My son is 6 weeks old and I am worried that I have alraedy started bad sleeping habits for him. Since he was born he has not liked sleeping in his bassinet and wakes up very shortly after I lay him down. Then he is wide awake and I have trouble getting him to fall back asleep. Because of this up and down pattern I have let him sleep on my chest most nights just so we both could get some sleep. I want to get him into some sort of routine now and be able to put him down without him immediately waking up. I need advice on how to do this, and how to break the bad cycle I have started. Is it too late? ↓
No it's not too late. Does he move and startle himself when he is in the bassinet? I know someone who had her son sleep on his belly ( I know it's not recommended) because he would move, startle himself and then be awake. ↑
Yeah he does startle himself quite frequently. I am wondering if my house may be kept too cold for him to be comfortable sleeping. Today I had him out at a birthday party and he slept the entire time we were out there and it was pretty hot, then the minute we got into the car in the air conditioning he woke right up. I'm going to try the bassinet tonight again, hopefully tonight we'll have more luck. ↑
my mother inlaw did exactly the same thing as you. my brother inlaw was her 1st born baby. she let him sleep on her chest and he got used to it and wouldnt sleep any where else! it was really bad for her cos at that time she lived in vietnam and no one used disposable nappies, so she had to lay still while he sleeps and cop all his piss and poo!
both of my kids have slept with me from birth. only my 20mth old son is really attached. he has to sleep on my arms, or being hug or else he wont go to sleep. i have a newborn rigth now and is practicing him to sleep in his cradle. i think i would of put him in my bed with me if it wasnt for the fact that my 20mth old son is already in our bed with my 4yr daughter as well!
my olderst son who is now 12yrs old also slept with us until he was 6yrs old, after that we moved him into his own room and bed, he did that with no problems at all but still we regularly had him sleeping on our bedroom floor until he was 11yrs!! now he prefers to sleep out in the living room on the lounge chair. ↑
6 weeks old is really young and I feel it is absolutely normal and benefitial for your baby to sleep with you. If you do a bit of research, you will find that the helath benefits for babies who sleep with thier mothers are unbeleivable and right now, a baby is not learning bad habits, they are just asking for what they instinctually need. My daughter slept on my chest for 2 weeks, then in her bassinet for 6 weeks, then in her crib till 6 months and now she sleeps with us. I have always gone with what she needed at the time...my advice it to give you son all the warmth and affection he needs...it's a beautiful thing : ) ↑
Cathy I do agree with you but I am really paranoid about myself falling into a deep sleep and rolling on the baby or something. I know my fiance is crazy in his sleep and is all over the place too so I have been camped out on the couch with the baby and it's really taking a toll on my back as well. I would love to just get a co-sleeper and have him sleep with us, but I have heard way too many horror stories and I am too scared to fall asleep. Last night I tried putting him in a sleep sack, the pajamas with the zipper on the bottom and he seemed to startle less with that. He slept in his bouncy chair which is a better than on my chest. So hopefully we will get into the bassinet by the end of the week. Thanks for the advice everyone. ↑
Have you tried swaddling him? I'm just guessing but it sounds like he's just not comfortable. Have you heard of the five S's? You could try those out. Swaddle him up really tight (I don't think the sleep sacks would hold him tight enough for him to get a good sleep), let him sleep in his swing (or bouncy chair, assuming yours is like the one I have you have to jiggle him around in it a little bit), give him a pacifier, or even play him some static on the radio. You can do one, or all of these things at the same time if he's really hard to handle. And if he's still not doing well, you can rock him to sleep and quickly put him into the swing to try to trick him into thinking you're still there with him. If none of that works I have no advice for you :) ↑
Amanda, he absolutely hates being swaddled. And also he gets extremely hot, and that has been known to be a factor in SIDS cases. So, he is pretty comfy in his bouncy chair and I've let him sleep in there recently. ↑
Really? That's weird. Maybe just stick to the sleep sack then... and have the air conditioning on. I know where I live it gets rrreally hot so I have to have the ac blowing full blast or she'll start crying. I actually have two air conditioners in her room because one just doesn't seem to cut it. ↑
just another SIDS note- some new research is showing that it has to do with seratonin levels. Not to say that you shouldn't follow doctors orders or anything though. Just thought it was interesting. Gabby - my dd hated being swaddled as well - or so we thought. She would fight it at first but we eventually got her to like it and would just swaddle her arms, let her legs be free. We'd tuck the blanket under her back and have her sleep on a slightly elevated wedge-pillow thing that kind of kept her all snuggled up. BabiesRus has these light weight stretchy waffle blankets that are really good for this time of the year too. I LOOOOVE mine. I couldn't handle my dd sleeping in my bed with me - not enough room for ME and I could never sleep. She would sleep on my chest once a while early on but that was about it. ↑
