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Newborn sleep habits
Added: 87 days ago.
Added by: jessicadarling
Section: Babies.
Status: This question is Closed. (Questions will be closed after 10 days.)


My daughter is 3 weeks old and will not fall asleep on her own. She always cries when laying down for too long by herself. She needs to be held or in her swing to fall asleep. If she is being held she needs to have her bum patted to fall asleep. I know she is young and I hear you can`t spoil a baby this young but how do I get her to fall asleep on her own and not become dependent on it in the future? I will accept any advice. I just don`t want to have to put her in her crib and have her cry it out.

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niki - 79 days ago Rating: 5 (1 votes) I have the same problem with my 6 month daughter and she was like that too a cuddley baby that loved comforted and warmth but i guess thats her - she is my cling on. do you breastfeed?

MelissaJoanne - 83 days ago Rating: 1 (1 votes) She is too young to realize that she is a separate person from you. PLEASE do not let her cry it out! There is no validity to those who say you can spoil a baby by feeding/cuddling too much, or that they will become too dependent on you. She is three weeks old, she is supposed to depend on you. Your baby needs your affection. She will not become too dependent, she will be getting exactly what she needs to be a healthy person.

lady26 - 83 days ago Rating: 5 (1 votes) New borns need to be comforted and soothed

slnkl - 86 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) i'm going through the same thing... is anything else working for you? i need advice too...so if anything works for you, let me know too.

lmo - 86 days ago Rating: 4 (1 votes) it is ok to do it now but when she gets older you can let her soothe herself by not coming in every time she cries and comforting her let her cry it will not only stregthen her lungs but it will let her know that you wont come running every time she cries

joyfulnoise - 86 days ago Rating: 4 (1 votes) The best way to train your baby into a new behavior pattern is little by little. Maybe set the swing to a lesser setting and slowly keep adjusting over a few days so it rocks a little less..less...less. Hold the baby and comfort her with as little motion as possible so she's not needing as much motion to calm down and sleep. She's only 3 weeks old so she is very trainable to get into another pattern. Good luck!

leanie093 - 86 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) your baby girl is still super young. when my son was that age OMG, it took me FOREVERRRRRRRRR to get him to sleep. He'd make this noise with his voice (still does it today) that i guess would soothe him & i would bounce him a little & he'd knock out. Once you figure out a technique that works with your daughter keep using it. There's no such thing as spoiling them now so keep on with what you're doing and as she gets older she'll sleep for longer periods and becomes more independent.

klasnaya - 86 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) She is used to be carried around and rocked inside of you...She just wants that closness. I held both my babies all the time till they reached a few months old. My daughter even slept with me till she was 5 months old cuz she cried. Then she showed sighns she didnt want to be cuddled like that anymore so i put her into her crib and never slept with me again!

stephandisaac - 86 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) Wow, that's a tough one. My first son was like that. I spent the first 5 months sleeping in the recliner with him in my arms. That was my mistake and one that I promised I wouldn't make with this little boy. Without letting him cry, it's kind of hard. I usually let him cry for a couple minutes and then go back and try to give him the binky without picking him up. It works almost everytime for me. I also have a humidifier in his room for a little bit of noise. I guess my suggestion is to try everything until something works. It's hard being a mom, but they grow up way to fast and soon you'll wish you could go back to these days. Hope you can get her settled. Remember, I've been in your shoes, so email if you need any help :)

buttons - 87 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) My son is the same,he would not sleep unless BF to sleep or held. He is now 5months and it is improving,they need time to trust you and know that they are safe so they can sleep. He just started taking a paci so now we give him a last feed let him get drowsy offer the paci and wait till he is fast asleep then shift him into the cot. A little bed we brought has been great,we snuggle him up in it next to us and then shift the whole thing into the cot and he usually stays asleep. I personaly dont believe in crying it out so I have never done that and we are all getting sleep,3 weeks is still very young and you cant spoil them let her feel loved and secure and as she grows you develop your own little routine.

caitlin h - 87 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) My baby used to do this too- and he eventually grew out of it on his own, as he matured and was able to sleep better. And by grow out of it, I mean take 30-45 min. naps on his own, in his crib, and wake up once in the night to feed. Haha! It's amazing what you begin to think is better! :) Good luck.

Baby3OnWay - 87 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) I actually went out and bought this bear that I had a few woman tell me about. When you turn it on it makes womb sounds.. like what they heard the 9 months they were inside you. You can change the volume but it gets softer and softer until it turns off after 40mins. I got it thinking ok $20 to try isn't going to break me and OMG my kids loved it and every week I set the volume at the start lower and lower until they didn't need it by 2-3 months old... Another thing I would do is try laying her in the crib during her naps without pats, swing, for about 5 mins, next time a little longer and longer before you respond... that may also work. Shes still young though and curious and maybe since she can't get around to see whats going on she likes someone to show her... enjoy her through all of this though cause they grow up WAY too fast. I wish you all the best!

Carlys-momma - 87 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) It makes sense for her to be comforted by her swing. If you think about it, you did nothing but hold your baby and rock her for 9 months. She could listen to mommy's voice and was always warm. A good way to get her ready for bed is to bathe her (water soothes a lot of baby's again because she was in water for 9 months). If at all possible, do this at about the same time every night. Right after that, swaddle her up TIGHT like other moms have suggested. Even though she may wiggle and squirm, most babies are comforted by being held tightly. Then if you want to lay her in her swing, or hold her it's up to you. I completely understand you not wanting to let her cry it out. It's really hard to just let your baby cry and not rush to her. But remember, this is your baby! YOU know what's best for her better than anyone. Trust your instincts.

mtnwoman - 87 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) Swaddle! Be sure that your little one is swaddled up tight. Every baby is different but I haven't heard negative feedback on swaddling. She, just like you, is going through separtation issues. Just be patient and love on her as much as possible! My bassinet also has "calming vibrations" that seem to work, and I know they say not to put stuffed animals in with the baby, but we would put a teddy bear in there that makes "in the womb" sounds. He really liked that and we didn't have to use it too long before he learned his routine. Hope this helps!

Mommyof2boys - 87 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) Its still good to comfort her right now because she's so young, around 2/3mos start a bed time routine with a warm bath and a book and then lay her down when she's still awake, it will take a few days and she will cry but before long she'll learn to fall asleep on her own. At 3 weeks she's still really young and needs that comfort and being held and patted to fall asleep.

mommy-of-3 - 87 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) Try a "bedtime routine". I used to do the same thing every night with my son until he began to get used to the routine and suddenly it was taking him less and less time to go to sleep. What I did was get him a nice warm bottle, turn down the lights in the house, keep the noise to a minimum and once he finished eating I gave him a warm bath with that lavender baby bath. Then I would hold him for a little while and lay him in his crib. At first he did cry, but after about a week of doing the same thing every night his crying spans became much shorter.

vikki - 87 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) I had the same thing with one of mine. It turned out that she had "silent reflux". So it was actually less painful being held upright. Once she was on Zantac for babies, she was great!. I would get your dr maybe to have a look at her. There is no panic with this, don't be alarmed, its easily treated and they useually grow out of it. Give that a go and see. I waited 7wks because I didn't know what was going on ( and she was my 6th!). None of my others had it.However, she could just like being with Mummy! :-)Either way, it's better to rule things out. Let me know how you go. good luck. :-)

colej - 87 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) Hi- I'm not an expert but my daughter is 13 months old now, but try putting her in her crib when she is still awake. Or just after she eats so she is sleeping on a full stomach. Every child is different. Good luck and catch some zzzz's!