7 week old will only sleep in day in sling

HI, my 7 week old DD will only nap during the day if i put her in the sling. i have tried and tried to get her to sleep in the cot or even the pram. but she would sleep for 5 mins and then wake screaming. so ive resorted to wearing her in the sling for hours in the afternoon just so she will sleep.

im worried i am creating a bad habit and thats the only way she will sleep from now on. but she desperately needs the sleep, i need the break to get things done. but i dont want this to be an ongoing thing as she gets bigger.

anyone went throu same sort of thing and bubs ended up being able to sleep in their cot later on?

thanks

You poor thing, must be hard getting things done with bubs attached.
Is there any way you could get her to sleep in the sling and then put her in the cot, maybe try having one of your shirts or something in there that smells like you?
She might also like the noises etc when your moving round doing things, so maybe some background music in her room?

Not sure as i never had this but i hope someone has some great advice for you.

GL i'm sure she will sort herself out for you.

My DD did that around 5-7 weeks of age... she will now sleep during the day in her bassinette or pram and in a variety of other places... I can't remember when she did start sleeping longer without the sling but I just remember that when I put her down she wouldn't wake immediately again.

For me I just rode the wave and figured that she would eventually figure out that the pram, bassinette etc were not the enemy. I enjoyed wearing her (and usually do when we are out) but yeah my back started to really hate me for a while there LOL.

GL hope your back gets a break soon :hug:

They go through stages hun - for so long laa would go to sleep in her cot without a problem - and now its highly unlkely that she wont go to sleep unless she is in a sling during the day (can now put her down on the bed though).

It's only natural that bubs wants to be with you. Honestly its much nicer to have baby fall asleep on you happily than rock a whingy baby or walk out of the room while they are crying!

I have never rocked laa to sleep. I just throw her in a sling and carry on with my day :) She is asleep on my back right now!

enjoy it while you can, you will miss it soon enough

i agree with the other girls & don't think you're creating a bad habit. my DS isn't quite 5 months old & has gone through so many diff stages with regards to day sleeps. at some points he would only sleep in the pram, others would only sleep on me etc. at the moment he's going through an complete anti-day sleep phase!

I wouldn't worry about "bad habits" at this age either.

My DS1 was exactly like your bub, would only sleep if I held him and would scream if I put him in his cot and refused to sleep in his pram too. I ended up buying an Amby baby hammock and it saved our lives! He loved being all snugged up in it and I could bounce him off to sleep in it. If he woke up too soon, I could just go in and bounce him back off to sleep. It worked SO well, I didn't know what to do with all my spare time LOL!

I'm using the hammock for DD's day naps now, I'm so glad I hung onto it :D

naaah, if you go back through the threads you'll find heaps of similar ones.

From my own experience I've had 2 exactly the same. With DD I wish I'd not wasted so much time trying to get her to do what eeryone else said. I haven't with DS and while he's still a crap sleeper, I'm experiencing only a fraction of the stress I did with DD.
They're only little for a short amount of time.

I had this issue with DS1 - he wouldn't sleep longer than 30 mins in his bassinet without waking up. My mother suggested I try placing him on his tummy (as mothers were advised back then to prevent babies from choking on their vomit). I was quite apprehensive the first time I tried it with DS1 (what with all the SIDS info etc)- but I have not looked back since. That day was the start of sound sleeping habits for my DS1, and the start of getting my sanity back.
My second son has been exactly the same- even when swaddled, I believe babies just feel so exposed on their back - its just them and the big wide world - iykwim? They like to feel nuzzled up against something - (if not your chest), to feel secure.

Of course I make sure my baby's mattress is firm and that there is nothing in his bassinet that may obstruct his face. It also makes for a much easier transition from being in the sling. You may not feel comfortable trying it - but I had to share my 'secret'. I would be completely bonkers with 2 under 2 were it not for tummy sleeping!!

Jellybean mentioned tummy sleeping as her 'secret' to get her bubs to sleep - well of course it is your choice with your bubs but it does concern me to hear it recommended to others.

Just in case others reading this think it's a good thing to try, SIDS organisations say that stomach sleeping is the no. 1 risk factor in SIDS. So really I'd urge the OP to consider the recommendations of the other posters before thinking of tummy sleeping.
Sids and Kids - Safe Sleeping

Sorry Jellybean I know you were just saying what worked for you.

If you think of it from your DD's POV, up until very recently she's gone from being held, rocked, snuggled 24 hours a day to what is a dramatic cut to that time. It's only natural there'll be a transition period where she wants to be soothed the way she's used to.

As the others have said, this will change in time. You certainly are not creating any 'bad habits' for her, any more than carrying her in your womb for 9 months would have created a bad habit. Give her time to adjust to this new way of doing things.