Help! Can't get my week old to sleep

[Em_S]

My daughter is just over a week old but iam really struggling to get her to sleep day or night. She is breastfed and takes to it well but falls asleep whilst feeding and once winded is awake again and the cycle is just constantly repeated. She just keeps waking up when being winded and can't fall back to sleep without going back on me and I don't know what I can do to make her sleep! She is just so tired. Iv tried a dummy but she won't take to it. Also she won't sleep unless being held and refuses to go in her Moses basket or cot and Iv tried everything including warming it up, putting my Tshirt in, waiting til she's asleep before I put her in and putting in pillows to make it smaller and she is having none of it. At my wits end

 

[k4th]

when my ds was born he was a sleepy feeder too. And he was jaundiced so he got worse before he got better. What helped a bit was changing his nappy before each feed & stripping him off to wake him up & then feed him. When he was cooler he'd stay awake longer & feed better. Also tickle the chin/back if the neck to wake lo back up. If you think wind may be causing your dd to wake, it might be worth considering something like infacol or gripe water?

Getting a better feed might be a good starting point to getting her down for a little while. Hope you both get some rest soon

 

[Button#]

I found waiting 20 minutes after they fall asleep means they're in deep sleep and can be put down. I time it on my phone. Failing that it may be worth looking at the safe co sleeping guidelines.

 

[JumpingIn]

Honestly if this was my problem I just wouldn't wind. A baby that young should be waking frequently anyway and the wind would probably come out next time

 

[spicyorange]

My baby is a, week old to and we have had a days like this. Ah the start every day was like it but I gave her some Infacol and she is happier now. Before she just couldn't lie on her back because of the wind. We try to make sure she goes in the crib during the day to so she gets used to it, but I think to a large extent it's normal go cry often and want to be cuddled.

 

[Cangaroo]

I have never winded DD2. Breastfed babies often don't need it. Safe co-sleeping was something we discovered when DD1 wouldn't settle in the Moses basket and we've never looked back. We co-slept from day 1 with DD2 and I never knew it was possible to be as well rested with a newborn as I was! I fed her in my sleep from the first night, and we both love it.

 

[captainj1]

I'd try putting back down without winding. I don't wind dd after night breast feeds. Also, are you feeding in the dark at night, with no noise/stimulation? I don't even do nappy change at night, unless poo has escaped.

 

[captainj1]

Also - my dd would only nap on me for the first 6 weeks, invest in a sling/carrier.
And try covering lo's eyes - with a muslin or something - it can help the go to and stay asleep although obviously you have to be careful and not leave them unattended.

 

[staralfur]

All pretty normal I'm afraid. Best thing I ever did for myself and my LO was accept the fact that she needed a lot of help and closeness to get to sleep (and to stay asleep) and go with it. Look into safe cosleeping, as the others have suggested, it will make your life so much easier. It's really quite common for tiny babies to not want to be in their own space and as close as possible to their mothers. They just lived inside of you for 9 months, it doesn't get much closer than that. Things are new and scary for newborns.

My LO also never took a soother, some babies are terribly unimpressed with the attempt to fake the real thing (I didn't know this until my LO was born, I thought all babies would happily take one!).

I'd say try to make the most of it - get some magazines, books, movies, whatever you want, all set up. Find a comfy chair and put a bunch of snacks and lots of water beside it. Let your LO nurse to sleep and let her sleep on you (and definitely don't worry about winding - I never did with my LO). Do you have a nursing pillow? I found that made things much more comfortable and easier for me being able to be hands-free, and occasionally I could lift the pillow off with her still sleeping on it so I could get up for a bit.

It will get easier soon, everything else can wait. Try to enjoy the cuddles and the opportunity to just... sit and be. If I could go back the one thing I would change would be to worry less about making dinner or cleaning up and just relax while I had the chance. You won't get much quiet sitting done by this time next year. Meeting the needs of a newborn can be a 24/7 job, don't be afraid to ask for help if you have people around that could help you (I used to ask my mom to come over just to hold her for a half an hour while I showered or took the dogs for a walk, or to help me with dishes) and my husband knew that making dinner was his responsibility at least for a little while until things got more predictable.