how my one week old is sleeping

my one week old DD does not like her cot.
even rugging her up she will only sleep in it for small amounts of times then wakes up restless and crying.

we put her carrier which coverts from the pram to the car then as a hand held carrier and put her in it and that in the cot which she settled much much better but still wouldnt sleep that great
the only way she would settle well was her falling asleep on my chest after a feed, if we tried to move her she would cry and become restless, she slept sound on my chest

what can we do

oh hun, its so hard in the first few weeks!
the way i think of it is that they're sooo used to being in this cramped dark space thats constantly rocking them to sleep that when they come out and get put into cots ect that dont move at all it must be a real shock to them.

Her behaviour is totally normal and it can be very exhausting dealing with it.
We just co-slept, it was the easiest solution for everyone, DD2 slept like a dream when we snuggled, and i got sleep too.

If this isnt an option for u, try and work out her tired cues, and once she starts displaying them, give her a feed and put her to bed.

Is she wrapped? some babies love being wrapped and it helps them go to sleep and stay asleep because they're jump start reflex doesnt wake them. but some babies hate being wrapped and much preffer their hands up near their heads

Hi,
I had similar issues with DD at first, I tried a few things and then found that putting a blanket over the bassinet sheet was the trick. She was awlays wrapped but I think it just added some extra warmth to her back and the back of her head. since I did that she slept so well, even sleeping 7 hours at night from 4 weeks old. I hope you find something soon that will work for your baby.

oh yeh! did that too because every time we put her down she'd wake up!
but instead of a blanket i used a tshirt that i'd been wearing.
id wrap her in it while she was having a just before bed feed then lay it on the matress and put her on it. that way it was warm and smelt like me to give her comfort.

Just wanted to firstly say congratulations on your new bub! And also that what she is doing is very normal for such a new little person :hug:.

As Skybie asked, are you wrapping her? Babies love to be wrapped up tightly, they feel secure and aren't kept awake with their arms waving around or startling. A trick that helped settle my babies in their cot was to wrap them up tightly, put them on their side and pat their back as well as making a loud "shhhhhh" sound in their ear. I also found a dummy was a great way for helping them settle. If you try this method, stick at it for a few minutes if it doesn't work instantly. Once bub is asleep you can roll her onto her back. If she stirs, try rubbing or gently patting her tummy and keep making the "shhhh" sound (which is similar to what she would have heard when still in your belly :)).

If all else fails, you could try using a baby hammock, this worked like magic for my DS1 and DD :).

A bassinette might be better for her until she is a little older? A cot is such a huge open space for a newborn, she may feel safer and more secure in a bassinette if you can get your hands on one?
Wrapping them tightly really helps too, I was given some large cotton wraps which were quite stretchy so I could get the wrapped firmly around DD and they were awesome.

Hi Shell,

that sounds pretty normal :hug: ATM you probably think it wont but things will change once you both get to know each other better. I ended up cosleeping with V for 2 months then gradually movedher to a cot. I still bring her in bed with me in the mornings lol Its great to see their little face looking up at you in the morning..

Thanks for all the great advise everyone

DD still doesn't like the cot , and i understand that now she still needs the confined comfort ,but she will sleep for periods of time in the carrier which we put in to the cot.

But she sleeps best and so does me and DF if she sleeps on my chest.
I feel so scared and nervous doing it though ,I'm scared i will hurt hurt,she will fall off or i will block her breathing.

If you co sleep how do you do it?

I do wrap her up at night which i find helps a lot, but she does love to have her arms out and around her head,so i find if i wrap just one arm up and leave the other out so she can bring it near her head face she likes this better.

We bought a MOSES BASKET with handles and a soft lining etc form Babies r us; it was perfect because he slept in it by the side of our bed so we could always check on him... And we could carry him around to cafes, dinner other peoples house and he would just sleep. He slept in it until he was 6 months old. It was comfy and cosy and he loved being wrapped tight in those baby rugs. though being summer those ' muslin' cloths are the best..... also great for breadtfeeding in public and putting over the pram for sunshade.

Once he was bigger he just settle straight in his cot and now loves to stretch out