Newborn Won't sleep-Please Help

Oh bless your heart. I know what your feeling. My kids are 17months apart and my son (the youngest) is a calm laid back child, but he wasn't a sleeper as a baby! If I knew he was fed, changed, and not hurt, I would wrap him tight and lay him in his crib with lullaby music playing. I also spent MANY nights sleeping in the chair holding him and sleeping together. You have a while from now, but when he turned a year old, he was STILL waking up at least once a night for a bottle. I bagge dthem all up on his b-day and let him CIO. When he was 17 months old, he was moved to a toddler bed, and he goes to bed on his own and sleeps through the night. It will get better. I wish I could be there to rock him for you! Enjoy it while you can. I miss having a baby. Take care!!!

Whoever said that's normal, had a rough time with their baby. My daughter slept 6 or 7 hours straight at 7 weeks.... I was worried I should be going to wake her up to eat the first time she did it at 5 weeks. My husband said "NO WAY, if she's sleeping, you let her sleep!". It was only a few days before the 6/7 hours became normal for her and she is STILL a great sleeper! (at almost 7 years old!)

Try reading "On Becoming Baby Wise".. it is about the order in which your baby eats, plays, and sleeps. Most people play with them, they get cranky so they are given a bottle, then they fall asleep. Wake up semi-happy, play, get cranky, get a bottle (or breast) and go back to sleep... etc... in this cycle. It's backwards. The baby should eat, be kept awake (while his tummy is full and he is satiated) to play, then when he gets a little fussy, put him down for a nap or bedtime. When he wakes, you feed him, then keep him awake and play... THEN down for a nap.
I know it sounds like it doesn't matter.... but... my first one, a boy, was sleeping 6 or 7 hours a night at right about 3 months (10-11 weeks)... my second, a girl, was sleeping much better much sooner than that.

The book is a small paperback that you can read in an afternoon (if you can read AND entertain the 16 month old)....
Just give it a shot... I started it almost as soon as we got home from the hospital with mine, but I would think that your son would adjust to that order of schedule pretty quickly...
I know you are craving some sleep right now.... My son never did nap like some kids did.
When I'd hear stories of my friends 3 yr olds sleeping for 3 hours every afternoon I couldn't believe it! Mine... if he EVER slept more than an hour and a half (naps, not nighttime) it was because he was ill. Usually if I got him down for an hour and ten minutes, I considered naptime a success. He quit them completely around age 3 1/2. My daughter gave hers up early like that too... Some kids are wired differently. But, mine have always slept well at night.

Best of luck to you!

Oh boy, do I feel your pain! My boys are 18 months apart, and were both very alert, awake babies form the very beginning. With my second, he never slept longer than a two hour stretch until he was over six months old.

At seven weeks old, they are still trying to figure things out, and it is far too young to let him CIO. For now, I would say, just try to keep him on a schedule as best you can. Give him what he needs, including lots of love and cuddles and try not to get too stressed out.

Every baby is different. Some sleep great early on, others have to learn how (maybe a personality thing).

If he still has sleep trouble at four months old, I highly recommend the Ferber method. That was what finally worked for us (at the strong urging of our pediatrician).

I know it is soooo hard dealing with sleep depravation, but it will all be over with in a few motnhs when he is old enough to learn how to sleep, and you will look back and wonder how you ever did it. Oh, the challenges of motherhood!

I know myself and others have suggested Secrets of the Baby Whisperer over and over again to so many moms with sleep issues, but there is a reason we keep suggesting it-- it's advice is amazing and the techniques are easy to follow (as long as you are consistant and have the patience to follow through)! It took me until baby #3 to figure out how to help a baby fall asleep and have healthy sleeping habits and I owe it all to this book.

My youngest who is now 10 months old has always had to have things very particular in order to sleep. When he was an itty bitty infant he had to be in his carseat. Then at about 4 months old he would sleep in his crib but only if he was swaddled VERY tightly. We received a blanket for a baby gift that looked sort of like a "T" with a little flap at the bottom. That allowed me to put his legs in the bottom and then wrap the "T" around his arms and it velcroed on the side to keep him from wiggling out of it. That blanky was our miracle. It was made by "Little Me" and my Grandmother bought it at Belks. It is now what I give to everyone I know who is having a baby. I'm sure there are other brands out there too. We were able to stop swaddling him in his blankie when he was about 7 months old but now he has to have it roasting hot in his room in order to sleep and he has to have his mobile. Just some ideas. Hope they help.

For right now while he is still so little I DEFINITELY suggest the swaddle blankie.

Try swaddling him. There is a blanket called the miracal blanket you can find online. I wrapped my boys until they were big babies. It worked for me. Just give it a try what can it hurt. You have to wrap him tight!! Of course he needs to be able to breath. You want to wrap his arms too. You may need to find a blanket larger than your recieving blanket. I found that sometimes they were a little too small. If he doesn't take a passy I would try that too. My first two were 13 mths apart. Hang in there you can do it!!

You might like to try playing lullaby music while getting him to sleep. Baby Einsteins has two lullaby CD out now and I still use them for my 2 1/2 yr old son. This might help you to lay him down after he does fall asleep.
My son also would only sleep in a swing for a while with it rock. This does work great during the day when you are trying to do some thing during the day.
Good luck I hope some of the advice helps.

Hi
First, keep a daily diary from the morning to night of how much and what you're feeding the baby, how many ounces.
what time the baby falls asleep. Try not to put the baby down for a nap for more than 1 hour maybe during the day. Not knowing what your schedule is... But make sure the baby has a pacifier. If it won't take it, then try different kinds. You'll find one he'll like. Do you have like a sound machine in his room, like that makes the noice of the ocean. Try that also. Good luck

Stop rocking him. I used to say that I would rock my oldest awake. I had seen all the movies and gotten my rocking chair thinking that I would have this nice peaceful time with my new baby and she would drift off to sleep. The exact opposite happened. Anytime I tried to rock her, she would fight it.
I just knew when she was tired, so I would make sure she was fed and had a clean diaper. Then I would swaddle her in the blanket nice and tight like a baby burrito. I'd lay her on her side in her sleep positioner in the cradle or crib and she would go off to sleep on her own. If she didn't want to sleep, she would stare at the patterns on the soft quilt that hung over the side of her crib.
And I'm sorry to tell you, but 2 - 2 1/2 hours of sleep a night with a 7 week old is normal. He'll get better with time and routine. Be sure you're not turning on lights and making a big fuss at night. Keep it simple during that time. No talking and cooing. Feed, change, swaddle and lay back down to sleep. He'll catch on that nights are not playtime and you're much more fun during the day.
Hang in there!

Have you tried a swing? Our girl was the same way and the only way she'd sleep for more than a couple hours was to put her to sleep in her swing - rocking away! She also was particular and wanted to be on her side - which she ended up doing herself. We'd check on her throughout the night to make sure she was was OK. Good luck!