Hi Bees! My LO is 2 weeks old (
What can we do to get him to sleep anywhere else, or is this normal? He’s also small (6 lb 13 oz at his last checkup a few days ago), so I feel like the bassinet is too big for him, but maybe I’m grasping at straws....
GOLD / eggplant / 11517 posts
Are you swaddling?
The only place my LO liked at the beginning besides us was anything that would "cup" or cradle her pretty tightly. So a curved bouncy/vibrating seat or a curved seat on a swing. It had to move/rock/vibrate.
Leaving her to just lay on a flat surface was a big no go.
cantaloupe / 6086 posts
Is he swaddled? That helped mine a lot in the first couple months. So many choices but I always used the miracle blanket to start. This last baby loved to be swaddled and then in this: https://www.amazon.com/Leachco-Podster-Sling-Style-Infant-Lounger/dp/B003HIXOTQ
Of course only used that for daytime naps when I was around and watching. Also I ended up having her nap in the carrier a lot, all of mine did. I liked the solly when she was small, it made her so cozy. At least then your hands are free and I’m definitely a believer that if you can get better daytime sleep then you get better nighttime sleep.
And, full disclosure I’ve always done a lot of co sleeping early on. I understand if you don’t want to but if you’re desperate, read the tips for safe co sleeping. Just saying this so you know that many many bees have done it!
Good luck, this age is hard!!
pomelo / 5621 posts
When DS2 was newborn I rolled a couple small blankets and put them under his crib sheet to make him a nest in the crib. I did this after the first couple nights and it seemed to help home sleep in couple hour stretches.
grapefruit / 4466 posts
My LO would literally not sleep anywhere else but next to me. Did not matter what swaddle we tried, what bassinet we tried, just would not. We co-slept (husband slept in the living room on the couch). No blankets or pillows, and form fitting clothes for me. It was a huge turning point, before we started, I was seriously on the verge of hallucinating from sleep deprivation.
kiwi / 529 posts
Mine is 6 weeks and she was the SAME exact way and is still pretty clingy but it's getting better each week. As others have mentioned swaddling seems to help. She will not sleep on flat surfaces either but she also has reflux so that doesn't help. She definitely wouldn't fall asleep without the swaddle unless we were holding her. I agree with other bees that safe co-sleeping was the only way I got any sleep some nights. Also, we use the dock-a-tot for naps and in her bassinet without anything else except her swaddle (this is our personal choice and some may not be comfortable with it!) Hang in there mama! I'm right there with you! 
pomelo / 5257 posts
I'm so sorry! Both of mine were like this in the beginning, especially my second. I ended up letting her sleep in the bed with me, though I'd try to side-lie nurse and then move away, so she had plenty of her own space, if that makes sense. I hate to say it, but we really just had to keep trying putting her in her own space over and over. Swaddling definitely helped. I also found that she slept better in the pack and play than the Halo bassinet. If it's any consolation, she's now 12 weeks, and for at least three weeks we've now been able to get six or seven hours straight, or on a few nights even more, in the pack and play. So it was an extremely hard phase, but reasonably short-lived for us. Though now we've started going without the swaddle, which is a whole new transition... 
grapefruit / 4144 posts
@foodiebee: First of all congratulations and I have missed you! Next, my DD was the same way (not only did she have reflux but she had 2 minor hernias so she was pretty fussy and needy). She had the "okay" to side sleep (vs on her back) from her pediatrician but refused to sleep on her own (more than an hour a stretch for weeks). The doula I had worked with me to partially co-sleep (having her ON me for an hour and then, when she hit deep sleep, move her to her "safe sleep space.") It worked fairly well but by 5 mos, my DD was a light sleeper and too smart. At the time, DH was deployed so I purchased side rails for my king-side bed and allowed her to dictate our sleep. She was singularly wrapped and I used a sheet. I had a pillow and T cuddled into the crook of my arm. (I am a super-still light sleeper.) My daughter's pediatrician was amazing and supportive of this choice. T, at 11 mos, dictated that she needed her own "space" when she began trying to "peel" my eyes open when she woke and would look for her toys. I was able to [nearly] seamlessly move her into her crib then... a month before her dad came back.
Moral of the story: It DOES get easier with time.
Also, if you ever need anything, please, feel free to wall me.
nectarine / 2436 posts
I have a lot of friends with newborns and we were all agreeing recently basically it's almost impossible for newborns to sleep safely. There are so few options for them to sleep well! I've never known a newborn to sleep well in a bassinet. They're so tiny in there! Rock and plays, yes! If j was in your position I would use a RnP or a Dock a Tot
We used the cuddle cove attachment thing from a pack and play, I don't even know where I got it, a garage sale I think. Swaddling and keeping the bassinet right next to my bed sort of worked when they were 2 weeks or so. At like 6 weeks we moved ds2 into a crib which was a disaster.
My mentality was basically just to suffer 8 to 10 weeks and then I knew things would get better. And they definitely do!
pomegranate / 3601 posts
Next to all the great advice above:
How are putting him down? Babies have something called the moro-reflex which kicks in when you put them down straight to their back. For us it often helped to kind of roll them to their backs over their sides. That way the reflex doesn't kick in.
kiwi / 662 posts
Belated thank you for all the advice here! Yes, we've been swaddling since day one, but not until two days ago did we try the Halo Sleep Sack, and it was a game changer for us! LO slept in the pack and play "napper" in the Halo Sack for 5 hours two nights ago and 7 hours last night!! So amazing! Knowing we weren't alone in this was so helpful for my mental health, so thank you all.
kiwi / 662 posts
@paigeface: We bought this one: https://www.buybuybaby.com/store/product/halo-reg-sleepsack-reg-circles-muslin-cotton-swaddle-in-grey/3338221
nectarine / 2436 posts
That's so great! Yeah I think that's what we kept our two babes in. Kind of like a small bassinet. Newborn sleep is hard, you're doing great!
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