Early Sleep Habits

If he doesn't like the bassanett any more you should put him in his crib to sleep instead of in his swing. The bassanett is probably to close quarters for him. The swing will have the same problem in a few weeks, so it would be better to put him in his crib and put up something that plays music. See if this works for a week. Let me know how he does. Hop this helps and good luck.

hi N.,

i am wondering if maybe he has some indigestion problems which is keeping his awake. Put a small blanket under his head and see what happens. that might be the answer.

hugs, L.

My son is three now and had the same problem. We found out he had a little bit of reflux. So the formula was coming back up and causing discomfort. Some things that help are proping up the basinet or crib with something to keep the head a little higher. We put towels under the front wheels on the basinet. We also ended up having to change his formula to help. If you think is more of a snuggling thing that he wants, they make something for infants that you can put in their crib that that makes them feel like they are next to someone. (I think it's called a wedge. Two sided wedge that sits right at their stomach level.) Good luck. I remember those days. It does get better.

N.,

When we first had our son he slept in a swing all the time. He seemed very fussy if he wasn't in a constant motion (swing or a bouncy seat) and that continued for awhile. I had the same concern about him forming a habbit, so at about 8-10 weeks I started putting him in a swing, wait for him to fall asleep, then turn the swing off. Then slowly I started moving him to the crib after he'd fall asleep in a swing. Then from time to time, after I noticed him forming some sort of sleeping schedule at night, I started to try to put him straight into the crib after a night-time feeding when he would doze off at the breast or a bottle. Slowly I started making sure he was a little awake, when I put him in a crib, but he knew the routine by then, so he'd fall asleep on his own. There were still times when I felt like we were going one step forward two steps back, but that was OK, because I still kept trying. His healthy sleeping habbits, and consequently mine(!), were and still are very important to me.

If you have issues with him sleeping in his own crib and would like a helpful book, I would recommend checking out a book that really helped me at one point: "Good night, sleep tight : The Sleep Lady's gentle guide to helping your child go to sleep, stay asleep, and wake up happy" by Kim West with Joanne Kenen.

Good luck! You've got nothing to worry about a 5-week old sleeping in a swing. Make him happy and get some sleep yourself! You're doing great! :)

Don't worry, when my daughter was first born, she would only sleep in her car seat!!! --think about it. For 9 months they are curled up all nice and snug in your belly and now we want them to streach out!!! He will be fine and will eventually sleep in his bassinet.

Mom of three

N.,

I suggest that you put a hot water bottle or a heating pad set on low in the baby's bassinet to warm it up a few minutes (5-10?) before you want to place the baby in it. Just be sure to remove it before placing the baby in it to sleep. This worked for me with my kids. Taking them from the warmth of being held and transferring them to cold sheets woke them back up nearly every time. Once I started warming their beds first, I was able to transfer them without waking them up.

Congrats on the new baby! I agree that it is too early to be thinking about long term sleep habits. However, while I’m sure this is the exception and not the rule I must you about a child in my son's daycare. He slept in his swing until he was 6mo or so, always with his head the same way -- this caused his head to become misshapen and he is now having to wear a helmet every day for 10h to reshape his head (important for proper brain growth). Like I said I’m sure this is the exception to the rule but please be cognizant of how you child sleeps and that you alternate which way he leans. Good LUCK!!!

Hi N.,
I am sure you have gotten plenty great advice from this. It seems like such a great resource. My son is now 6 months and hated when we would try to put him down in his crib. It tooks some time, but not even three days and he would go down in his crib. I had to read and re-read the "sleep" chapter in "Secrets of the Baby Whisper", by Tracy Hogg. Cheesy title but very helpful. Hope this helps and God bless you!

My son was the same way For the first 3months of his life he slept in the swing with me on the couch next to him. During the 3rd month I started putting him in his crib for occasional naps. I would rock him or let him fall asleep in the swing then move him to his crib. When he hit 3months I went back to work and he was sleeping in his crib. He never would sleep in his bassinet, and we paid alot for the one that has the mobile and vibration and lights and music. My son is now 17months old and is sleeping in a toddler bed. hope this helped
H.

I'll just reiterate what others have said and I know to be true.

Don't worry about forming bad habits the 1st 3 months.

Swaddle, swaddle, swaddle.

There is no such thing as a schedule until at least 3 months.

Do what works until it doesn't anymore! And believe me when I say as soon as you're comfortable with what DOES work, the baby will dictate a new, more complicated way of doing things. :)

I'm sure you're doing a great job, so keep it up!

A.

Dr. Harvey Karp's book, The Happiest Baby on the Block really helped us, especially with baby #3 (always learning)! There is a DVD, which is even easier. I know you can get it through the Chesapeake Library. Great ideas for helping your baby to sleep. Especially swaddling & white noise. Dr. Karp is great!

At 5weeks old, I wouldn't worry about bad sleep habits. It's common for babies this age to sleep on a swing if that's what soothes them.

Consider yourself to be lucky... my daughter never liked the swing, or the bassinet. Her dad and I were her swing!

~L.
www.accesspilates.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/businesssavvymoms/

There could be two issues. One could be the head elevation. Stack a wrapped blanked under the mattress (if you can) to elevate the head slightly. Perhaps your baby has a touch of reflux or just likes to be a little elevated. This is what the doctor instructed us to do. That might help.

