New Mommy Need Advice!

My advice would be to put him in the bassinet or crib, (whichever you prefer for him to sleep in at night) for his nap times. I think it helps them to sleep in the same place for naps and bedtime.

My third baby loved the swing. I let her sleep there. To me it didn't matter as long as she got the rest she needed. If she didn't like or want the swing then believe me, she'd let me know. I think she truly found the movement relaxing to her. She moved on to her crib a few months later but she loved her swing. She is now 2.5 and loves to be rocked at night.

K., Congratulations, you're doing great!
My only advise is for to place the baby on
the crib during the day, don't leave him
too long on the swing seat, just so he can
get use to sleep on his own bed!! The swing
seat might feel as if someone is couddling him
but he is growing and his bones are developing
rapidly. Is my personal opinion that a crib
is a better place for him to rest.....and by
nightfall he'd be ready for his crib.
My newborns loved to be tightly bundle
like a "burrito", they seem to sleep longer
during the night too this way. Give it a try!

I hope this helps

<>< Esme

"He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers
the lambs in his arms and carries them close to
his heart: He gently leads those that have young"
Isaiah 40:11

I know it's hard to read a book when you are so tired! I remember. But an awesome book for you right now is Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child. Also the Baby Whisperer is great. I was in your shoes when my son was brand new and I read those books and found them EXTREMELY helpful. I wished I had read them before he was born. but you can get the exact info you need from them. Good luck! Stephanie

When my son was a newborn he had the hardest time sleeping in his crib, even if he was swaddled super tight. He slept amazingly in his swing or if someone was holding him. After a couple of weeks of no sleep at night I let him sleep in his car seat and he slept so well. At first I felt bad about him sleeping in his car seat, but he was fine and it allowed me to get some sleep. I just put his car seat next to my bed and it worked for probably the first month, but then he started getting too big. After that I started letting him sleep in bed with me, which was a mistake because it took forever to transition him to his own room. Even now, at 6 years old, he still has trouble sleeping by himself at times.

I think the crib would be fine,but the bassinet attachment seems o.k. too, and if he wakes up every two hours check to see if he is too hot or cold, he may just need a cover up and patted a bit. And as for the noise , this is normal, he is o.k. and as long as he isn't crying & hungry, try to go back to sleep, as he is fine. I had one baby that was quite a (squeeker) I called it. He made all sorts of noises, but didn't cry but would do that quite awhile and the others never did that. If he is only a week old, I doubt that his sleep schedule is actually a schedule yet. Good luck , & try to take a nap in the day time when he is sleeping, you need the rest to be able to keep up.

He still has his nights and days mixed up. That will take a little while to adjust. From day one I put my son in his crib to sleep at night and found that 3 years later he never crawls out of bed after I put him down and is really good about going right to sleep. He know it is bed time once I put him in his bed. Of course now he's been in a twin bed for over a year. It takes time and a lot of patience. He didn't start sleeping through the night till he was between 4 and 6 months old. Try cereal in his bottle at night but remember to cut the nipple open a little so it won't clog up. That should keep his belly full a little longer.

Like another momma suggested, I too recommend the Happiest Baby on the Block. However, I suggest purchasing the DVD so you can actually see Dr. Karps's techniques and its a really quick watch (versus a quick read!). This SAVED us! Good luck and Congrats!

My son slept in his "papasan" swing at night for many weeks. It worked for us!

I disagree that you should wake a baby up to eat. I was told that if the baby is healthy, just let them sleep. He's so new, he doesn't know what he's doing yet. Just try to sleep as much during the day as you can. I know you want showers and things, but sleep is really what you need right now, so get it where you can! This phase goes by SO fast, you're going to blink and wonder what happened!
Congrats! Sounds like you're doing an amazing job!

As someone else mentioned, try swaddling. If you do not have this book, go buy it now!!! "Happiest Baby On The Block" by Harvey Karp. It shows you exactly how to swaddle, and will also ease your mind & let you know that your baby is normal!

It is totally normal for a newborn to have days/nights confused. In utero, they are sleeping more during the day because your constant movement lulls them to sleep, and when you slept and were still for long periods of time, the baby was awake. Your baby will naturally transition over to regular days and nights, and the only thing you can do to help is to make sure he gets plenty of natural light during the day. This is the brains cue that it is time to be awake. Don't worry, it will change!
The only other piece of advice I have is from the book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. The author says that sleep that occurs during movement is not as restful as sleep lying still. He basically says not to use the swing, carseat, or stroller unless absolutly necessary for sleep. Hope this helps!

Sounds normal. My son didn't like to sleep flat on his back either, and since I was terrified of sids I didn't mind. At first we put him in his car seat, then we got a little seat that was designed for sleep, it just kept him inclined. We just sat it in the bassinet and he did great. However, when he was about 5 months and we got ready to move him to his bed, it was SO hard, because he was used to sleeping inclined. It took us quite a while to adjust to the bed. I say let them be inclined, for your peace of mind and his rest! And congrats on the new baby, they are amazing!!!!!

What you wrote sounds normal for a 1 week old baby. A lot of times newborns have their days and nights confused for the first several weeks. You might want to try waking him a bit more during the day (4 hours to go without food for a newborn is too long I was told), which might make him a bit more tired at night. But, in general, new babies typically need to eat every 2-3 hours around the clock, so if he is waking up at night to eat that is normal. And the noises are normal too -my son was a VERY loud sleeper with all his grunts and sounds, and we ended up moving the bassinet to the dining room, just so I wouldn't wake up at every sound. There's no harm in putting him in his crib now, but I also don't think there would be anything wrong with using the swing, car seat, or bouncer seat for a while, since sometimes it helps babies to be in a non-flat position. Just keep in mind that the longer you use something like that, the harder it will be to transition to his crib later. My son napped in the swing for 5 months, and it was tough to train him to nap in his crib.

