Tips for sleep that’s worked for people

My little boy is 3 months old and he’s been like this from the start. It took a while but he’s now able to sleep in his crib. I kept repeating the same night time habit .. we do his final nappy change and feed, swaddled .. dummy .. rocked to sleep in my arms, placed in the cot .. xx

Have you tried popping a hot water bottle in his crib for a few minutes and taking it out before you put him down? You’ll be warm and cozy where as his crib will feel cold which might wake him 🤭 xx

it’s a relief to know it will eventually click! I’ll keep persevering xx

this is an amazing idea! I haven’t tried it but it makes a lot of sense. He hates being cold! (He’ll cry before and after a bath but loves being in it because it’s warm) thank you xx

When you come to transfer into his crib, pop his bum down first and really gently lay him down slowly. Swaddling also really saved us, we used the love to dream arms up swaddle. We kept our hands behind his head and one on his chest and then really slowly moved them off super gradually!

I’m not in this group, it’s just popped up on my feed, my boy is 7 months today and still only contact naps but sleeps all night in his own bed and in the last month has slept through the night completely so don’t let anyone tell you contact napping will ruin bedtime sleep! ❤️

We are very much still in the process of trial and error with our little girl (almost 9 weeks) but one thing that has really helped us in the last few days is feeding position. Not sure if you're bottle or breastfeeding but I've found that breastfeeding my little girl from a lying down position gets her so much more settled so it's easier to then transfer her to her moses basket xxx

thank you! He’s being put in swaddles at night which definitely help his startle reflex (he looks like he’s trying to fly like Spider-Man 😂). I haven’t tried the positioning you mentioned when putting him down so will definitely give that a go!

I’m so glad with the contact naps because I don’t want them to stop🥹. I love my cuddles! 🩷

I’m breastfeeding and EBM when I’m too sore 😂! It’s interesting you say that because I’ve recently started sitting him up more when feeding because he’s been having sick up afterwards even after being burped. I’ll try laying him back down again in a feeding position before setting him down for naps ☺️xxx

our midwife suggested it as another way to help with the startle reflex! Another one is to pop them down on their side and then slowly roll them onto their back but we could never get the hang of that 😂 like someone else said above, the heat different will also likely be quite startling so keeping the hands on him helped ours loads!

I used to get so frustrated as a FTM that he wouldn’t sleep in his bed during the day everyone tells you all sorts that you should be doing that you’ll ‘spoil or ruin’ your baby but eventually I just leaned into it and we do what works! If you’re happy and babies happy crack in with those contact naps! ❤️

I do think a lot of the contact napping is down to him being warm and cosy so I’m hoping these new tips will help! Our midwife said to pick him up when he cries and not worry about ‘spoiling him’ in that sense because they can’t self soothe at his age, but all of mine and my partners family (all a lot older) tell us we’re spoiling him and it’s our fault he won’t sleep 😂. I think it’s just outdated advice because things have changed since the 90s with how newborns are supposed to be looked after.

I’ll try putting him on his side first! Tre is a tummy sleeper when he contact naps it’s how he’s most comfy!

Thank you 🙏🏻 I definitely agree about finding what works for you! As long as Tre is happy and healthy and I can get some sleep then I’m happy 😂

If he’s settling but spitting out his dummy will he take it again after? I found I sort of had to lay next to my little girl and keep putting her dummy back in once she’d spat it out and eventually it settled her off to sleep, she now goes into her crib really nicely after persevering xx

I’ve tried putting it back in again but he keeps spitting it out 😂. Is there a specific type of dummy that worked for you? We’re just using the anti colic tommee tippee one but if there’s a type that works really well I’ll give that a go! We’ve only started trying a dummy the last couple days when he needs to sleep so may just need to persevere with it Xx

it sucks, as if we’re not already dealing with a lot of hormonal changes, huge life changes etc! I know for the most part people mean well and just want to help but I was honestly stressing myself out so much which wasn’t helping!

Best of luck with the bedtime sleep, and if you figure out how to get your boy down for naps in the day let me know 😂😂 as much as I love a bit of homes under the hammer I’d also love to to not have to time when I put my washing on! Haha xo

I use the Tommy tippee “breast like dummy” (they look a little weird haha) but honestly my little girl would constantly just spit it out and get annoyed at herself and want it back and she’d do it again and again… I just kept quietly putting it back for her and eventually she settled, sometimes I’d have to put it back in 5/6 times 😅, if it’s a new thing for him too it may take him a little while to get used to it, I only give my little girl her dummy when she’s going down for a nap so I think she associates her dummy with sleeping now xx

for sure! People are definitely trying to help, it just sometimes adds stress rather than relieving it! My partners amazing at letting it go over his head but it does affect me sometimes.

Thank you lovely! Hahah I will do! Mines cooking that I find tricky. I burnt rice yesterday 🙃😂. The slow cooker has become my new bestie! Xx

ah amazing I’ll look into that dummy! Thank you! It’s good to know she only associates it with sleeping. That was part of my worry with trying a dummy was that he’d want it all the time xx

Have you tried putting something with your scent into his cot/pram? Another thing you could try! Or a heartbeat teddy xx

I’ve got a teddy that does heartbeat sounds but he isn’t too phased by that. I haven’t tried putting something with my scent in so I’ll give that a go! Thank you xx

Have you tried the love to dream swaddle bags? Ours has been a lifesaver!