I had that problem with my now 3 year old. We finally figured out that she needed noise. A fan in the room works great. Any kind of white noise. I even ended up buying a CD of fan noise just so it wouldn't get cold in her room with all the air blowing around. Hope this helps!

Congrats on being a new mommy. I had my first baby 5 months ago. I highly recommend swaddling. We have swaddled our son from the time he was 2 weeks old and we still do it. Our son only woke up one time a night to be fed and then started sleeping through the night at six weeks. Boppy makes a great swaddle for newborns, then when he outgrew that we used the Miracle Blanket, and now we use a Swaddle Me blanket. I think you can get all of these on Amazon.com. We also love the swing. My son still takes an occasionaly nap in it. I wouldn't worry about forming bad habits with a newborn. If you find something that works for you, and you are able to get sleep then that's great. Good luck!

My daughter is also 5 weeks old and struggles with sleeping on her own. She doesn't like her swing yet, but I just rock her (like her swing does) until she's in a deep sleep and then put her in her crib. She's been doing better and better, but she still wants to be rocked for a long period of time some nights. I've also put her in her crib for just a few minutes at different times when she's happy so that she knows it's a "comfort place" and won't get stressed when she's in there. Also, I'll talk to her while she's in there and sing to her (but not every time) so that she knows that being in her crib doesn't mean that mommy isn't anywhere around. It worked for my son after a month (he's almost 3 now), but of course each kid is different!

There is no one way to get your baby to sleep and stay alsleep through the night.

There is however, the way that works for you and your family.

My first child was a car seat sleeper. I can't remember when she went to the crib, but there wasn't a big problem that I remember. My second liked the foam positioner until she was able to roll over it at around 6 mos. Then she went with just the flat crib with no problem. My third is in the swing right now. I just started turning the swing off this week, so she could transition without needing the constant motion. So far, so good. Still sleeping through the morning. And that by far, is what is most important to me.

What I remember the most, is that each one was sleeping through the night (8 - 10 hours) by 8 weeks old. I love my sleep and am a much better person for it.

You need to find what works for you and your husband. Also remember, just because this works now -- doesn't mean that you can't change it later to something else that works for you then.

Congratulations and welcome to motherhood!

One thing you'll learn is there really are no rules when it comes to parenting. You do what works. Both of my kids did all of their sleeping in their swing for both naps and bedtime until they were 4-5 months old. They slept better and longer and weaning them from it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought.

Good luck!

K. - stay at home mom of 2 boys, 5 and 2

Read Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child. At 5 weeks of age, you basically need to do whatever helps them sleep. They are fussy at this point b/c there are a lot of hormonal changes going on for them. You aren't going to start any bad habits as far as sleep goes until about 12 weeks and later. So, I would do whatever works, and not be too rigid with your little guy. He is only 5 weeks. Try again in a couple weeks, and see if things change.

From my own experience, for the first 8 weeks you can pretty much forget about establishing any kind of schedule :) None of my kids liked being in the bassinet or the pack & play, so we just put them directly into the crib. My last baby, however, had reflux and could not sleep laying down and as soon as we put her on Zantac, she was like a new, happy baby! I'd make sure nothing is making your baby uncomfortable while laying flat and then try the crib for naps first, then all night. Good luck!

Five weeks old is VERY early to have any sort of regular sleep pattern. Please give your baby the comfort and security he needs to know that he has from you. Continue to hold him, snuggle with him, sleep with him as much as possible. These days are SHORT, though they seem long while you're in the midst of them. He will eventually learn to sleep through the night, but not on your schedule. It's cruel to let a baby "cry it out" because then he learns that you are not there to meet his needs. Yes, it's a cruel world, and he needs to learn to handle it on his own, but not until he's much older. At this stage, he just needs to be coddled and loved completely so that he knows that YOU are his security and comfort and that YOU are the reliable one for him.

Good luck.

Hi, N.. My twin daughters had a hard time sleeping in a "bed." We would put them in the pack-n-play or swing for naps and then they slept in their car seats (which we put in their crib) at night. They both transitioned to the crib very well once they outgrew sleeping in the car seats. Don't worry, it is not permanent.

N.,
No worries. Nothing is permanent at this early stage. I'm a mother of 3. Each slept in bouncy seat, swing and carseat until 5-6 months. My youngest is 5 months and he has only transitioned into a crib for naps during the day. For the night he's in his bouncy seat.

Good luck and congratulations.

Congratulations! Have you read, "Happiest Baby on the Block"? It's about swaddling techniques. My son LOVED to be swaddled until he was 3 months old. He wouldn't sleep any other way...it makes them feel safe all bundled up like that like they're in the womb again. I hope it works for you! :)
~A.~
www.toffeecreations.net

Read the book On Becoming Babywise. This book was recommended to me when I was pregnant and it was the best thing I have ever read as far as implementing healthy sleep habits. I used it on my son when he was eight weeks old and first started sleeping in his crib. It only took a few days and from then on all I had to do was put him down, say, "I love you," turn his music on and leave the room. He has slept like that ever since and he is now five years old. Good luck!

Hi N.,

What kind of trouble is the baby having? Is he being breast fed? Does he have gas?

Try to find out what the problem is and correct it. You are right about getting in the habit of putting him in a swing. How much are you holding the baby?

Your pediatrician and his nurse are excellent resources for you to call and ask questions. All your questions are important. This is how you will gain experience.

Good luck. D.