somebody get this baby outta me!

[teraberry]

My three kids all slept well in their bassinet. Here's what I did... I would swadle them very tightly with a receiving blanket and lay them on their side. Swaddling is an art form in itself... it you don't do it right the baby will thrust out their arm free and that's the end of it. I would lay out a blanket, putting baby's head at one corner. I would somewhat wrap one of baby's arms with other corner, and cross it over their upper tummy, then I'd wrap the arm and cross it over too, and lay them on their side so that the last corner would be under them - keeping it tight. I'd even tightly wrap a couple of other blankets and wedge one on their back and one on their front so that they would not flip to their back or stomach. So they were tightly wrapped and wedged into their bassinet. Then all those baby flinches didn't wake them up and they slept longer... to their next feeding. My DH called them little sausages when they were wrapped up, since that's how they looked.

One more good piece of advice I got that worked... Keep them on a cycle that goes "nurse, awake time, sleep" A lot of moms like to nurse them to sleep, but the problem is that I don't think they sleep as long after being nursed... they'll need to burp or spit up or poop when they're sleeping then and it will wake them up. After my babies nursed I tried to keep them awake for a while - as long as I could and they would do all their spitting and pooping then. It became a routine very quickly. I would nurse, hold them upright for at least 15 minutes to help them get all their burps and spits out, then I'd put them in a bouncey chair for about 15 minutes (we had one that vibrates) where they would usually poop, and then once I changed them they would go to sleep again.

If your baby takes a long nap - past feeding time - I would let them sleep as long as they want. Just make sure then that you try to keep them up as long as you can after they wake up. If they wake up before feeding time, you might want to try and sooth them with something other than nursing and see if she can wait or not.

It's really a tough job to get down. This routine I found kept baby happier, and made it much easier for me.


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[Shainie]

Originally posted by lauseng
Now, does anyone have any advice on how to convince her that it's just as nifty to sleep in her bassinet or even in the car seat as it is to sleep on my chest?

Jackie

She just spent the last 9 months curled up all warm inside you listening to your heart, so why on earth would she want to sleep in a bassinet? Hehe

Actually, both my boys spent the first month of their life sleeping in my arms at night (and most naps). I just did was felt natural and comfortable, gradually moving them to the co-sleeper that attaches to our bed. Now Shane is a champion sleeper. I put him down and he goes to sleep on his own, and sleeps till 7-8 a.m. (He's 6 months old now). He really was sleeping 8 hours straight by the time he was 2 months old, we once again got lucky!

She'll learn to sleep on her own soon. Right now all she knows is your sounds and smells, and that comforts her the most. Just go with the flow, you won't regret it. It's WAY too soon that they don't need us anymore.

Rae Ann


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[NaomiMarie]

Early on, our boys had an aversion to sleeping in the crib. They pretty much slept in their Fisher Price (cradle rocker) seat. We didn't give a hoot where they slept......because when they slept WE slept

Parenting is all about trial and error, you'll decide what works for you. NO right or wrong
Good Luck!
Naomi


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[mayfly]

Awww Congratulations Jackie! What a sweet baby!

sleeping on their own, hmmm, those first 2 weeks are sort of a blurr! My babies slept in the swing, all swaddled up. All my babies were swaddlers too, we called it the burrito wrap. They also slept in our bed until about 5-6 months, when the night feedings weren't so frequent. I remember a few times they had to sleep in their carseats too! When they had the sniffles, or if it was convenient.

But like Naomi said, its very much trial by error. What works for one won't work for another. Soon you will have your own system down, then along will come #2 and you will be lost again! They are all such different personalities!

[lauseng]

She's sleeping! She latched on in bed after I gave up on her staying in the bassinet. Then she never let go and we both fell asleep. I woke up every few minutes in paranoia, but at least I napped. Then I set her down on the bed while I got up to use the restroom and she didn't wake up! Woohoo! I don't know if I should use this time to nap more or get something to eat or what. DH is gone today to handle a family crisis so I'm on my own. I'm leaning towards clean clothes though.

