fussy baby?

Question

My son is a month old and he has the hardest time sleeping.He will only fall asleep on me-and when I go to put him in his crib he wakes and screams until I pick him up again.If I lay him down awake he will fuss until I hold him and rock him to sleep.Please help with any ideas-I dont want to let him cry it out because he is just a newborn, yet I cannot keep constantly holding him and getting him to sleep.I dont know what to do-please help!

Answer 1

Wow, there are some really judgmental people here, huh? You cannot spoil a baby in the first 3 months, so don't worry. And you don't have to sleep with him either. Most pediatricians don't recommend that. And you are doing good by not letting him cry. He's too young for that.

My baby is almost 4 months old, and has been sleeping through the night (7-10 hrs) since she was 2 1/2 months old. I tell you that to give you hope. Up until then, she would not sleep in her crib.

You have two things you are battling: Location and time. Start with time. Try getting her on schedule as much as possible first. She may continue to wake up 1-3 times a night, but persist that she goes back to sleep. Don't talk to her or look her in the eyes at night. Feed, change, rock to sleep. All business. Location isn't much of an issue yet. For me a swing worked miracles. I would let her sleep there or in her papasan.

After that is resolved, begin reintroducing her crib (location). It may take time, but it only took 3 nights before mine was sleeping through the night. (All of this may have happened two weeks sooner, even, but we relocated for an ice storm for 2 weeks).

Patience and help is a necessity. Best of luck.

Answer 2

First this is completely normal for your baby. but it can be fixed!!

You need to find this DVD called The Happiest Baby on The Block by Dr Harvey Karp.
Watch it!. I was an infant teacher in a day care before I was a stay at home mom, trust me on this if you want some sleep for you and your baby, watch it!!
I'll give you some hints about it, but i cant do the justice that watching the dvd will do.

First of all, newborn babies and even up to six month old babies need to feel like they are being held, because think about it they just went from being in a tight cozy place to being free and flailing all over! The way to do this is to wrap them tightly in a blanket. This is called swaddling. There is a certain way to do it which is why i say to get the DVD where they show you step by step.

The other thing is let your baby sleep in a swing. An infant swing, get one and once your baby is fed and burped and comfy, let the swing put him to sleep when you are too tired to rock him. As long as the buckle is buckled, he'll stay in it and snooze. Or what i did with my babies (i had 3) i put them to sleep and then transferred them to the swing and kept it on while they slept. My babies were sleeping about 6 hours at a time at age 2 mos. And yes the swing was on for 6 hours. You go through batteries but its WORTH it. the 6 hour stretch was the only time i had them sleep in the swing at night just so i could get shut-eye, and then i had them sleep with me. During the day they took naps in the swing, sometimes on, sometimes off. I transitioned them to a crib at about 6 mos of age when they were better able to calm themselves.

There is also a book with the same title as the DVD. You really need to get one or the other.

With my first daughter i walked around the house holding her for about an hour every time she woke up just to get her back to sleep. I didnt ever swaddle her and I was a wreck!!
I got the DVD with a co-sleeper that i bought when i was pregnant with my son and used the advice from it with my son and next daughter and it helped so much, i never walked another baby around more than i wanted to. I would send you my copy but i lent it out to a friend and she liked it so much she lent it to other friend and so on and so forth.
I dont work for the people who make the DVD and i wont get any money if you buy it, i just know it works!! And its worked for every baby i have ever taken care of at the daycare also.

There is a website www.thehappiestbaby.com.

Hope this helps!!

Answer 3

I feel it is going to be like that for about the first 6 weeks. But the baby will get better with time and you can have some peace. Both of my kids were the same and I thought I was starting something I would regret, but by 6 weeks they were sleeping thru the night in the crib. Just give it time and cherish those moments of hold that little angel. Congratulations!!!

Answer 4

Oh honey I know the feeling, I been there. Let's see of course every baby is different but with both my mine I tried the following things. After my girls were bathed, fed, and had clean diapers on they would still be fussy so my mom in law said it may be colic or in her words, cranky baby syndrome. We used to all have to turn turns holding them because sometimes it was the only way, i would rub their tummies to make sure they didnt have gas, give them a mixture of 1 tablespoon Kayro syrup in an 8oz bottle, give them a warm bath, or if all else failed, sleep with them on my chest. Hope some of these old wives tales can help you out honey! Good Luck.

Answer 5

Maybe if you swaddle him like they did in the hospital. I know it worked for my son. He wants you to hold him cause he hears your heartbeat, feels your body heat and knows he's safe. The swaddling does the same thing. What I use to do was swaddle him, then rock him til he got drowsy or went to sleep, then put him down. He usually slept til his next feeding without trouble. Sorry to say if you keep picking him up when he cries just for mom's attention, he'll learn that behavior and it will be harder when he gets older to break it. I'm a mom to 3, aunt to 12 and been babysitting since I was 10. I've attended numerous parenting classes for my own information.

Answer 6

My oldest son who's 19 had terrible colic and cried until he became into 4 months previous. It became into dwelling hell! he's now an extremely calm individual and it takes lots to get him mad. i don't think of their demeanor whilst they're toddlers has lots to do with how they finally end up as adults. My youngest son who's now 14 became into the best toddler, hardly ever cried did not even choose to be held lots. He now has an extremely short temper and is fairly particularly angered. So for my little ones it became into the alternative of ways they have been whilst they have been toddlers.

Answer 7

like someone else said, swaddling is good. it gives them that feeling that they're back in the womb. i had the same problem that you're having. swaddling only worked for a little while. just until he started breaking out of the swaddle. he would do the same thing. cry and cry when i put him down. a lot of people would disagree, but i let my son fall asleep next to me. babies don't like to be alone. what i did was teach my son to fall asleep on his own. i had the room dimly lit and i turned him in my direction so he could look at me until he dosed off. i started out letting him sleep with me. that was the way i prepared him for the crib. he's 11 weeks old now and sleeps in the crib every night. and they're nothing wrong with holding and rocking your baby to sleep. just think of it as your baby telling you that he appreciates you. my baby loves to be rocked to sleep. and please, please don't let anybody tell you to not sleep with your baby. that's your decision

Answer 8

My twins slept in the Fisher Price Soothing Motions glider for the first three months. I'd just rock them to sleep then lay them in there and strap them in, it lays back more than a swing and it cradles them in softness. It worked miracles, once they hit three months they started putting themselves to sleep in their cribs, but I think it makes them feel like they're still being held. I would strongly recomend buying one, they aren't cheap but they saved my sanity, my baby's were sleeping through the night by 5 weeks and from the time we brought them home from the hospital they were sleeping for 3-4 hours at a time in the glider.

Answer 9

Check out some books by Dr. Sears or go to www.askdrsears.com. He has a lot of good info. You might also want to try a sling. That way baby can sleep and you can still do what you want to.

Answer 10

He's only a month old. There is nothing wrong with rocking him to sleep. At 1 month old, they don't know how to get to sleep by themselves so putting him down while he's still awake probably isn't going to work.
Is he hungry? Make sure you feed him right before he goes to bed. It'll be easier for him to sleep if he's got a full belly.
Just hold him and rock him until you know he's fully asleep and then put him down. Don't sleep with him. There's a chance you could roll on top of him or he could fall off the bed. And if you start sleeping with him all the time, he'll get used to it and never want to sleep in his crib.
Give it a few months and then put him down groggy but awake. It may take a few days, but he'll eventually learn how to put himself to sleep.