6week old won't sleep

My 6 week old has just stopped wanting to sleep for long periods of time unless he is in my arms.
It's driving me nuts as I can't get anything done and have two other little ones to look after and entertain!
I'm going to put him in my hug a bub tomorrow and see if he will sleep in that So I can get things done round here. This has just started as he was so good going to sleep in his cot. Any other tips or is this just one of those stormy periods before a good one maybe?
My other two were never this clingy :-(
I don't want to make a rod for my own back by carrying him around, I would rather him go to sleep in his cot!

Ah, it's hard when they change n you. the good news is that it's totally normal for young children to need help to sleep, they grow out of it when they're developmentally ready and you do not make a rod for your back if you hold them. All you're doing is giving them what they need and making life easier for yourself.
Hope the HAB works for you guys! It was a godsend with my son (who, by the way, went happily to bed by himself in his own bed when he was good and ready). My daughter preferred the ergo :)

Thanks MadB!
I have an ergo and a baby beijorn so I'm well equiped to try anything! Even with 2 other kids you forget the whole newborn thing and I guess I'm sleep deprived and looking for reassurance or any other tips to get him to sleep for more than a 20 minute cycle by himself!
Fingers crossed he sorts himself out soon enough! I feel terrible but I just dont have the time to spend shooshing and patting his bottom and being in and out of his room :redface: I feel terrible saying that but its true! If I do I then feel guilty for neglecting the other two who want to play or eat or go outside!

He could also be going through a "Wonder Week" as well. The first one happens around about 6 weeks of age, and as he is going through a new developmental milestone he may be reacting to this by being more clingy.

Hopefully he will be better very soon.

Hi Leesha,

We've just gone through the same thing the other week. Dream sleeper for awhile and then awake and clingy. It passed, so I'm guessing it was the wonder week.
It feels like forever though, when they just won't sleep and you can't get anything done.

Yep, I"d just wear him and get on with the other stuff you need to do. Patting and shushing is way more effort (talk about a rod for your back ;))

Or pop him in the pram and all go to the park/playground....

never understood the rod for your back thing. worn all my kids for various reasons and in their own time they went into beds and cots or our bed when they need it. wearing baby creates lovely bond and makes baby feel secure and leaves your hands free- plus they sleep through things they may not sleep through in a cot.
And yummy new born snuggels its a great thing wearing babys

Sent from my Galaxy with the barefoot princess covering me in kisses, so please forgive the mistakes

Ok so now we are 7.5 weeks old and things are not improving sleep wise. He is not self settling at all and Only sleeps in his capsule or in the hug a bub but not for very long. He seems to only sleep when I'm out and about and it's noisy..music or the radio in his room doesn't seem to work either!
I can't sleep with him in my bed at night as he is too noisy and grunty and I don't sleep properly.
I've tried letting him have a short cry then going in to reassure him, leave the room when he is quiet and eyes closed, then bam it starts again and can go on like this until it's feed time again and he falls asleep feeding. Put him down and bam awake again... I'm starting to get cranky and frustrated with him and I don't wanna be :-(

Hugs. You must be so tired.
Does baby have a dummy?that may help him with settling. If he has silent reflux it will also help.
Silent reflux often stops babys from settling.
In the daytime have tried wearing him in a sling or carrier?

Sent from my Galaxy with the barefoot princess covering me in kisses, so please forgive the mistakes

is feeding him to sleep an option? All kids seem to be different with thier sleeping patterns and while your other 2 may not have needed as much help to go to sleep this may be different :dunno: FWIW my DS never self settled until he was over 1 and that is not including his night wakings.

have you tried a shirt of yours under his head? it might be he cant smell you any more? i did that with DJ - but he had some cotton under his head cus of his reflux and his ability to wake and chuck! hope he settles down for you soon

Ah, it's rough, I know. Is it helpful to know that biologically we're not designed to self-settle or sleep alone as infants? Sometimes we assume there's something wrong with our babies - or us! - when they are actually behaving like normal babies.
Right now, what works? Wearing him in the HAB, feeding, yes? Anything else? My honest advice is to just do what works and what is going to be easiest for you right now. Don't worry about the longer term - it'll sort itself out with time. Right now he needs to sleep and you need some rest too, so whatever is easiest may help.

