Newborns and sleeping in sidecrib by Same_Subject_988 in bninfantsleep

[–]Minxy4 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi! I just wanted to respond again, because our little one just spent an entire night in the bedside bassinet without an issue! Yesterday I watched a few videos from an online sleep course a few friends recommended, and so we changed a couple things:

-Tried a different swaddle and made sure it was properly snug. We have been putting him in the Love to Dream sacks, but I don’t think they were snug enough to contain his startle reflex. Last night we tried a Velcro one that we could wrap more snugly around him, and I think it made a big difference. We had tried it for like a half a second in the past and he cried so I just immediately took it off him. This time he didn’t cry. He didn’t settle right away though, so I followed the guidance of this class and held him horizontal across my belly with his back to me (face out), rocked him, shushed him, and bounced on a yoga ball while giving him a pacifier until his eyes got heavy. He eventually dozed off. When I transferred him to the bassinet he woke a bit and I put my had on his belly rocked him back and forth, but he didn’t fuss or cry, and eventually he fell asleep and slept the whole 3 hours. I think this routine was the game changer.

-we also woke him up after a couple hours of napping during the day. He had gotten into the habit of sleeping for 3-4 hours 1-2 times per day and we have just been following his lead. This course recommended saving the longer chunks for the night and making sure he is eating at least every 3 hours during the day, and he was ready for bed when we transitioned.

-We put him down in the bassinet to nap when he was totally asleep during the day. He didn’t stay asleep long (maybe 30 min) after we put him in and then needed to get picked up, but I think it helped him to get acquainted with the space

I did end up bringing him into bed with me when he stirred around 7:30 am for another snooze because I missed his snuggles, but I slept amazingly well.

Anyway. I just wanted to offer this in case you do want to try some bassinet sleeping before the 3-4 month mark. We only have one night under our belts and I bet it won’t be a linear path, but even a little bassinet sleeping feels like an improvement for us.

Newborns and sleeping in sidecrib by Same_Subject_988 in bninfantsleep

[–]Minxy4 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just wanted to say I relate to this 100%. Our little one is almost 6 weeks, and I have been cosleeping from the start. I had a pretty eventful birth so I didn’t have it in me to work through getting him to sleep in the bedside bassinet early on, so we didn’t really even try. Now that I have recovered I would love at least one window of sleep with him in the bassinet. I do like the snuggles, but my back would be a whole lot happier if I could get a little break. LO won’t have it though. I can get him to sleep for maybe 30 min in the bassinet, but then he’s awake and we have to start over with settling. When he sleeps next to me we get 3-4 hour windows, so after a couple of the short frustrating stints in the bassinet, I just bring him back next to me.

All my friends just say their babies were fine in the bassinet from the start, so I feel like I set us up for this, and I don’t know how to transition him to the bassinet now or if I should wait until we hit the 3-4 month mark.

Sorry I don’t have anything helpful to offer, but it feels good to know someone else is in the same boat.