6 Week Old Sleeping Question

My daughter literally slept in her swing for the first 3 months of her life. That is where she slept best, and we all know, let a baby sleep where they sleep well. I worried it would shake her brain or something (paranoid mommy for the first time) but my mother-in-law assured me she would be fine...and she was. We get such little rest in those first months, so if she sleeps best everywhere BUT her crib, she will be just fine. Good luck!!!

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My daughter did the EXACT same thing. I can't tell you how much swaddling her helped - she slept swaddled until about 8 months old. BUT the other thing that worked for us was to warm up her bed a little. We noticed that when we laid her down on the cold sheets (compared to temp. of body) that she would wake up. So, we slid a flat electric heating pad between her sheet and matress. A few minutes before we wanted to lay her down, we would flip it on to low and let it warm up the sheets. We would then turn it off and lay her down...it seemed to help a lot. We just left the heating pad b/w the sheets and matress and ran the cord down under her crib so she could not grab it and it didn't move at all so there was no risk of choking or strangulation. Good luck!

Hi C..
I was reading your post and was wondering if she might be struggling with some reflux issues. Do you notice that she seems better when in a up right position then when lying flat? She could have some silent reflux without having some of other symptoms like spitting up a lot.
You might want to look at some infant reflux forums to see if you notice anything similar to your problem. I know that some babies just like being held and cuddled in something after being in the womb for so long so it might just be her preference. :)
Just a thought.
C.

Dear C.,
Our son had the same problem. He didn't like to lie down though because of reflux (caused by a milk allergy). He didn't like sleeping in his bassinet, we think it was because there wasn't enough padding! So, we put some of his recieving blankets under the bassinet pad. We also elevated his head the same way, with a little more blankets under his head. Many a night though, he spent in his moby wrap (www.mobywrap.com) with one of us propped up on the couch or the glider. I highly recommend the wrap!

I highly recommend swaddling also. You might also want to elevate the mattress where her head will be with a towel or something, but not to high you don't want her to fall down to the foot of the bed. That also helped my son.

My second baby didn't like to sleep in his crib until we got him one of those bears that makes womb sounds. I think you can get them at WalMart.

My daughter was the exact same way. I talked to my doctor about it and she said that it is up to us, the mother, to train our baby where and when to sleep. Easier said then done….especially when it is so great having them sleep on your chest! At 6 weeks old, after that doctor’s visit, I started putting her in her crib to sleep. She would cry for a while and then fall asleep. I used the method where you check on them every 15 minutes, but you leave them in their crib. She got use to it, after many sleepless nights, and started sleeping through the night! Oh and I would recommend getting a music box that has some sort of light to put on her crib. Good luck!!!

Like everyone has said, swaddle. I didn't do it with my son, he is now 7, and he was an aweful sleeper and still is... however, with my daughter, she is now 13 months, I swaddled her every night. She is a great sleeper. When she was 6 months old she was in the hospital for 8 days with RSV. The nurses teased me all the time because I always had her wrapped like a little burrito, but she loved it.

You can buy a device that attaches to her crib, bassenet, infant seat etc. that vibrates that will give her the movement that she seems to relax by. My grandchildren all required them to rest peacefully.

hi C.,
have you looked into the amby hammock? It is a swining bed. a little different position than a car seat or a swing-perfectly safe and cozy for lots of sleeping.
The happiest baby on the blcok is a great book. Another one you might consider is the no cry sleep solution. She advocates many of the same practices that Harvey Karp does. The book is designed to help you creat a routine and a plan for moving your child toward sleep independence.
6 weeks is still very young. As Karp emphasizes, the first 3 months are much like still being in utero. Too early to worry about a child being too dependent on the parents.
I like to point out that babies are individuals. All babies are nto alike and all babies dont' have the same sleep needs. Some babies do fine sleeping alone from day one. Other babies grow into toddlers who still need lots of close contact with their parents. As parents, we can't control which baby we will have. What we can do is listen to their needs and meet them in the most loving way we are capable of.
Following a plan of ignoring a child for any amount of time is harsh. It isn't respecting the individuality of our babies. There is definatley middle ground between abandoning a baby and sleeping close to them. Sounds like you are lookign for this middle ground.
Good luck!! Being a new mom is SO hard. I guess we've all been there!

I second the Amby Baby Hammock. It totally worked for my baby. She was sleeping through the night at 7 weeks! And you can resell it on eBay.

This sounds exactly like my son but he only liked to sleep in his bouncer. He had reflux and was put on medicine when he was about 6 weeks old, but still would only sleep in his bed for a very short time. I would swaddle him, but he could wiggle out eventually. The only thing that worked for him was the Amazing Miracle Blanket. We used it until he was about 5 months and he slept great. He actually slept all night just two nights after we started using it. It sounds like all hype, but believe me, this thing works beautifully. You can look for it online, but I bought both of mine at the Nesting Place in Grapevine.

Do you swaddle her? All 4 of my babies loved the security and warmth of being tightly wrapped in a blanket "burrito-style", and we never laid them in the bassinet/crib without being swaddled. Eventually they learned to wiggle their arms out, but I think it gives them a secure feeling.

My little girl didn't sleep in her crib for like the first 3 months of her life. She slept in her swing or her "baby papasan" by my bed. Eventually she began sleeping in her bed in our room. Don't sweat it as long as you are all getting some sleep! Things have a way of working themselves out.
So many people stressed me out about what I was doing right and worng with my baby b/c i am a first time mom. I finally did what worked for all of us and things have been MUCH better ever since. Good luck!!!