Firstly, you’re doing an amazing job! These early weeks/months are so so challenging and I know you’re doing an incredible job!

It’s really normal for babies to not want to be put down for at least the first 3 months (closer to 4 really) as they simply don’t know that they’re no longer inside the womb. Humans have evolved relatively slowly, and as such babies still have “cave” mentality. So, when they’re put down they feel like they’re in danger.

The notion that you can “spoil” a baby implies that they have the capability to manipulate you, i.e “if I cry even though nothing is wrong they will pick me up” when in actuality this part of the brain is not even developed until well into their toddler years.

For night time sleep, I found a hot water bottle on the crib worked well - just take it out a few minutes before you put baby down. And placing them down feet/bum first with their head the last to touch the crib. For daytime, I got very familiar with a stretchy wrap!!

Good luck💕

I always let my first girl sleep on me, always held her, contact naps, we also co-sleep.
She's almost 17 months now and she settles well at night, puts herself to sleep while I sit in the room. It's a myth that always having your baby sleep with you will create a bad habit, it just depends on the temperament of the child.
All kids eventually grow out of needing their mumma to be in constant contact. You don't see 10 year olds contact napping in the day on their mums haha

I'm with my second girl, she's 7 weeks old, and we co sleep, and I know that soon enough she will also be putting herself to sleep like my oldest.
The days are so long, but the years are short xx
It sounds like your bub is just enjoying the time.

My son is the same age and loves a sleep suit / sleep sack, they are well worth a try. I kind of think that lots of layers with blankets on your baby will help them. Also make sure the mattress is comfortable enough, my son sleeps on a sheep skin, I noticed a difference in how he slept when I took it out.
In terms of in the day and struggling to do things one handed, I’m a house wife and I do all my jobs around the house with my baby in a baby wrap. It’s a long stretchy piece of fabric, my son is always fast asleep whilst I’m running round the house and I can do everything I need to do whilst no one else is around.
People really are against “co sleeping” but as your son’s mother I believe you should trust your own intuition and natural instincts, and if that means having him sleep next to you in the bed then you can.

Put a tshirt into the crib so it smells of you, I put mine over the mattress so it’s like an extra sheet and this really helped, I would also warm the crib up by putting a hot water bottle in it 20 mins before putting my little one down and taking it out just before she went it xx

I haven’t! He has the tommee topper grow bags that have poppers to use as a swaddle. I’ve heard quite a lot about these though! They seem really popular

thank you for this! It’s crazy how much sometimes you need to hear that you’re doing a good job!

I didn’t know half of this so thank you 🙏🏻 I have got a carrier for him but he has to weigh 9Ibs to go in it and he was 6Ib 9 a couple weeks ago so he’s a while off before I can wear it😂.

Thank you again 🩷

thank you! How do you co sleep? It’s something I’m really anxious about doing but I do think Tre would prefer it to his crib if it’s something I can do safely. Thank you xx

he has a sleep suit/swaddle and will happily sleep in it just not in his crib 🤪😂. That’s interesting regarding the mattress I hadn’t thought of that! You’re the second person to mention a wrap maybe I should look into one as he doesn’t fit in his baby carrier yet. Is it secure if you need to bend to do something etc? Thank you!

thank you! Putting it over the mattress is a good idea then I don’t have to take it back out again each night! Xx

Thank you so much everyone these are all so helpful 🩷

ah yeah the TT ones are also meant to be good! atm we use the ‘mild’ love to dream one which is suitable for temps 18-22 or something like that in size small - our boy is six weeks old and he’s still startling himself and likes sleeping with his arms up which is what their bags help with xoxo

it’s always welcome to hear 💕 maybe have a look into a stretchy wrap as they can be used from birth? I picked a Ryloo Baby one up from Amazon for about £30 and it’s honestly the best thing I’ve bought in the whole 8 weeks!

I just watched a few TikTok’s on how to wrap it!

Xx

I’ll have a look into them! Tre also likes sleeping with his arms up xx

I will do! I’ve written down the name so I don’t forget it 😂 thank you xx

Hey! I was initially trying to put my first baby down in her crib at night and I would only get a few hours sleep at a time. It would take a lot of settling, rocking, me walking around the bedroom to get her to fall asleep again. To co-sleep we followed Safe 7 and as I started doing that I became more relaxed about it, she was sleeping better, we were all so much happier. I started to LOVE night times.
I'm part of Happy Co-sleepers on Facebook and the moderators are brilliant at providing researched answers to questions.
Right now I have a mattress on the floor and I co-sleep with my 7 week old. She sleeps from 11pm until 2am, quick feed, then sleeps until 6am. Every baby is different but I believe being right next to mumma is where a newborn is meant to be.
As you dig into the research it gets super fascinating!
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9261495/

thank you! I’ll have a read xx

So I don’t want to jinx anything BUT I used the hot water bottle tip yesterday and he didn’t wake up when I put him in his crib! His cold woke him up a few times with his breathing but because he was sleepy he took his dummy and he only woke up for feeds! My partner and I had a couple of hours actually spending quality time together and then we both got the most sleep we’ve had in weeks! (It felt like a luxury to only wake up every couple of hours). Thank you everyone!

I’m so happy this worked ♥️

me too! Yesterday I was so tired I was a total clutz 😂. I’m going to try using the same technique for his naps. Thank you again!