Newborn wont sleep in her crib?

Question

She goes to sleep in minutes in our bed but crys like crazy in the crib..Help...
She was a premie and is now 38 weeks old and doing great, other than the sleeping issue..

Scratch that..She is 38 weeks ...Which means not full term yet..

Answer 1

My daugter was also a preemie - 1 pound, 9.5 oz and 2 months early. She stayed in NICU for 2 months and had trouble sleeping when we brought her home, as she was used to the casino sounds of the bonging machines. We didn't let her sleep with us, but in a cradle next to our bed for the first couple months home.

One day, the doctor asked if she was sleeping in her own bed yet. I said yes and no. It's her own bed, but in our room. Boy did he fuss. I knew it was bad to have her dependent on us, but since she was so little, I didn't want her very far away from me, just incase. And, she was still on the heart/breathing monitor, which went off every hour or so.

So, I bit the bullet, and put her in her crib in her room. The first 2 nights was hard, as she cried alot. I found myself up and down a million times to comfort her. But boy am I thankful that I got her used to her own bed when I did. Also, I'd get her used to her bed by putting her there during the day as well for her naps. It did the trick.

Also, just a little word of caution: I saw that someone answered to rock your little one to sleep. This would be another terrible mistake. Don't get your daughter used to being dependent on others for her sleep. Rock her all you want, but when it's time for her to go to sleep, put her in the bed and let her get used to falling asleep there. If not, you're setting yourself up to HAVE to rock your child for her to fall asleep. Not only is this hard on you, but later on down the line, it's hard for those who will babysit.

Best of luck and hang in there! And remember, it's all for her well-being! The gift of getting to sleep on her own is one of the best gifts you could give her.

Answer 2

Some people may not agree with this but I let both of my children sleep in their carrier (the thing that you hook into the car seat) when they were very small. Sometimes they slept in the baby swing (strapped in). I think the reason that they don't like the crib is because it's too big and they are used to being all scrunched in a ball in the womb. I only put them in the swing or carrier if I was going to sleep in the room with them. And once they start being able to move around a lot (about 5 months), you can't do that anymore. I didn't start leaving my kids in their crib to cry to sleep until they were about 5 or 6 months old. You do need to break the habit of sleeping in the parents bed when they are small though. My friend let her daughter sleep in bed with them until she was at least 1 year old and they still have problems getting her to sleep alone at night now and she's 3 and a half.

Answer 3

38 weeks old means she is about nine months... that is no newborn. If you are saying that her gestational age is 38 weeks and she is indeed a newborn that is different. She is used to being warm and safe in the womb. The crib is a big empty lonely space. Don't push it. My daughter didn't sleep in her crib until she was about four months. Babies need their parents close to them all the time. You can't just pop an newborn in her crib walk away, if you thought this was what it would be like to have a baby then you have a lot of learning to do. I'm sorry if I sound rude, but really just try to think of life from her prospective for a minute. You might change your mind about some things.

Answer 4

if your baby is 38 weeks old she's not a newborn anymore! she's almost 10months!

Has she been sleeping in your bed all along and now you are putting her in her crib?

If that's the case then she's having a shock from being close to two nice warm bodies and now she's been sent to the cold hostile environment of her crib....look at it from her point of view!

you'll have to teach her to sleep in her crib if she's used to sleeping in your bed -- start by having her play and nap in her crib in the day so she gets used to it. Once she becomes familiar with it, she'll be able to sleep in it at night too.

Also, when you put her to bed, make sure she is still slightly awake so that she knows where she is, rather than having her fall asleep on your bed, transferring her and then her waking up and not knowing where she is and then feels "frightened" by the different environment and how she got there.

I would also highly recommend the book "Baby Whisperer Solves All your problems" by Tracey Hogg.
She covers sleep issues in depth, as well as feeding and behaviour.

good luck!

Answer 5

At this age they need to sleep in the crib. Lay her down (on her back) in the crib. Start the mobile or other soothing device. Walk away and let her cry if she needs to. She will fall asleep. Start early or you're going to have a toddler in your bed before you know it. I know this because I have a four year old and a sixteen month old that I'm just now getting out of my bed. You know how far they've gone? Each has a bed pushed up against mine. I get no privacy whatsoever, and when one is up.. we ALL are up. Best advice I've ever gotten is LET THEM SLEEP IN THEIR CRIB. Crying won't kill them... trust me. :) Good luck.

Answer 6

The crib may be too big for him. He may feel more comfortable in a bassinet. Since he probable isn't rolling over yet, get a couple of firm pieces of foam to place near him to make the crib seem less spacious. It wasn't long ago he was comfy cozy in your belly. A crib may give him the feeling of being left out in the open alone. Just a thought...

Answer 7

My daughter hated her crib too. I know how hard it is to let them cry, it really does break your heart, but you have to do it. I had to do it in phases. First let her cry for 5 minutes, then 10... eventually they do learn to put themselves back to sleep.
One thing that helped with my daughter is that I found that the problem was not only the separation from me, but that the crib was just too much room for her; she was used to being held or being close to me. What I did for a while was to swaddle her and then actually have her sleep in her carrier, and place the entire carrier into the crib. She felt more secure that way, but still got used to being in her room, in her crib. Good luck.

Answer 8

Uh-oh! She's gotten used to her parents' bed. It's ok, though, it'll just take some time to get her used to her crib.
Put her in her crib, do whatever bedtime routine, and say goodnight. Give her time t figure out that she's fine and it's time for sleep. If she's still crying after several minutes, go in and comfort her, then leave the room again.
You might have to do this for several nights before she realizes she needs to sleep in her own crib.
Good luck!

Answer 9

That's really normal!! Babies are almost always more comfortable around other people than all alone by themselves. In fact, most *adults* don't like to sleep alone; why would you expect a baby to want to? Babies are biologically "programmed" to be constantly cared for (that means at night, too)...a few generations of doctors predicting dire effects is not going to change an entire species.

There are some other important benefits to sleeping with your baby. Co-sleeping protects a baby from SIDS (and premies are more likely than full-term babies to die of SIDS). In addition, in case of fire, the baby is safest right next to you. When the baby is next to you, she doesn't have to wake up all the way to nurse; she starts to wake, and you can roll over in your sleep and take care of her. Both of you lose less sleep. Further, when you are co-sleeping, your sleep is co-ordinated--when she *does* wake you, it's from a lighter stage of sleep, so you aren't losing the *deep* sleep.

P.S. "Crying is good for her lungs" was created by the same people who brought you "bleeding is good for her veins"...leeches anyone?! Crying causes her to release cortisol--a stress hormone--even after she stops crying. So calories she needs for growth and development instead go to reducing stress. (That's the reason they don't let babies in the NICU cry!!!) It also teaches her that when she is completely dependent, the people who love her most won't help. Please don't do it!!!

Answer 10

She may feel insecure...especially if she is still small. Try laying her down in her crib at bedtime and rubbing her back lightly until she falls asleep or gets sleepy.

Or you could let her fall asleep in your bed and transfer her to the crib. Eventually, the crib feeling will be familiar to her and she'll sleep in it.

Answer 11

I would little by little get her used to the crib 5 min at first then extend the time by changing her in it, put her in it while you fold her clothes or clean up her room, put her in it while you get in the shower etc...get her used to it, turn the mobile on or a mirror she can look into then after she gets used to that lay her in it awake around nap time, she will play for a bit then probably put herself to sleep, then you could start doing it at nap time. I fortunately have been blessed by a wonderful baby and it just takes a time or two and she knows whats going on...good luck