Newborn won't sleep on his own

[gflady]

My LO is a week old and he won't sleep unless he's held by someone. In hospital the midwives couldn't get him to sleep on his own either. It doesn't matter who is holding him as long as he's being held. It means that very little gets done and we get very little sleep.

Anyone got any experience or advice on this?

 

[brunette&bubs]

Totally normal hun.

LO is still young and is used to "being close to you" in a sense.

Hold him. These days don't last long.
Get a baby carrier, try a swing, swaddle...or try the swaddlemes with velcro

You can't expect a NB to want to sleep by themselves at a week old.

HTH
xx

 

[smallpeanut]

Annabelle was like this, it does get better!! Enjoy it. He just wants his mummy

 

[midori1999]

It's completely normal. He's been inside you for his whole life until recently, all he knows is being close to someone else.

He will gradually grow out of it, but in the meantime you can try using a sling to keep your hands free during the day and cosleep at night if you make sure you are following the guidelines to keep it safe.

My husband and I took it in turns staying awake to hold the baby for her first week...

 

[Bean66]

Normal! Google 4th trimester.

We cosleep (following safety guidelines) and moby wrap.

 

[blinkava]

My little one is like this, but in my case he only wants to be held by me to go to sleep. If anyone else holds him he starts to get fussy and wiggly. I bought a moby wrap and it has done wonders for me and I can actually get things done, maybe you could try that. It's totally normal for them to want to be held all of the time.

 

[TheNewMrs]

Ah those lovely snuggly early days! Thats when we discovered our stretchy wrap sling!

 

[L.A Mommy]

Get a Fisher Price cradle swing.. it works wonders!! So does a baby carrier or sling, babies love being close and hearing mamas heartbeat. Enjoy these snuggly days because they dont last long!!

 

[Twister]

Ahh I miss those days, a good excuse to put the housework off and let others do it for you I loved the cuddles too. Nowadays my LO wriggles to be put down, she loves her playmat. It's completely normal and it will pass.

 

[Lola90]

can't believe I'm already writing this as it feels like yesterday that my LO would want to be cuddled all the time. Others have already said it but take the time to enjoy it time goes so quickly and they would rather in their jumperoo or on the playmat or grabbing your face... I never tried a wrap but I've read a lot of success stories about them on here xxx

 

[socitycourty]

My LO was like this for months...we even bedshared in the hospital as she just wouldn't sleep.

I started using a front carrier really early and when I needed a break the only place she slept was the swing. I was so sad when she finally outgrew it

 

[hanelei]

Nothing unusual about that, OP! Our friends' LO didn't sleep unless he was being held and rocked until he was 6 weeks. Our LO wouldn't stay asleep long if he wasn't held- 10 mins at the most.

 

[jd83]

Completely normal. I say take advantage, hold as much as possible. This time will go so fast that you will soon be missing holding your baby all day. As a newborn they need held because they still haven't adjusted ti the outside world, and mommy is the most comforting to them. At the time, it seems exhausting and like you cant get anything done, but in all honesty housework and cooking, etc can wait. Take full advantage of just cuddling your baby

 

[Aimee1003]

Do u swaddle? We used the Miracle Blanket and it helped us immensely.

 

[Kota]

I'm not sure what you expected? she's been carried around inside you, hearing your heartbeat for 9 months now, to be expected to sleep alone, on a cold hard surface with no human contact after 1 wk is just not in a babies survival instincts. Get yourself a moby wrap so you can keep her close and have your hands free, don't worry about the housework for a bit, and enjoy. Honestly, I can't wait for baby 2 to arrive and to have all those snuggles again, they pass all to quickly.