3 week old boys

Hi. I am not sure what is right or not right for the babies so I am looking for advice.

The boys eat and sleep well during the day. At night we started giving them a bath, nursing them and then once we swaddle and lay them down in the pack n play they start fussing and crying. It seems they wont lay in there the only way they have been sleeping the past 3 nights is on my husband or I.

They are in their bouncy seats during the day and sleep well.

Any suggestions for the night?

 

Can you elevate one side of pack and play slightly? Once we elevated the head on the bassinets and got sleep positioners my girls slept so much better. They were also taking pacifiers, but I know you are nursing. Mine slept a lot in their carseats at that age, probably because of their heads not being flat. We swaddled, too and found the tighter the swaddle the better the sleep!

 

Maybe try letting them sleep a couple nights in hte bouncy seats - then you could know if it's the place they are sleeping, or that they just get fussy at night.

 

If they sleep well in their bouncy chairs, put them in them - in the crib(s) if you want.

At this age, do what works. I personally was a co-sleeper, but that is not for everyone.

You will not create bad habits or ruin them. That is nonsense IMO at young ages.

Good luck!

 

QUOTE(twinzplus1 @ Jan 30 2009, 10:13 AM) [snapback]1169010[/snapback]
Hi. I am not sure what is right or not right for the babies so I am looking for advice.

The boys eat and sleep well during the day. At night we started giving them a bath, nursing them and then once we swaddle and lay them down in the pack n play they start fussing and crying. It seems they wont lay in there the only way they have been sleeping the past 3 nights is on my husband or I.

They are in their bouncy seats during the day and sleep well.

Any suggestions for the night?


Here's what I did. I always put them down in the crib (or the PNP at that point - they didn't move to the crib until 2 months). If they fussed and wouldn't sleep in the crib, we would put them in swings or bouncy seats. Over time, they did better and better at the crib/PNP. DD starting STTN in the crib at 3 months. DS would sleep until 1 or 2 and then be in the swing from 2 until wake up time. At this point, I really think that getting them to sleep is more important than WHERE they sleep. If they sleep in bouncy seats well, let them sleep in bouncy seats and don't feel bad!

 

QUOTE(Callen @ Jan 30 2009, 10:19 AM) [snapback]1169027[/snapback]
If they sleep well in their bouncy chairs, put them in them - in the crib(s) if you want.

At this age, do what works. I personally was a co-sleeper, but that is not for everyone.

You will not create bad habits or ruin them. That is nonsense IMO at young ages.

Good luck!


Totally agree with Callen! I let them sleep wherever they slept best for the first 3 months. For Emma it was in her swing, and Jake, it was next to me!

 

I totally agree with pp. Let them sleep where they will sleep at this age. You are not forming bad habits. They are too young for that.

 

I also say to put them in whatever works for sleeping at that age :hug: . The first three weeks, ours would only sleep in the bouncy seats. After that, we were able to move them to the pack 'n play.

 

Sleep positioners really helped us. We kept them in the double pack and play on sleep positioners until they were about 4 weeks and then went into their crib on the positioners. We also used pacifiers, FWIW.

 

My babies were the same, slept great in the bouncers and swings all day long, so I figured if thats what they like, they can sleep there at night too. I let them do that until they were 3 months old. Just as friendly FYI, please make sure their heads are no tilted while they are sleeping in the bouncer. I never paid attention to that or thought about it, and I had to take my DS to physical therapy for several months to streach his neck mucles out. Had I straightened his head out this probably wouldnt had been an issue! They told me to roll a wash cloth or recieveing blanket up to prop his head/neck so that it is alined with the rest of his body. He is ok now, but at times when he falls asleep in the car seat I see him going back to his old habits!!

 

You are in survival mode. Do whatever you can to get some sleep. Can you put them down asleep in the PNP instead of awake. I nursed my older DD to sleep until she gave it up at abou 8 months and the boys both fell asleep on the bottle too. That way they dont have to soothe themselves to sleep so early. But if they sleep better in a chair or on you, so be it. Hang in there. :hug:

 

DS went thru a fussy stage also where the only way he would sleep was to start off in the car seat (it was in the crib) than to the swing and finally into the crib.
at that age i would say as long as they are safe i let them sleep where every they slept. we all needed the sleep.

 

Mine also needed some sort of elevation/incline until they were nearly 3 months old. Now they are just fine in their cribs with no incline.

 

Mine were similar at that age. We had them in vibrating bouncy chairs right on our bed at that age. We would rock it as needed while we tried to get a wink of sleep. IT is REALLY common- what you are going through. Dont worry that it will be like this forever, it will not. Just be right there for them now, that is what they want to know. SLeep when they sleep. Go to bed at night as soon as they do. This is what I had to do.

Keep up the good work!

 

LOL, I'm trying to remember those days. . . what a blur!

I'm in the "establish good sleep habits from day 1" camp. I'm not against doing whatever works for you, but I found that certain things did NOT work for us. Habits were formed and eventually have to be broken whether it's at age 2 months or 20 years old. I don't think it's "spoiling" or even wrong to do whatever works, but it was just my conscious decision to avoid certain things. We avoided letting infants falll asleep in swings, bouncies, and moving cars. Although, I did start using the moving car ride to get peace on desperate days! (Never write off a method! LOL)

I did allow my babies to nurse to sleep. Worked for me, but some people avoid it like the plague.
From the first night at home onwards, when it was dark and after a feeding 9 pm or later (but before midnight), we put the guys in their bassinettes in the dark - unswaddled - while they were still awake but drowsy. No music, no nothing really. I
During the day, everytime they cued drowsiness at a feeding, I laid them down in a dim but still light room in their bassinettes with no "crutches" either.

It worked for us, and I like to think they have good sleep habits.

I had one co-sleeper, and at the age of 8 years old, he still has to be near us in order to relax and fall asleep.

I do believe they make sleep associations. It's not bad, but I think it can be played to your advantage too. . . if the method works for you and you can live with it. It's just that breaking certain habits happens sooner or later, I think. t some point, the bouncies won't work.