Is it true that the 6-8week period is the worst? I can’t put my baby down in her cot without her waking :(

[maryatheseeker]

FTM here and nothing prepared me for the insane crying and lack of sleep.
My LO is currently 7 weeks old and starting last week she just cannot be put down in her crib. She fights every single nap (we always give full feeds, do the EASY, room is optimised etc, watch wake windows). Cries the house down. When we pick her up to soothe her to sleep, putting down is another waiting game- 9/10 times she will wake up screaming within 5-10 mins. I know she is really tired cos she yawns non stop and rubs her face on my chest.

It’s so defeating to spend 20mins-1hour helping her sleep only to have her wake up in the next 5 mins.
Is this a 6-8 week fussiness thing? Should I just let her sleep on me all the time? Help!

Edit: she sleeps well from 12midnight till the morning. It’s the AM to midnight stretch that is hell for me

 

[beaverpond]

@maryatheseeker Yes I remember this period being uniquely difficult. I think for us was unfortunately longer than 2 weeks. I prioritized naps at all costs..feed to sleep, carrier naps, contact nap if all else failed. It is a phase!

 

[loveandhope]

@beaverpond yes same here. This period was so so hard. But then there is a break and they fall into a routine! Then they switch that up again 10 week FTM over here and just got through that myself. I contact napped like crazy just to get her through the day. You got this mama it’s for a season!

 

[annagrace]

@maryatheseeker Yes! 6-8 week fussiness is normal unfortunately. Probably a growth spurt. The same happened to me - I would put her down and she’d scream- and I noticed sometimes when I pick her up my LO had a HUGE burp/gas bubble to let out which was why she was screaming … so now I bounce her lightly or do small wiggles before naps. The amount of very delayed burps still surprises me. I hope this helps!

 

[rockpapernuke]

@annagrace I second this!! Right when we started making sure our baby stayed upright 20 mins after eating or burping her even if she ate awhile ago it helped a lot! The delayed burps really surprised me too. This in turn helped her sleep better too!

 

[maryatheseeker]

@rockpapernuke I’m trying to keep to keep the the wake window/sleepy cue thing and she can’t last more than 30-40 min without starting to yawn! I’m afraid I will bust the WW, though at this point keeping within it doesn’t help her sleep

 

[rockpapernuke]

@maryatheseeker Does she fall asleep during feedings even with EASY?

 

[maryatheseeker]

@rockpapernuke Not usually! We try to let her fully rouse to get a full feed in

 

[annagrace]

@maryatheseeker The Huckleberry app saved me when it came to wake windows. It gives you a sweet spot time and you can also manually change it /create a custom timeline for your baby’s schedule when you know them well enough. You log information and it does the rest! Sometimes my LO can handle 50 mins and sometimes she can handle almost 2 hours. It depends on how much sleep pressure she has. She is not great in the mornings but sleeps well in the afternoon (she’s 11 weeks). It took me a while to learn and see patterns but the app definitely helped me understand when she would be tired next

 

[eulsookim]

@annagrace Do you have experience with Huckleberry premium version?

 

[annagrace]

@eulsookim I think I have the plus version but not premium!

 

[bobbiebharper]

@maryatheseeker I think I remember hearing that before I think around that time this is a growth spurt

 

[lilyj]

@maryatheseeker 16 weeks here and still exclusively contacting nap during the day despite sleeping brilliantly in her cot at night . Doesn't matter what we try during the day, the second her head hits the cot she's awake and crying.

 

[azelea]

@lilyj I feel you on the that, mine’s 14 weeks

 

[dixieheart]

@maryatheseeker My LO is 11 weeks and still really only contact naps for all daytime naps (sleeps well overnight MOST of the time). Drives me nuts. All this started around 6 weeks and hasn’t stopped. I think I’ve just come to accept that this is life for the time being.

I commented on another post somewhere that with each daytime nap I attempt two transfers per nap to the bassinet and if they fail then we contact nap and I end that contact nap by transferring to the bassinet (because she’ll most likely wake up).

I’m trying to appreciate the snuggles and use the time I’m nap trapped to book appts, organise social catch-ups, meal plan, order grocery delivery, catch up on podcasts and watch a little Netflix.

 

[researchguy]

@dixieheart Mine is the exact same!!! And 11 weeks old too. Just know that when your stuck contact napping there’s another mother doing the exact same thing. Suffer buddies right? lol

 

[dixieheart]

@researchguy Haha, suffer buddies! I love it!

 

[0927123]

@maryatheseeker Somewhat in the same boat. My little one is 3w old and was almost always waking up when put to crib. Although sleeping on bed wasn’t much of a problem.

A couple of issues we learnt- one is the touch - babies tend to soothe more when felt the touch - much more comforting. The other and most important discovery we learnt is the motion of putting to crib. When put down, my baby felt that he’s falling - and the startle movement tends to put him slightly off sleep and then within 10mins he ‘d be up. However, the hack - once and now tried multiple times - we laid him down on his diaper changing pad and kept the whole pad slowly into the crib; and then he would sleep his hours.

What we realised is that it’s motion of putting the baby down from the arms and to the crib bed - feels like free falling for them and is probably the cause.

Give it a shot if that helps.

 

[pho3nix]

@0927123 What kind of pad are you talking about with your change table? Please explain, I also need help with this!

 

[0927123]

@pho3nix Search for ‘diaper changing table mat’ on Google. Adding this pic for reference.

https://preview.redd.it/z3h15nc4jm3...bp&s=a7bd7a0ce663365e9ff3e5ffac076a33507d0311