Baby fighting sleep

[Kimbayley]

Hi.
My 2.5 week hard seems to be getting harder & harder to settle. He used to settle quickly on our chest & is now fighting sleep. It can sometimes take 2 hours to settle him.

Please help!

[Kimbayley]

Is anyone trying to get their 2-3 week old to self settle or is it too soon for this?

Thx

[KBolton]

Congratulations on your new arrival!

I started encouraging self soothing at 4 weeks, but my LO would have none of it and really put up a fight. I didn't properly start shush patting until around 2.5 months. You really need to decide what you are comfortable with and it may also depend on your baby's temperament. Some start self soothing easily and quickly, others take a bit more time.

In the early days, I held my LO until she was in deep sleep (cuddled her for 20mins and put her down). She would then sleep for a good length of time and wake to be fed. This was lovely back then and avoided a lot of tears.

[Buntybear]

Hi, have you tried a sling? Does he show any signs of having reflux maybe?

[jessmum46]

Is there anywhere he settles well, car or pram maybe?

[Kimbayley]

Hi
Thx for your replies. I don't think he has reflux but really fights sleep. I try to get him down after 45-60 min of being awake but to no avail. Last nap I finally got him to sleep in his bassinet after 90 min! Even car/ pram don't send him off 😫

Also what do you do if they wake around an hour earlier than your start the day time? Do you feed them top up?

[jessmum46]

Also what do you do if they wake around an hour earlier than your start the day time? Do you feed them top up?

Given how tiny your LO is I'd feed and put back down if he will settle quickly, or just start the day.  A consistent WU time doesn't (in my experience) really come until a bit later on. 

[Kimbayley]

Thank you 😊

[Kimbayley]

Does very light sleeping with dummy needed every 5-10 min count as napping? It seems this is all I'm getting with my LO today 😫

[Kimbayley]

Back to no naps again today 😢
Even on my chest he wakes up 5 min after dummy falls out. Have spent all day popping dummy in. He then spits it out like he doesn't want it then cries for it. No naps all day now😢
He doesn't like the sling either. Any advice would be great!

[jessmum46]

(((Hugs)))), just try to hang in there, newborns can be really hard work.  Are there any signs of discomfort at all, or is he just finding it hard to settle off?  Is there anywhere he does sleep well - pram perhaps?  And what kind of sling do you have?  May be worth popping along to a sling library to try a few others as there are such a variety and it may be that a different style would really suit

[Kimbayley]

Thanks Jessmum
I don't think he's uncomfortable, not squirming too much. Just wont stay asleep. Finally managed to get him to sleep on my chest, still with alot of dummy popping. The child health nurse said it may be due to a wonder week, so will be emotional, not physical need. Thankfully he slept really well last night. I have tried the moby sling & after initial protest, he seemed to settle ok in it.

Thanks for replying and hope you have a great weekend

[Kimbayley]

Hi again
I have managed to get my LO into a sly& it's great to have hands free! Should I be concerned that he gets used to sleeping on me?

[jessmum46]

I wouldn't worry too much in the early weeks, I don't personally feel props come into play so much until closer to 3/4 months. But keep the end goal in mind and perhaps try for one nap a day in the crib for now, then build it up as he gets easier to settle x

[Kimbayley]

Thanks. Will be trying that 😊

[Kimbayley]

Today been doing naps in crib
First nap took about 15 min to settle. Lasted max 45 min. Tried to resettle a few times to no avail so ended up cuddling him to sleep until his feed.
Then next nap took over half hour to settle. That nap lasted 15 min. Trying to resettle now. As soon as he gets jerky & grizzly I am putting him down. Around 1 hr mark.

[Kimbayley]

Still trying 20 min later. Eyes wide open. Popping dummy in. Every 2 min. So frustrated!

[Shiv52]

What A time is he managing? Try to remember he is still very very teeny so do not worry too much about self settling all the time. I found once my ones were in a good routine independent sleep came easier.

Does your LO take a dummy?

[Kimbayley]

Ok. Will try not to worry. Yes, I would say he is pretty dependent on the dummy & will escalate to full screaming if it falls out & I don't give it to him. Awake time is around an hour I think but as he is not napping well I find him hard to read. His only signs seem to be fidgeting & grizzling which quickly escalates to crying & needing lots of calming. Before this he is quite smiley & chatty. Thanks so much for replying

[Shiv52]

Not at all 😘. these first weeks are so so hard.  All mine had dummies. I found I could extend naps well with a dummy if I got them before they woke up too much. If he's short napping you may need to reduce the next A time and try getting him down earlier.

Remind me how old your baby is now? sorry on my phone and it's not letting me scroll back.

[Kimbayley]

He is now 7 weeks tomorrow. Sling sometimes works with dummy. Sleeps ok on me. Pram, car or crib are hard work & dummy needs to pop in more often as he doesn't go into a deep sleep. Oddly at night (touch wood) he is much better & goes down easier with less need of dummy.

[jessmum46]

That's quite common, night and day sleep are (apparently) controlled in different ways in the brain. Keep hanging in there, I found crib naps we had much more success closer to 10 weeks or so x

[Kimbayley]

Thx! Will keep on trying once a day & hope 10 weeks is good for us 😜Yesterday got a few naps of 30 min or so in crib & pram

[Kimbayley]

My LO is such a wriggler. When trying to get him to sleep he looks like he is about to drop off then his eyes open wide & he pops his dummy out & starts wriggling. Then we have to start all over! Shush pat seems to upset him so I am just keeping my hand on his belly.
Little monkey!

[jessmum46]

Cute!