My boy went through the same stage hun. From 3 to 12 weeks he would only sleep on me. If I put him down, he'd last 10 minutes max. It was freaking exhausting, but it did pass.

Now if he sleeps for too long in his cot, I miss him and can't wait for him to wake up.

When I was in the middle of it, I would hate it when people said 'it will pass' and 'it won't last forever' because I couldn't see how it would ever end... But it did.

He still doesn't self-settle, but I honestly dint try too hard and absolutely adore seeing his little sleepy eyes close as he drifts off in my arms.

What about a white noise app placed in the sound system? My ds also used to love the clothes dryer and would sleep in a rocker in the laundry. I used to worry about his ears sometimes because he liked white noise really LOUD!!!

Otherwise try to let go expectations of sleep. Just assume he is doing just what he needs to do. Let's instead think about how to help you! Are you getting help with the older kids, or meals or cleaning etc? It will pass eventually, but you need support.

:hug:

Oh girls thank you for the replies!!
I have the sounds for silence cd that worked with the other two especially when playing the white noise! This little guy it does nothing for!
My concern is I guess that he is falling asleep easily enough on me but once put down or taken out of the car he is wide awake and just not getting enough sleep. I know it's becoming an issue now as he is very laid back and cruzy but Yesty and today is very irritable when left on the floor on his playmat or lied in his cot. You can tell he is not getting enough sleep.
The only sleep he had today was half an hour this morning and again at about 5pm and that was in his rocker!
Just a thought, he had immunisations on friday, do you think that could be exacerbating the sleeping issue??
Thanks for the concern about me but I'm coping as best I can, dh is a baker so is gone all night working and then sleeps all day so keeping the house quiet and keeping on top of the housework is hard. Ds1 is at my parents for a few nights this week so that will help!
I know this will pass but right now it is feeling like a big issue that's not getting any better :-(

No real advice, but wanted to let you know my 7 week old is doing the exact.same thing, he is only happy sleeping on me (which is where he is now!). It's frustrating as you still need to tend to the other children as well, I feel bad I haven't been able to spend as much time with them. Ive also resorted to wearing him in the baby Bjorn so I have my hands free to get on with other things and I've been trying to settle him in the bouncer but he will only sleep about 20 minutes there. I'm sure it wil pass eventually, just pretty exhausting for us mummies! Hope you can get some rest soon!

Do you think he's getting overtired and then that's making it harder for him to settle?
I spent a week at sleep school with our first, who was a reflux baby and he only slept for 20 mins at a time,during the day. OMG. It was exhausting. He would wake up and be cranky b/c he wasn't getting enough sleep. Even the sleep school people said that I was doing everything that they recommended and some babies just have to outgrow that stage.
One thing we did learn was that all babies cycle through the different sleep cycles and come up to the surface after 20-40 mins and can wake easily or appear awake at these times. They will grizzle or cry a little and it's getting them to fall back into the next sleep cycle that's hard. Have you tried to re-settle him when he first wakes, without picking him up straight away? It can take some babies awhile to get this. Adults also do the same thing at night, but we've learnt how to sleep through and not fully wake up etc.

Sometimes, they will wake up after the initial cycle and if they're not where they were, when they fell asleep,they will wake up fully and cry. DS1 would do this, cos he would no longer be in our arms where he fell asleep. Not sure if you could try transferring bubs when they're sleepy but not asleep into their cot? Takes ages to pat, or rock them off to sleep. Also, maybe look up early tired cues - this is what saved us with all of our kids - the jerky arms/ legs when they're up/clenched fists and looking away - bam! get them into bed pronto and they sleep much better and for longer. Whereas, if you wait for yawning, crying etc these are late tired cues and boy it's hard to get them down when they're overtired.
We've just driven back 1.5hrs from Melb where we've been to a funeral/wake all day and the kids were feral by the time we got home. I was really scared that DD wouldn't go down as she screamed for about half the drive home.
And as somebody else mentioned, just do what works for your bub, right now. Hope things improve soon for you

Omg we are up having a feed now after a massive 6 hour sleep...Will see how the rest of the night goes...I knew he was buggered after no sleep today.

Woo hoo!!!