Good luck and congratulations! It can be quite overwhelming and exhausting in the beginning, but it goes fast and is totally worth it!

Hi K. - Congrats on the new baby!!
I am also a first time mom, my son is now 4 months old and still not sleeping through the night so trust me i feel your pain! i think the first 2 weeks were the hardest to get adjusted to. I found that by keeping him up as often as you can during the day, the better he sleeps at night. So during the day, if he eats and the automatically goes to sleep, instead of putting him in the swing to keep him sleep for 4 hours, maybe try laying him on the sofa on his back and letting him fall/stay asleep on his own. (i found that i could sit on the sofa or bed with him up against my leg - usually rocking it - and i could get the clothes folded, watch television, get a quick nap or anything involving rest without holding him) then throughout the night, try and keep as few lights on as possible! you kinda have to get him on a different day/night schedule. Babies make their own schedules, but it IS possible to adjust it a litte. good luck!

I agree that it sounds like he has his days and nights confused. My DD was the same way. We were so exhausted during the day, after so little sleep at night, we'd just be happy for her to sleep whenever, wherever. However, our turning point came when my cousin came to stay for a week (her DD is 2 years older than mine). She immediately said, we need to get this kid on track! She consciously keep our DD awake more in the day--playing with her, tickling her, talking to her, especially in the evenings. Obviously she still slept a lot in the day, but the goal was to have her awake as much in the day as she had been at night. Bingo! My DD, at 6 weeks, slept for 6 straight hours at night! Not all the time, mind you, but started to often go 4 hours at night w/o feeding, then would eat every 2-3 during the day: that's the schedule you want, and exactly the opposite of what you have now. So if you can bear it, try to keep him up a little more in the day, or call in reinforcements if you have to. You should have things straightened out in a few days. good luck!

Sounds like he totally has his days and nights mixed up. My daughter is 2 1/2 mos. old and I'm just now starting to get her to where she will sleep the longer stretches at night, rather than during the day. I bought a basinet for both my son and my daughter. My son was a big baby, and after 2 mos. of no sleep I thought well lets try the crib, the first night he slept in his crib he slept all night long. I think he hated the basinet. My daughter didn't even sleep one full day in the basinet, she hated it too. Total waste of money for me, luckily I didn't spend that much on it. It wouldn't hurt him to put him in his crib. They say don't wake a sleeping baby either, but at some point you have to try and get them on a normal sleep pattern. I would give it at least another month, and maybe he'll work it out and realize that at night time is when he needs to sleep more. With my daughter during the day, she sleeps in her swing, bouncy seat, or on the couch. I do this so that it's not quiet and not dark. She quit sleeping nearly as long, then at night time I would keep the lights dim when she eats, so that she would get used to day and night. It seems to have helped. Although with a 2 year old, 12 year old and 8 year old running around, she has to learn to sleep through all the chaos all the time.
Good luck with everything and congratulations on your new baby. You'll get him figured out one day, then when you have number 2 you'll think oh I did this once I know what to do and what not to do the second time around; and of course they will be complete opposites.

At a week old, your baby needs to eat every 2 or 3 hours, so you should expect him to wake up that often. If he sleeps 4 hours, don't worry, you don't have to wake him up. Mine would usually stay up for an hour or longer because it usually took her that long to finish a bottle. I know it's hard but it will pass quickly, every week gets easier. Babies do not sleep as deeply in a swing as they do in a crib or bassinet. I would limit his sleep time in the swing as he gets older, but for now, do whatever it takes to get him to sleep. You can worry about sleep training a little later. If you're not swaddling, you should try it.
Good luck and hang in there; it will get easier!

One week is too early to try to impose a schedule on the baby. Wait til he is at least two weeks, then start trying to keep him up a little more each time he eats during the day. Do whatever it takes; gently shake his arm, play with him, talk to him, whatever you can to keep him awake after he eats during the day time. Start with trying to keep him up 5 minutes, then ten minutes, etc. Wait another week or two before trying to put him on an eating schedule during the day; start with goal of eating every three hours (but don't make him suffer; if he's hungry, feed him). Start with whatever his feeding time is, then try to stretch it by 5 to 15 minutes longer each time. Try to get more food in him during those feedings so he can gradually learn to eat more. Don't feed him cereal in milk this early! Talk to your doctor about that; putting cereal or rice in milk before babies can digest it has been linked with the development of diabetes. My best friend was the Fisher Price Aquarium bouncy chair. I sometimes let my children go to sleep in it; it vibrates and you can gently rock it, but it's not the same as being in your lap. But definitely swaddle him tightly; makes them feel more secure. You need to sleep while he is sleeping, whenever that is. Good luck; it only gets better!

Try swaddling him very tightly, it works miracles. Babies come from an environment where they are tightly snuggled up in the womb, when you put him in the swing he also does not have as much space to move. When you move him to the playpen you he has all the space in the world, not to mention babies have no control over their hands and feet movement. A lot of times they wake up from smacking themselves from the involuntary foot/hand movement. If you swaddle the baby then they cannot swing their arms around and they are tight and comfy like they were in the womb.

I was amazed at how well this worked for my daughter when she was an infant. My daughter was a horrible sleeper until I started to swaddle her then she slept like an angel. When she was a few months old she would be screaming, you could lay the blanket out and put her on top. The instant she knew she was about to be swaddled she would stop crying and start smiling =) I think this website will tell you how to do it
http://www.miracleblanket.com/index.htm

Good luck and hang in there