Babble

My 7 week old daughter refuses to sleep in her bassinet. She will sleep in her bouncer, swing and car seat, but cries constantly when we put her in the bassinet. We have resorted to putting her in her car seat at night just so we can all get some sleep. Has anybody had this problem and/or have any suggestions? I'm worried that she can't sleep like this forever.
Thanks! Erica

hey Erica, We just transferred our kid from hammock to cot and he was rolling around like a freak, so, we rolled up a couple of towels in each side of the cot then put his sheep skin rug on top, creating a mild recessed valley for him to sleep in, worked a treat. good luck check at more tips at my blog/site www.halfassdad.com cheers half ass dad

 Have you tried a sleep wedge? http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2401848

She may have reflux or something that makes it uncomfortable to lie flat.

Erica, we had the same problem.  Our son is now 13 weeks old and he is now sleeping in his crib at night, but napping in his swing or carseat.  Our solution was surely not on purpose, but here is how it started:  We had a very trying day of car travel, LOTS of traffic and he was in his carseat screaming 3/4 of the time...poor thing. When we got home...2 hours past his bedtime, we put him to sleep in his crib...he slept 9 hour straight!!!! (Only 3rd time he has ever done that).  Since then, he is sleeping in his crib at night.  Like I said, not intentional, but it worked.

Now I just have to work on the naps...

PS - The relux thing was interesting...he may have this as well...the Dr said we can do Baby Zantac if we wanted...

I would check with your doctor about reflux, too - does she spit up a lot after nursing? Basically, in the beginning, just get them to sleep. As our ped told us, we can fix the carseat/swing/whatever works thing later, but you can't fix jumping out a window because you haven't had any sleep in months. When we put Gussie in her carseat to sleep, which we only did for a few weeks, we put it right inside her crib, so she would at least associate the crib with sleep. Then we switched to raising the head of her crib, as someone else mentioned. You can buy a wedge, or you can just roll up a towel and stick it under her mattress at the head of her bed. It really works like a charm.

Good luck and sleep tight!

Oh man Paige HATED sleeping flat! The second we would put her down she'd wake up and start bawling her brains out. My solution? For naps she slept in her swing for awhile and for night time she slept in her boppy while she was little on our bed, and now we co-sleep and she's six month so she sleeps on her side (which is fine)

 

But I totally second and third a sleep wedge! Those work great (I used that in our bed sometimes)  

 I would suggest looking into an Amby Baby Hammock.  My daughter wouldn't sleep flat at that age either and the hammock was the only way to get her to sleep at night (and it made me feel better than using a car seat or bouncer because it's designed as a bed).   Now she's 4 1/2 months old and can roll over on her own, so she's allowed to be a tummy sleeper now and is happy in a flat bed.  The Amby beds are sort of expensive, but resale value is good on eBay, and it was worth it as far as I'm concerned.

For some parents, getting their children to sleep is no problem at all. For others, it invariably involves a major struggle.

 * The first step to ensuring that your children take to their bed without much fuss is to establish a bedtime routine. When children sleep at the same time everyday, their body adapts to the cycle and they fall asleep easily.

* It helps to restrict activities that are physically or mentally stimulating, such as watching a television or computer screen or indulging in physical play, at least a couple of hours before bedtime. More sedate activities such as reading, drawing, or playing with stuffed toys are fine.

* It is a good idea to get your child in the mood for sleep by telling a bedtime story, or putting on some soft music. Besides helping them unwind, such activities form an association with bedtime in children's minds, and help them to anticipate sleep.

* Take steps to make your child comfortable during the night. You may keep a favorite stuffed toy or object alongside to comfort your child.

* Ensure that your child's clothes are comfortable—not too tight, and neither too hot or too cold.

* Once you have tucked your child in bed, leave the room. Let your child learn to settle down and fall asleep without depending on your presence to be able to do so.

 Find more information about sleeping pattern of one months old baby at http://www.greatdad.com/tertiary/338/2213/sleeping-patterns.html 

My son didn't sleep flat until he was 8 months old.  We let him sleep in his swing every night.  We even moved his swing up into his bedroom so that he wouldn't be disturbed by noise in the house.  At 8 months, he started to get uncomfortable so we took the swing away.  Took a couple days, but after that, he slept in his crib.  I would say don't worry too much.  Your daugher will sleep flat when she is ready.  Good luck.