Sleeping on His Own

My son was the same way, and he just had to grow out of it. I spent a lot of time sleeping with him on me; in bed, in a chair, on the couch...it was really really hard. He never took to the bassinet, but would sleep in a carseat. Now he will sleep in his crib (he's 4 1/2 months) and just about anywhere. Good luck!

I have to tell you about something that helped me and my new mom friends tremendously. The Miracle Blanket- I think the best swaddling concept ever. Many times what wakes infants up is the uncontrollable jerking and flailing of their limbs. Even though we swaddle them tightly in a receiving blanket, an arm inevitably breaks free and this reaction frightens them and they awake after 20min. or so of sleep. It is well worth a try. They have a web site www.miracleblanket.com Good luck!

Is there any reason why he needs to be sleeping in a crib? Can you try to "wear" him rather than trying to put him down? My daughter gave us tons of stress because she wouldn't stay sleeping for long once she was put down. With my son (he's 5 months old), I took the approach of keeping him happy, no matter what, and I wore him in a baby bjorn a lot. He would happily take naps in there and I could do what I needed to do around the house while wearing him. There are a lot of other kids of carriers/wraps too. I'd suggest going to a specialty baby store and trying out some of the options. I tell everyone that wearing my son was a lifesaver! We've had a much happer newborn/infant period because of it!

I don't know if this will help at all but my son would NOT sleep in the bassinet at all. He also did not like being swaddled. When his arm would hit the side of the bassinet he would get very upset. We had an old type bassinet that my husband, his brother, his Dad, aunt, uncle, and Grandfather all slept in (so it was small) and my son was big. My mother had a crib (I think it used to be called an infant crib) that all of my siblings and I slept in....it was not as big as a "regular" crib, and not as small as a bassinet. My son slept GREAT in it. We also did classical music and many times would either rock him to sleep or put him in his swing and let him sleep. Like I said I don't know if it helps, but I do wish you luck in getting some sleep yourself!

You said that when you swaddle him, he falls asleep fine. Have you tried swaddling him tight in a receiving blanket and putting him to sleep like that? That was the only way my son would sleep until he was about 4 months old. It was so comforting to him, he slept great. At Target, they sell things to wrap them up in to swaddle, but my son was very small too, and it was still to big for him at like 3 months old. He would sleep anywhere if swaddled, so maybe try that if you haven't been leaving him that way already. Have you tried a boucer at all? My son had some nights that he wouldn't sleep unless he was in his bouncer, and swaddled. But then he would sleep great. We also had a bouncer that plays relaxing music, lightly vibrates, and has a back massager, and I think those things helped him too (mostly the vibrating). Does your bassinet have a vibrate option? My son loved that, and my mom actually broke the thing out of it trying to take it out, so I just set it in there with him on low, and could put it on my bed near him, or anywhere he was laying, and it soothed him a lot. I don't know if these are things you have already tried... but I hope it helps some! Good luck!

Do you have a boppy pillow? If you do lay him in that and see if maybe that works. I know it works with my 5 month nephew. It's worth a shot.

"Kangaroo care" is extremely important for premies. What's kangaroo care? skin contact with parent/s. It is completely natural for all babies to want to be held A LOT and moreso for premies because they lost out on say, 13 weeks of being held in the womb. try "wearing" your baby in a sling if you or hubby need to get things done while baby sleeps. For lay down time, there are numerous studies that show that co-sleeping/bed sharing with babies is not only perfectly safe but also extremely soothing for both parent and infant. as baby gets a little older, you may consider a 'bed-side co-sleeper' which is like a mini-crib that attaches to the side of the parents bed allowing baby to be close but not in the bed. can't remember a brand name, but you should be able to find it on target.com or amazon.com.

My son was the exact same way. What worked for us was turning on the vacuum while getting him to sleep, then lying him down with the vacuum still going. After we thought he was in a deep enough sleep we would turn it off. Sometimes we would have to turn it back on, but we eventually learned when it was safe to switch it off. Carter is almost 6 months now and we still use the vacuum when we are having a tough time.
Hope it helps!
S. D