Baby Will Only Sleep on a Warm Body

hi S. and congrats! i always struggled with this. lots of people cosleep, i did with my first 2 to a degree, but it is potentially so dangerous, i was never comfortable with it. its so hard not to, especially when you are breastfeeding. please, if you must have him in bed with you, please be sure that there are no pillows blankets loose anything anywhere near him. if anyone is under the influence of anything, not only drugs meds alcohol, but also the severe sleep deprivation that usually goes along with having a newborn, it is even more dangerous. do what you have to do to keep him safe. they sell something you can keep the baby in in your bed, a nest something or something like that, i forget the name, keeps them safer. if you dont want to cosleep, which i personally recommend you dont, you really should try swaddling. it saved us. i used the cosleeper and swaddling, it got us through the early months. oh, and try a bouncy seat. my last 2 kids werent too interested in any swings or anything like that for any length of time, but i could always get them to sleep in the bouncy seat. i actually had my last one swaddled and strapped into the bouncy seat for a few weeks in the cosleeper. not sure how safe that was either though, if i am being totally honest. but i couldnt see why it wasnt, just knew it wasnt meant for that. once he got big enough to lift his upper body i stopped doing that because i figured he could flip himself out or forward in the bouncy. you might be past that point already if its not flat enough, i dont know. best of luck. by the way, what are the 5 Ss?

I agree with Deb R. completely I never co-slept either because I was just always worried something would happen. It really is not safe. I just read a study that due to an increase in breastfeeding (which is a good thing) that co-sleeping has increased and infant mortality has doubled as a result so please be careful. It is natural for the baby not to want to go into a crib right away it is a very big space for such a tiny baby. I used a tiny bassinet for my kids and swaddled them as well. I would keep trying to put him down and just pat or rub him until he falls asleep. Try not to let him keep falling asleep on you he will get used to that and the adjustment to a crib will only take longer. It may not only be the warmth he may just like sleeping on his tummy although it is not recommended some babies will not sleep well unless they are on their bellies. When my kids were small it was recommended that they sleep on their bellies now its the opposite. Try using a few blankets or a positioner and maybe put him on his side so he feels confined and comfy. Babies do not like big spaces after all look where they just came from LOL!!! Good luck I know these times with no sleep are tough but it will pass.

4 weeks is super, super young. At that age kids want to be as close to their parents/a warm snugly body as possible. My daughter was a terrible sleeper for the first few months of her life, and we had her sleeping in bed with us and it was fine - eventually she went into her own crib, and she now has been sleeping through the night. Your son is so so so super young, that it's not a problem - if he likes to be in bed, I'd say use a boppy and secure him in it, and see if that helps. He's going to keep waking up because he's still practically a newborn, but it will get better...

I was firm about giving Paige the comfort she needed until she was out of infancy, and now she's fine. She sleeps in her crib, is independent, etc. There's no such thing as spoiling a newborn, and both you and your child need sleep!

Read the Baby Sleep Book by Dr. Sears, best info about infant sleep out there.

Hello,

Swaddle him, tightly! He's so new and is used to the comfort of being cramped and warm in your uterus. He needs to feel that way again. I loved the "happiest baby on the block". I forget who wrote it, but you could google it and find it, there's a book and dvd, worked wonders with my son and daughter. I also used a heating pad on the crib, just make sure it's not set to high. I've also wrapped the mattress in a fleece blanket, worked well.

Maybe he is cold.
I would try placing a heating pad in his crib or bassinet to warm it before you lay him down. Remove it just before you lay him down, this way the space is heated for him and he doesn't have to be on cold sheets after being on your warm body.

enjoy it while it lasts! he will not want to sleep on you in the near future.

Hi Shelly,
I had the same problem with my daughter because as she got older, her grandpa liked so spoil her. She got so used to sleeping on him that she would not sleep in her crib at all. What I had to do was warm her crib with the heating pad and then remove it before I put her down. It seemed to make the transition easier.

don't get him used to sleeping with you.. he'll be there forever. put him in the crib and let him fall asleep there... falling asleep on you - is not the answer.. he is getting used to it.. He will finally fall asleep.. just be patient! good luck.. just wait it out..

My daughter would only nap on a warm body. I stressed about it but now I really miss it! She's a year and is little miss independent. If she was swaddled at night she was fine by herself. Try the miracle blanket- you can wrap it really tight and they can't get loose. My friend's daughter got really cold when sleeping alone. They tried putting a heating pad in the bassinet first to heat it up and then putting the baby down, after taking the heating pad out of course :) It worked occasionally and they ended up buying something the put in the bed with them for co-sleeping. Good luck!

Hi S.,
This is how he was used to sleeping in utero. I would warm his blanket a bit in the dryer before swaddling, warm his sheet too. You might also try swaddling him in your shirt, right from your body - has your body warmth and good mommy smell.
Good luck!

I have found that tightly swaddling a baby is often very helpful. You can do it with blankets or you can buy a swaddler at Babies R Us. Often times, the babies will actually put themselves to sleep once swaddled even if they are awake prior. It is so important for these little ones to learn to sleep on their own-best of luck with Max!

That's tough! Swaddling helps. Would he sleep in his car seat? He might just like that feeling of being snuggled & warm.

Hi S., Your baby is so new. Let him get used to being out in the world. He may need to hear a heartbeat. This will pass and the day will come when you wish he would want to be so close to you. I do not know what the 5 S's are but as an older mom I just did what the baby needed and all 5 on mine grew up just fine. Grandma Mary

My second is 3 months. She likes to sleep in my lap but will sleep in the bassinet as well--she wakes up but goes back to sleep when I move her. We swaddled her at first and if it was cold put a blanket in the dryer to warm up. T-shirt fabric and fuzzy or fleecy textures feel warmer so it might help to put her on a sheet of one of those fabrics. I also use a sleepsack in cold weather or she is cold when she wakes up.

Try swaddling him. At 4 weeks its pretty much trial and
error. It will get better. He probably thinks he is
still inside!!!!! You can try putting him in the corner
of his crib, so he feels secure. In the days when babies
were allowed to sleep on their bellies, they would always scoot to the corner of the crib. It was the cutest thing. Good luck. It will get better.

Hi, my daughter was exactly the same way, she would not sleep unless she was on a warm body. To be honest, we finally wound up co-sleeping (which I really didn't want to do) for about 4 months (not on us, but next to us) and then once she was able to sleep on her belly, we put her in crib and she's been a great sleeper ever since (she's almost 3 now). Oh, I was nursing too, so it really just wound up being easier for us. I know it's not always easy and it makes you nervous, but sleep is so important for you and husband that you might just wind up doing what we did. Also, as an aside, it was nice waking up and looking at her little face. Have you tried swaddling really well? We never could get her to stay in the swaddle.