplefairy]

Also your not doing anything wrong. They are not born with instruction manuals.:D Dont beat yourself up.
Try offering him a feed more often as well.

[Dancing Girl]

you guys r great!!!

i am still very emotional and sometimes i find myself crying cause i think its my fault.

my husband is so good though, he sits up and holds him for hours at night so he sleeps and i try and get some rest.

i will keep coming here for help, i hope thats ok?

[Mahjong]

Of course! That's what we are here for :)

Some days and nights, the only way we all got sleep was when DS and I slept belly to belly. He was warm, safe and secure and could hear my heart beating.
Got us through the tough sleep routine of a newborn LOL!

Make sure you look after yourself and your hubby too. We tend to forgot about our own wellbeing during this time. I know we did, somedays we went days without showering or eating a proper meal!

[charliebaby]

You are doing really well - don't get too wound up because it can all change in the blink of an eye. My DS is 8 weeks and I remember the first 3 weeks being really hard with feeding and sleeping. He wouldn't sleep much and I was worried that he was in pain or something because he kept crying.
I tried a velcro swaddle (wrap) and that worked for us. I think we started it at about 4 weeks but I would have loved it sooner. He now associates it with sleep and doesn't mind at all being swaddled up. For night time feeds, I don't unswaddle him unless I have to change a pooey nappy.

I hope that helps - keep smiling, you are doing great! (and don't worry about crying, I did HEAPS of crying!!!). :hugs:

[SilverStarfish]

Congratulations on your baby!!

Like someone said earlier... babies don't come with instruction manuals - and not to mention the hormone rollercoaster your body is on at the moment!!

You sound like you are doing a fabulous job :yes:

Do you have a baby sling? You might find that your baby sleeps longer than 45 minutes if you are wearing him close. He is comforted by your movements and you have 2 free hands to get on with your day.

There are loads of different slings out there. I'm a huge "Hugabub" fan. Google it, they have a website.