Newborn only sleeps when being held

[Anonymous]

My newborn (~1 week old) ONLY sleeps while being held. She was full term but small (5lbs 14 oz). I understand this behavior is quite common for newborns, but how long til she will sleep for a couple solid hours in her bassinet? I don't know how me and my partner are going to get any sleep if this continues

[Anonymous]

She is so young! Being held reminds them of being in the womb. Some are more sensitive than others. Try a super tight swaddle and lots of white noise when in bassinet. But in the mean time, keep holding her if that’s what she needs. Too young for any worry about bad habits yet.

[Anonymous]

Keep trying! Tight swaddle, first of all. Second of all - babies have 45 minutes sleep cycles, and are at the deepest part of sleep 20 minutes in. So, your best bet is to watch carefully to see when she falls asleep, then put her down exactly 20 minutes later. You should get at least 20-25 minutes of her sleeping in the bassinet, at least most of the time. And as she gets used to it, you may be able to put her down at the 10 or 15 minute mark, and she may start connecting sleep cycles so she sleeps longer.

[Anonymous]

For my older DD, it was nearly 6 months before she would sleep more than a half hour at a time without being held. That child nearly broke me. But she had severe colic and reflux, and was just a miserable little baby.
Second DD, we could put her down in her bassinet for short naps starting around 2 weeks old, and at 9mo now, she’s a great sleeper.
Every baby is different. Tight swaddle, turn on a sound machine, lay her down in her bassinet/crib/safe spot once she’s asleep and see how it goes. Google “4th trimester”...definitely a thing for both mom and baby!

[Anonymous]

Normal. And it sucks. Swaddle the best you can. My youngest hated to be swaddled. Newborns are rough!

[Anonymous]

All babies are different, and mine is easy, but we had great success with Taking Cara Babies. I highly recommend the newborn class, which is basically 5Ss + Baby Whisperer.

It helped us to “rock” the bassinet (basically jiggle it) after putting her down drowsy but awake, with tight swaddle and white noise, after rocking to get her almost there.

[Anonymous]

The first few weeks - you and partner take shifts. So one sleeps three hours and the other holds baby. Then when baby needs to feed, switch shifts, then repeat. I watched all of Mad Men and finished many other series that way.

At about 2-3 weeks, tight swaddle, shhhh, rock or walk and out down. Get about an hour sleep

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The first few weeks - you and partner take shifts. So one sleeps three hours and the other holds baby. Then when baby needs to feed, switch shifts, then repeat. I watched all of Mad Men and finished many other series that way.

At about 2-3 weeks, tight swaddle, shhhh, rock or walk and out down. Get about an hour sleep

This (except I watched Miss Sherlock). Feed the baby, hand the baby to your partner, immediately go to sleep. Partner returns her when she’s hungry and they immediately go to sleep. Do Happiest Baby, introduce pacifier as long as breastfeeding is going ok (our pediatrician says nipple confusion isn’t real) and find a swaddle you like (sleepea is my favorite but they’re expensive)

[Anonymous]

There is a reason people make big buck writing books about babies and sleep.

[Anonymous]

Swaddle + SNOO helped us

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you all! She wriggles her hands/arms out of every swaddle we attempt. Is a swaddle still helpful if her hands and arms are outside it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you all! She wriggles her hands/arms out of every swaddle we attempt. Is a swaddle still helpful if her hands and arms are outside it?

A newborn? You're not swaddling tightly enough. Are you just using a blanket swaddle like they showed you in the hospital? Eff that. Get yourself some velcro swaddles (we used SwaddleMe), and swaddle them up twice as tight as you think you should.

Not swaddling tightly enough is SUCH a common first time parent issue.

[Anonymous]

My newborn was already basically rolling at birth, so I couldn't safely swaddle him at night (perhaps I could have with a Snoo...) We just stayed consistent with putting him down in the bassinet first, and then picking him up when he started to cry. It gradually went from sleeping only a few minutes, then a few hours, and eventually the whole night. Just keep at it. He was also super gassy, and being flat on his back made it worse (the loudest farts I've ever heard.) Gas drops really helped ease this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you all! She wriggles her hands/arms out of every swaddle we attempt. Is a swaddle still helpful if her hands and arms are outside it?

A newborn? You're not swaddling tightly enough. Are you just using a blanket swaddle like they showed you in the hospital? Eff that. Get yourself some velcro swaddles (we used SwaddleMe), and swaddle them up twice as tight as you think you should.

Not swaddling tightly enough is SUCH a common first time parent issue.

+1

You are stronger than she is! Velcro her arms down for her - it will calm her. Her limbs scare her now when they flail but she can’t help it.

[Anonymous]

Normal. Maybe 2 months?