Baby Won't Sleep in Bassinet at Night

I am not one to give advice b/c my baby slept in his swing a lot when he was brand new and we had then transition him to the crib but we did it. Whatever it took to get sleep we did!

I had the same problem when I brought my son home. He just didn't like the bassinet so I put him in his crib, in his own room with the monitor and he has slept great ever since. He's 20 months now and loves his own bed. Hope that helps. Good luck.

Honestly -for the first 4 months - it's crazy -they have no real sleep pattern and they really can't learn one just yet. Just keep trying different stuff to make it through - you just have to do whatever works for the first few months -don't worry about spoiling them -it may be the swing, or the crib, or on your chest or whatever. Mine had days and nights mixed up bigtime!
It does get better though.

I padded the bassinet with a pillow and placed a baby blanket around it. It made it extremely soft, however, mine didn't sleep in it at night.

At this age, all of mine slept with us. But we were fortunate to not have problems with them getting out of our bed.

She just wants to be near you. Cuddle with her at night and get some sleep. Whatever it takes. She'll change again in a few weeks.

Enjoy your little one.....I loved this stage.

Congratulations!

We had the same problem with our now 4 month old. He slept great in his carrier so we let him sleep in it for about 6-8 weeks. He just now, for the last 3 weeks, has been sleeping in his basinette. Save your sanity and do whatever works, even if it sounds quirky! Good luck! I feel your pain.

My baby didn't sleep too well in the bassinet either, so we set her crib up in our room. It was a pain to take it apart and move it to our room after we had just gotten the baby's room all set up, but she slept better in it. She could see me and I could see her unlike in the bassinet. I don't know if that made a difference or not, but I liked it better.

A.
www.greenbabydiaperservice.com

she may need a sound ocean machine--(try radio shack for ocean and other white noise machines) I remember when my son was a newborn he had trouble sleep in pure silence-- during the day i bet there is a little white noise going on and that is why she sleeps more soundly
Also try and keep her more "awake" during the day-- she may have her nights/days mixed up.

sometimes their habit changes for a few days, but then goes back so this may just be temp, but you may try warming up a blanket, so when you lay her down in the bassinet it won't feel cold & it will be cozy, then stand beside her and talk or sing soothnly a bit and pat her for a bit and she may cry a minute but hopefully it won't last long. just a suggestion.

I had to try anything and everything. the swing worked sometimes, and the bouncy seat with the vibrating thing on worked too. my son eventually grew out of that. he's an awesome sleeper now! (sleeps in his crib, 12 hrs) Just trying to give you hope. :) does your basinet have a vibrating part to it? if so, you should use it!

I have twins that had their days & nights mixed up too. Follow the advice on trying to do more awake time during the day...tummy time, swing, pappazon, whatever. Mine starting sleeping the best (at 4 months old )when I finally moved them to their own room, unswaddled, in their individual cribs. They immediately flipped onto their stomachs (which put me into a panic) but they went from waking every 2-3 hours to 6-7 hour asleep stretches. I do also use a white noise machine that sounds like a fan. It helps keep household noise down too. I wouldn't expect your daughter to sleep well during the night for a few months though.

My heart goes out to you. My daughter nursed every 2 hours and would stay up from 8 in the morning until 9 or 10 every night without a nap. I think she was six months old before she slept through the night.

My x-husband was not a particularly nice person and had me upset throughout all three pregnancies but I really think it made a difference with my younger two kids that I did not allow things to get under my skin. Everybody is nervous as a new mommy you are so tired you don't even know your own name after a while and babies can sense things so in addition to other things, you need to try to get some time for yourself and try not to worry about doing everything right.

You are born with the equipment to be a good mom, you read books, you read magazines, but we are all, even when we have the older kids, flying by the seat of our pants because every single baby is different. Trust yourself and do whatever you can to minimize any anxiety.

Now, kids also seem to have this innate thing that they think parents are partying or something when they sleep and I think this whole thing starts this early so another suggestion is are you going to bed with your daughter or putting her down while you try to do laundry, etc.? If she sleeps well during the day, do those things then. You can still lay down, etc. but put a load in the washer/dryer first. Become an expert at maximizing the use of your time around your baby's schedule.

