My newborn baby won't sleep, is there something we can do?

Question

She cries, groans, moans, and sighs as soon as we lay her in the crib. But if we pick her up, she'll knock right out! Is there anything we can do?

Answer 1

You got to tough it out. Put her down...let her cry. Go back in after five minutes. The next night...wait ten. The next night...wait fifteen. Eventually she will get the hang of it but it may take a while!!

My youngest daughter was like this....actually she still is and she's 13 months old. Cries herself to sleep everynight. But then sleeps straight through. Some babies just dont' want their parents to be away from them....I like to think she just loves me that much! My pediatrician said it's fine....that some babies just prefer being around others.

Besides...who wouldn' want to sleep all snuggled up on someone else all night?

Answer 2

Your baby is giving you the answer--she sleeps when held. Normal healthy newborn behaviour. She will sleep, she just doesn't like being put down on a cold hard surface with no human contact. Perfectly understandable. Every baby I know responds in the same way. How old is she?

Babies don't know what sleep is and they are hardwired to need human contact. This whole crib business is a strange invention that goes against human nature, and can be very upsetting for babies.

Please check out this link for a recent study that shows that co-sleeping is in fact the norm--putting the baby in a separate room/bed is a new Western thing that is actually causing problems. Co-sleeping reduces your baby's chances of getting SIDS, and has ALL kinds of benefits, including more sleep for Mom and Dad!

http://discovermagazine.com/1992/apr/areasonablesleep25

I slept with my first baby and now sleep with my second baby. It's the best thing, and both are well adjusted secure healthy boys. And it means baby sleeps well.

Try a sling or wrap if it's naptime. That way she can sleep when you need to get stuff done. As she gets older, it will be easier to put her down when she is in a DEEP sleep. That means if you lift her arm, it is totaly floppy.

Depending on her age, swadling also helps babies feel held when put down (in a deep sleep).

Answer 3

Welcome to the wonderful life of having a newborn. Honey, I had five of those and I spent many sleepless nights in the beginning just because of babies who were identical to yours. Hang in there. That doesn't last long...even if it seems like eternity now. The good thing about it, was that by constantly holding my little babies like that, they developed the security they needed to sleep through the night a lot quicker than the babies of my friends. All of them were sleeping through the night by six weeks. At about 1month, I'd put them in their swing all swaddled up and slept on the couch. As soon as they got use to falling asleep there, I began feeding them cereal (very soupy cereal at first), to fill their bellies so they slept longer. Worked like a charm. I know you are going to get alot of people telling you it's okay to let a baby cry...and to some degree it is....but never a newborn sweetie. So until then, sleep when baby sleeps...the laundry can wait until the hubby comes home to help.

God Bless and congratulations!

Answer 4

swaddle her (wrap her up tight in blankets with her arms down at her side). put a loud fan on, or ocean sounds, any white noise. you can "shush" her and rub her back or belly while she is in her crib. of course, make sure she doesn't have a burp or she's not hungry or wet... and you can lay her down, put on the noises, and then walk away and if she cries, let her go for a few minutes, go back in and reassure her that you're still there when she needs you. Then, leave again, and if she cries, let her go again, and repeat until she gets the message. Hang in there, it doesn't happen right away! I have a 19 month old and 7 month old, and they both are great sleepers! I did it this way. Make sure there is a small night light, the noise is very important, swaddling can really help (It makes them feel like they are in the womb) and of course, binkys!

Answer 5

Drive her around the block a few times let her fall asleep in her carrier and put that by your bed , it is not something you want to do all the time but if you are desperate right now or even later it worked really well for me when my kids were newborns and there isnt anything wrong with letting your baby sleep in her carrier long as you dont do it all the time ,

Answer 6

When my son was first born, he had trouble getting to sleep, also. I would put him in his swing and let the motions put him to sleep. (This would usually put him in a deep sleep) If that doesn't work, lay her down as soon as she falls asleep in your arms and very gently lay her down and then duck down so she can't see you if she wakes up! (I know this sounds silly, but with my son if he saw me there he would start crying. But if she realizes that she's asleep without mom and dad, she might be ok with it.) If she wakes up crying, try just rubbing her belly to soothe or back to sleep, but don't pick up. If she's atleast 3 months, let her cry it out for a while and see if that works. Also make sure she's full before laying her down. If she's been asleep for a little while and makes little noises in her sleep, don't automatically wake her right away, babies are naturally noisy sleepers. Good luck! (I got lucky....he's been sleeping all night since 7 weeks!) Oh yeah, keep in mind that the womb is very noisy, so she might sleep better if you put a fan in her room or get one of those bears that makes the noise she heard in the womb. (He slept with the noise of the fan)

Answer 7

well in my experience, i went through the same thing with my son and the only thing that worked for me was to put him to sleep in a swing first then when i was sure that he was out like a light i would switch him to the crib, u can also try putting her in a bouncer that vibrates. if that fails then try to rock her to sleep while she is in the crib, no matter how much she cries, she has to get used to the fact that the crib is her bed. good luck.

Answer 8

I know it's a crisis when The Baby Won't Sleep, but this is how newborns are, so just hold her a lot and enjoy her tiny little self - she will be a big ol' girl before you know it, and you'll miss those days when the worst problem was getting her to sleep...

Answer 9

Remember in the hospital they swaddled the babies to keep them feeling safe. If you swaddle the baby and put her in her crib, then turn on some soft music, she should go right to sleep. As long as she's dry, fed, burped, and not sick. I'm a mom to 3..been there.

Answer 10

Most training books will tell you to let the child get used to falling asleep on their own. Let her cry for a while. I fell into the same habit as you when my daughter was born. Eventually my husband put his foot down, when I was beyond exhausted, and put her in her crib. She cried herself to sleep and I got a little bit of decent sleep. Things started turning around at that point.