My baby won't let me put her down...

Lori - posted on 09/05/2009

One thing is that even though she may know her daddy by voice, she remembers hearing your heartbeat for the last 9 months. It's that soothing sound that she is missing. Also, moms have a unique and distinctive smell that your newborn is craving. I find that laying them down with a shirt that you have worn usually helps them to relax as well as smell you. Also, try getting one of those teddy bears that makes wound sounds. I heard that helps, too.

Danae - posted on 08/23/2009

My nana used to call that arm&lap fever. Best thing I ever did was teach my kiddos to sleep. Get them on a schedule so they know what to expect, but then teach them to sleep on their own, tough love. My Daughter (2) and son 2 (mths) are great sleepers he even sleeps 8 hours a night right now. She sleeps 12 still and has since she was 6 mths old. I can walk in and put them down awake and they fall asleep themselves. Read "BabyWise: Giving Your Infant The Gift of Nightime Sleep" worked wonders for both of mine :-) Good Luck

Vicky - posted on 08/23/2009

Quoting Charlene:

I had this problem with my son but my husband showed me a trick that works wonders! First I would swaddle the baby real tight. Even he's wiggly and doesn't seem to like it, it does really comfort him once he's calmed down. Then I sit in the rocking chair and rock him to sleep. When he seems to be droopy and almost asleep, I'd stop rocking but not move him. Sometimes he'd react and sometimes he wouldn't. Go from rocking to not rocking to rocking to not rocking for a couple minutes. Then when he stops reacting to the difference in motion, take him from the cuddle to a little farther away and repeat the sometimes rocking sometimes not rocking. When he stops reacting I take him and just lie him on my lap, no snuggles but still holding him. Repeat the rocking thing. Once he stops reacting to that, I stop rocking all together. Snap my fingers in front of his face to make sure he is actually asleep. If he is, I put him in his cradle and rock it one more time. If he's not, I keep repeating the rock, not rock, until he is.

We did this for a couple of nights until he got used to things being different all the time and still being able to sleep through the change. Now that he's a pro at that, we put him in his cradle still drowsy but not quite asleep. It works wonderfully with us. Hope it helps you!

hi charlene..  i thought i was the only one who was being a bit over hectic about it.. my hubby was also the one who taught me this trick..think daddies know better than mummies..

Jennifer - posted on 08/15/2009

I had this problem with my daughter (now 2mos), and sometimes still do if she isn't in the greatest of moods.. What I found helped was to hold her on my shoulder (kind of like if you are burping) and let her fall alseep that way, then VERY gently and slowly lower her directly from the shoulder to the bassinet (being sure your hand is supporting her neck & arms are keeing her arms from flopping since that will likely wake her). Sometimes I had to repeat several times, but eventually she got the hint- & Rylie is awake a bunch too, so no worries if yours doesn't sleep as much as you think she should as long as she IS sleeping. Let us know how it turns out!

Katrina - posted on 08/14/2009

We have this most of the time to. What I have found helpful is a good sling. I went to the local fabric store and brought 5metres (about 6 yards) of cotton fabric and cut it down the width. Now I just tie her onto me when I really need to go and get something done or attend one of the other girls. Tahlia loves it and it frees me up.

Louise - posted on 08/12/2009

Great advice. I found in the beginning, being warm was a specific problem for my little man and I had to make sure he was warmer than me. Now that we are moving into spring here it's tricky to judge how much to wrap him up.

Kathryn - posted on 08/10/2009

I tried the controlled crying technique too. She still protests when I put her down, but instead of it lasting for a long time, it only takes a few mins for her to settle down. I also tried the pick up/put down method but it didn't last long, I think they are too young for this right now. She is 7 weeks old. PU/PD is from the Baby Whisperer. You pick them up until they are soothed and calm, then put them down. Repeat until baby stops protesting. Only keep them in your arms until they are calmed down, no longer, as this reinforces the problem. Good luck!

Abigail - posted on 08/09/2009

i have the same prob...and mine hates swaddling..she is 7 weeks

Helen - posted on 08/02/2009

With my older children I was told by the health visitor to try the controlled crying technique and I have to say it worked with all 3 of them. When they first start to cry leave them for 1 min before going to them and soothing them and then walk away, when they cry again leave it for two mins and do the same reassure them and then walk away again and then keep doing this increasing the time each time. Repeat the same process each time and gradually leave the time periods longer and longer. It is quite time consuming and frustrating and almost a waste of timeat first, but it does work if you stick to it after a few days.

Charlene - posted on 08/02/2009

I had this problem with my son but my husband showed me a trick that works wonders! First I would swaddle the baby real tight. Even he's wiggly and doesn't seem to like it, it does really comfort him once he's calmed down. Then I sit in the rocking chair and rock him to sleep. When he seems to be droopy and almost asleep, I'd stop rocking but not move him. Sometimes he'd react and sometimes he wouldn't. Go from rocking to not rocking to rocking to not rocking for a couple minutes. Then when he stops reacting to the difference in motion, take him from the cuddle to a little farther away and repeat the sometimes rocking sometimes not rocking. When he stops reacting I take him and just lie him on my lap, no snuggles but still holding him. Repeat the rocking thing. Once he stops reacting to that, I stop rocking all together. Snap my fingers in front of his face to make sure he is actually asleep. If he is, I put him in his cradle and rock it one more time. If he's not, I keep repeating the rock, not rock, until he is.

We did this for a couple of nights until he got used to things being different all the time and still being able to sleep through the change. Now that he's a pro at that, we put him in his cradle still drowsy but not quite asleep. It works wonderfully with us. Hope it helps you!

Krystin - posted on 07/28/2009

As soon as my daughter closes her eyes, I try to put her down. If she wakes up, then I try to settle her back down (that has been good enough the past few days) but if that doesnt work then I put her in her bouncy or her swing for an hour or so then take her to bed and she stays there.

Beth - posted on 07/27/2009

you got great tips but one more for you IF your baby wakes when you place her into her crib when she falls asleep.... use a heating pad to warm where you will place her...obviously just slightly warm not hot so when you place her down it isn't cold and startling to her - it will ease the transition from your warm body to the crib - i never tried this but my sister needed to do it with one of her boys and it worked

Melony - posted on 07/25/2009

I had this problem in the first two weeks - the Midwife advised me to place a rolled up hand towel in an upside down U shape around baby's head in the crib and this really helped. Similar to the swaddle idea it makes baby feel more cocooned and safe. I hope this helps too.

Lisa - posted on 07/24/2009

Swaddling is the best remedy for this!! Swaddle her first and then hold her until she falls asleep, or has the droopy eyes. Then try putting her down. Even if it seems like she doesn't want to be swaddled, its OK to "force it." As soon as she's bundled up she'll feel more like she did in the womb, and fall asleep. My sister and I both had the same issue and this worked SO well. Good luck! I hope this helps!

Alyse - posted on 07/24/2009

My youngest...Maddie...is the same way. My son Hayden now 3 was not at all like that. So at my last pediatrician appointment I asked my doctor about it... he said she just enjoys affection and not to ignore it. You can't spoil her in the first three month. :)

Nancy - posted on 07/24/2009

My son, who is now 6 weeks, was like this at first. What we did was hold him till he fell asleep and then put him in his crib. You could also try swaddling her before putting her down, she will fall asleep when she's tired enough.

Kim - posted on 07/23/2009

I had the same problem with both of my children - my oldest is now 5. I found that the thing that solved this was letting my children sleep on their stomachs. I know this isn't the preferred way but our pediactrician said that our sanity is important too. We do try to sleep him on his back whenever possible but we do need good sleep too. Hope this helps.