Anyone have an answer...?

[Rozixy]

I have a 14 week old DS who will only sleep during the day while being held (I have a carrier he sleeps in) and is breastfed to sleep at night. As soon as I put him down in his cot he starts crying or if I put down already asleep he wakes up. Has anyone else who's gone through this tell me what you did? Did you have to do CC? Or did your baby get better as they got older? What age was your baby when they started to self settle? Thanks

[knomie]

Try to raise the cot mattress.
Could be silent reflux so thats why he sleeps while you holding him as he isn't flat on his back? ?

mummy to gods gift to us

[Rose&Aurelia]

trying warming up the bed/cot with a heat pack so its not so cold (after your warm arms) and do you use flannel sheets?

bub is probably getting woken up by the change in temp.

[HopefulK]

I went to the mother baby unit (residential stay for 5 nights) at the hospital where I had DD first when she was 8 weeks, then 3.5 months old. They taught us all about sleepy signs and baby-led routines. My baby is also a light sleeper and we had exactly the same issues that you describe.

Essentially at 14 weeks you can leave them for a few minutes of grizzling & crying, however they don't advocate the whole cc thing and are totally against Tizzie hall! The approach was to put her to bed as soon as she showed sleepy signs (yawning, grizzling, etc), then say a few nice words of comfort, tuck them in (swaddle, dummy, comfort blankie etc if your baby likes it), and leave the room. Wait for 2-3 mins if they start crying, if it's only a grizzle wait and see before going in. Then go in, comfort for a minute, then out again to see if they can settle down to sleep. Next time wait 5 mins, and go in at 5 minute intervals after that. If you've tried for 30 mins with no luck, get baby up for a cuddle and try again in 15 mins or so. Repeat process.

It's best to start in the daytime and make sure everyone in your home is on board! I got my mum to come in and talk to the nurses so she knows what to do as well, as she looks after dd once a week. Consistency is key. Took us about 5 days of using this approach to get to the point where she pretty much goes straight to sleep for day naps, and only needs 1-2 re-settles during the night time.

Also make sure bub is healthy and well before starting. If they get sick all bets are off; they need lots of cuddles when unwell. :-)

[jordansmumma]

I have had exactly the same probs with my ds. My first ds was a great sleeper so this one was a real shock! Basically I tried everything including cc which didn't really work. My main reason for answering your post is to let you know it does get easier! Now 7 months ds sleeps 1 -hrs during the day and only wakes up 2-3 times a night (1 if I'm lucky!) and will often self settle fir day naps, so hang in there!!

[jazzybaby]

I agree with hopefulk. My dd went to sleepschool at 7 mths and we did the same process. She is now nearly 3 and we've had zero problems. Consistency is the key. You need to send a clear msg to bubs about sleep! We were also told that babies puck up habits very very quickly. So your bubs has probably also gotten used to sleeping on you. You need to 're-train' bubs and teach him that bed is where he needs to sleep. A new habit will only take a few days (or less).
We had sleep cues which helped as well. A sleeping bag snd bed toy.

[Bunny Lover]

Hi, my DS is 7 months next week - he is my first and we got in the terrible habit of letting him snooze in a swing and would often fall asleep while feeding. We used to put him down when he was already asleep. I personally found it difficult to go through the crying etc but he got in the swing of it in about 5 days also. We started swaddling again, and put him down in his cot. We use sleep cues which he now associates eith sleep such as light music (he has a fisher price seahorse) and his swaddle. Usually when I put him in now he instantly glazes over and falls asleep within a couple of mins with minimal grizzling. The key is consistency and over time the length of time he cries should lessen. I did the hands on settling thing and picked him up when he became very upset. I then calmed him and put him back down when he was calm.

[Opinionated]

Sounds like your first baby. See if you can get into sleep school. In the meantime, learn about sleep signs that your baby gives you. I am guessing you are missing them and your baby overtired by the time you are putting them into bed. They really need to go down awake. HopefulK offered similar advice to what I would suggest.

[Bunny Lover]

I totally agree with everyone who has posted and forgot to mention I my post - picking up on sleep signs is important - when i see them DS is pretty much straight to bed. His cues are running his eyes, yawning, grizzling and jerky arm movements.

[Rozixy]

Thanks everyone for your answers. I see the tired cues & put him in the carrier & he goes to sleep easily. The few times I missed the cues it is much harder. I tried for 3 days to get him to sleep in his cot during the day but he just screams, and I let him cry for a few mins & then pick him up & comfort him, & then back in his cot again, this goes on for an hour & then I give up & put him in the carrier. He usually sleeps quite well at night, from 8-7 with one wake for a feed, but the 3 days when I was trying to get him to sleep in his cot, he was awake a few times each night & was really cranky and crying more during the day. He's fine being put on his back on his play mat so I don't think he has reflux. I just hate the crying he really works himself up. It's not protesting, it is full on crying... Is that normal?