Jackie

[teraberry]

lauseng... sorry to hear there's a family crisis going on to add to having a newborn in the house. Just remember all those times when you're exhausted, or can't figure out your baby... you're not alone! I think that's part of being a new mom!


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[cashhound]

And yet you are online...checking in at DoD..lmao. A true addict

Congrats! She is absolutely gorgeous. I'm so excited for you. Not just because she is here, but because she is OUTTA THERE!!!!

And I think everyone here knows my strange fascination with the smell of baby head. Get as much of that as you can. It's gone waaayyy too soon. Then it's the smell of cereal and dirt...lol.

NAP! Nap every chance you get. You will feel better about everything if you get a little rest. When you are just worn completely out, all of the little things seems so HUGE. That small pile of dishes becomes a mountain. Finding clean underwear becomes a scavenger hunt. And your nipples hurt so bad that you think they are going to just fall off (or wish they would...lol.) But, with rest, those things become a bit more bearable. So my vote is NAP whenever possible

[NaomiMarie]

Originally posted by lauseng
She's sleeping! She latched on in bed after I gave up on her staying in the bassinet. Then she never let go and we both fell asleep. I woke up every few minutes in paranoia, but at least I napped. Then I set her down on the bed while I got up to use the restroom and she didn't wake up! Woohoo! I don't know if I should use this time to nap more or get something to eat or what. DH is gone today to handle a family crisis so I'm on my own. I'm leaning towards clean clothes though.

Jackie

Forget about knowing anything from here on out girlfriend

Family crisis huh? Hope all is well ......

Naomi

[kat]

She's a beauty, Jackie!

I also vote for napping, but I do remember trying to do silly things like clean the house or make some food while the kids finally slept on their own. All of ours had cribs but I don't remember them using them much at night for the first few months - it was easier to just have DH bring them back to bed after HE got up to change them in the middle of the night. That twilight sleep thing while they're nursing has to count for some kind of rest.


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[chippers21]

My "baby" is 16 and I still remember many of those sleepless nights. But most were due to illness (mainly ear infections) It was really tough with the third baby, with energy-filled 2 and 5 year-old always vying for attention. Make sure your dh is involved from the very beginning. And gradually work toward baby sleeping in her own bed (with an intercom so you can hear every move at first) Sometimes you do have to let a baby cry, but you will soon know the difference between her needing you and just trying to get her way. All my 4 were sleeping the night (accept for illness) in their own beds by 6 months. And all are well-adjusted young adults now. (except I guess 16 is not a young ADULT yet) All four were breast-fed too. Someone mentioned the soreness. That is bound to happen, but you get over that pretty fast, so hang in there. One last piece of advice, let hubby bring the baby to you for those night feedings about half the time. Do not let him do what mine did with the last child, which was elbow me and say- "baby's crying...." (LOL)


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[lauseng]

We have a Pack'n'Play playpen with a bassinet insert right by my spot in bed. We're hoping she'll sleep there for the first couple months, then move into the nursery and into the crib.

And I'm on here when she nurses. Laptop on the couch. So what if I'm an addict? lol

I can tell we're already getting better at this. Maybe when DH goes back to work in a week I'll be sleeping at least a couple hours a day.

Jackie

PS I opted to put on clean clothes and to fix a sandwich....then she woke up.

[stking]

With all 4 of my kids, we used a bassinett. The way we made it nice and warm and cozy for them was to heat it with a heat wrap before putting them in it. We have this long thing you heat in the microwave to make a moist heat for sore muscles. Well, we would heat that and lay in on the bassinett sheet where the baby would sleep. Then we would swaddle them and lay them right on the warm spot. (After moving the wrap away of course.) That seemed to work pretty well. It wasn't as much of a shock going from nice warm arms to cold sheets.

Also, I know it sounds cruel, but if she's taking really long daytime naps, wake her up after a couple hours. Most newborns have their days and nights mixed up and the only way you'll get them on YOUR schedule is to get them to take shorter naps during the day and let them sleep as long as they want at night. I know that is sooooo hard to do when you need the sleep yourself during the day!


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[NaomiMarie]

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