@tshane My daughter was exactly the same and my wife took the brunt especially as LO was breastfed.
It got better for us after about 12 weeks (apparently LO may not realise shes a separate person to mum (or yourself if your doing lots of contact) until about this time so adds to the velcro-ness.
I don't really have any suggestions and it appears you have had loads of responses but I just wanted to say it will get better and im sure you're both doing the best that you can! Hang in there you both got this...even if it feels like you don't!
@tshane I didn’t read all the comments but just wanted to say my son was SO similar. We held him for the first 5 weeks of his life. The snoo literally saved my sanity. There’s a bit of a learning curve, so don’t give up! Come over to r/snoolife and look into posts about double swaddling. I’d focus on putting baby down asleep once you get it. Good luck!!!! Sending good vibes
@johannatan Same boat. LO will be 4 weeks old on Friday, and he mainly contact sleeps with us (unless he’s in a car seat, which we resort to sometimes for daytime shorter naps). He slept fine in his lounger the first two weeks, and for some reason not a fan for the last few days.
@tshane Is it to do with being lay flat? My 5 week old has milk allergy/reflux and until we sorted those getting him to lay flat in his basket was impossible! It’s not sleep safe but he will also nap in his mamaroo when especially fussy. Can your baby sleep in the car/pram?
@spence Yep! Arms in, arms out, 1 arm in, etc. Gone through 4 or 5 different swaddles. She prefers the ones that have the little weights built into them with arms out. They definitely calm her, just not enough to stay down.
@tshane OP, we also went through this with my little one and it was hell. We felt swaddling didn’t work until we figured out that she preferred a tighter swaddle (like really get that fabric nice and tight around her and check that you can fit two fingers between her chest and the fabric to confirm it’s not preventing her chest from expanding normally). It sounds so obviously but we didn’t think to swaddle her like this because we were exhausted and delirious after 5 weeks of contact napping and waking up hourly. This 4am discovery by my husband was the only thing that got her to sleep in her bassinet and now she’ll give us a 4 hour stretch overnight in her bassinet. A night and day difference. I hope it helps you (or someone in similar dire straits!).
@tshane Our 8 week old is the same. He slept for 10 minutes in the pram today and I actually cried because I couldn’t believe it. All his naps are contact naps (on my chest or in the sling) and we cosleep or chest sleep every night. Failing to see how we can get him to do anything else.
@tshane I had the same issue then got a few swaddle sleepers one of them worked. Complete 180. She slept the full 3hrs to her next feeding. (I was doing feedings through the night because of her size and slow growth). Maybe it will work for you too. The best part is that it is still helpful even though we aren't swaddling anymore because we can wrap the waist and leave her arms out. Its called
SwaddleDesigns 6-Way Omni Swaddle Sack for Newborn with Wrap & Arms Up Sleeves & Mitten Cuffs.
The arms being up is great because she didn't like to be swaddled with her arms down. I just put them on her chest and she was good. Still took all the effort to put down but once she was down she would stay asleep.
@tshane I have a velcro baby too and my anxiety would not allow me to cosleep with my baby. I tried everything and finally broke down and bought a Snoo. I was skeptical when I bought it but it is one of the greatest purchases I've ever made. I bought it when my baby was 5 weeks old and now she's 8 weeks and sleeps on average 6 hours a night. It's incredible
@tshane You’ve got a lot of responses and hopefully this isn’t a repeat of anyone else’s but I had the same baby until about a week ago - he’s 8 weeks now - and we have seen some improvement from the following:
Big bottle feed around 11/11:30pm and he’s started having a 3 hour sleep in his pram bassinet after that.
Using Pram Bassinet rather than standalone, we have attached a white noise machine that does a repeating “ssshhh” sound, and a Zazu rocking machine that gently rocks the pram. This rocking machine resettles him really well when he starts grumbling and grunting and it’s only about $70 as opposed to the snoo at $2000!(Aussie dollars). Technically the pram bassinet isn’t rated for night sleep but it’s approved for naps which is good enough for me. He’s on a flat firm surface free from suffocation risks.
we found out he has silent reflux so we are thickening his food and this has maybe helped his discomfort
Infants Friend gas drops and daily probiotic
Could be one or more of these things or just his age… but maybe helpful for you. I suspect it’s age and the rocker on the pram, I can actually see that working to settle him. Not sure if it’s available outside australia but this is the thing : https://www.bubsngrubs.com.au/zazu-...YfjKSFJL_KlEoPTmce3Tuhu_Nk3uHBMBoCCOkQAvD_BwE or there is the Rockit Rocker which is similar