Also, I wish they would get a product that would do this but something you can try is heating the bassinette. I would recommend that you take the sheet and rub it all over yourself so the sheet smells like you and not so much the Downy. This makes baby drowsy because they respond so much to scent but also, put a heating pad in the bassinette a few minutes before you put the baby down. Right before baby goes in, pull the heating pad out, never leave anything like that in a basinnette or crib with the baby. The sheet will retain the heat long enough for baby to snuggle in and go to sleep. One of the reasons they sleep so well in the nursery is that they usually wrap them in heated blankets if they have any problems going to sleep.

Also, depending on the baby, swaddling is also helpful. The world is big compared to being inside you. And it takes the kids a while I think to figure this out and many prefer being wrapped up when they are put down because it makes them feel warm and safe.

Many babies get their days and nights mixed up and the only thing you can do is keep trying to get through it because it WILL pass. Sleeping on the baby's part is a process called self-soothing, they learn that they wake up and can go back to sleep themselves, that's why they recommend that you pat the baby on the back, sing or do something other than pick her up when she cries. Once they figure out they can do this, your sleeping through the night issues are usually over.

Hi L.

Congratulations on your new baby care, by the way that's my birthday also (8/9). I had the same problems years back with my daughter which is now 18yrs old. When we came home from the hospital she would not sleep in her bassinet at all. We finally realized that the mattress made to much noise and it was just not like the bed at the hospital. So we added extra padding to her bed and it worked like a charm. My suggestion would be getting an egg crate or xtra padding and adjust based on her sleeping patterns. Not sure now a days what type of mattress the doctors or recommending soft or firm since she so young. Good Luck and I hope this helps. T. G. in Dallas

We had the same problem UNTIL we started swaddleing and I mean tight! When they are small you can use the blanket and we had the book the happiest baby on the block, which had specific instructions on swaddling. My son is exactly 1 year younger that your daughter and he gaot strong fast and I then got the Miracle Blanket, and it is exactly that! It gave all of the ability to sleep AMEN! I hope this helps, good luck!

Girlfriend, I hear ya! My baby boy slept in his swing until he was 3 months old because it was the only place I could get him to sleep at night. I put him in the living room, in his swing and dimmed the lights and he slept like and angel. I think sometimes, our movements and sounds and the complete darkness, keeps them up at night. He also had reflux really bad, so he had to sleep elevated. Good luck and as my pediatrician said, do whatever you can to get some sleep and worry about sleep habits at 4 months! They don't know where or when they are sleeping until then anyways!

Remember your body is still healing, make sure you are not doing too much during the day while your little girl is sleeping. Limit visitors & well wishers, or put them to work so that you can rest.

The best advise I was EVER given I'll pass along to you:
Always sleep when the baby is sleeping, even if that means during the day!

Happy baby moon!!
A.

Hey L.,

Have you thought of trying a co-sleeper. You can order one from Babies R Us website. They are really great because the baby has it's own space to sleep, but feels your presence next to her. Plus it reduces the risk of SIDS!

Mom, the issue may not be the bassinet. Think outside the box here. Is she wearing different clothing at night? Believe it or not, some babies are sensitive to the TAGS in their sleepers. Check to make sure there's nothing else bothering her. She is not even a month old. I find it difficult to believe that she is cognitively capable of knowing the difference between night and day, and choosing to throw a fit at night. I'm inclined to think the problem is something else. You may need to play detective here. The problem could even be that she is alone and it is quiet in the daytime, but she can hear the two of you breathing at night. Regardless, I recommend that you explore other reasons.

Remember this -- the days (and nights) are long, but the years are short. I went seven years and four months not sleeping through the night. I don't remember much about missing sleep, but I am sure my little ones are all so big now (15, 12, 7). This will pass. Enjoy that baby!

Turn the light on. She's accustomed to sleeping with lights and sound.

That - or take her to bed with you. It just makes them absolutely rotten. :)

S.

Oh, gosh. This sounds soooo familiar! I am having similar issues with my newborn (born 7/10). They are so confused with day and night at this age. I notice when my little girl is up more during the day; she sleeps better in the evening. You may consider waking her during the day to feed her. I know they say; never wake a sleeping baby. However, if your goal is to get more rest during the night you may want to consider trying to get her on feeding schedule during the day as soon as possible. I can tell you that it will get better when they get more on a schedule and will learn that they need to sleep more at night. Around 6-8 weeks is when I remember that my first daughter began sleeping more during the evening. It was around 3 months when my first was sleeping at least for 4-5 hours straight during the night - what a blessing!! Now every baby is very different; I know my second baby has more night wakings than my first.

Try to keep her awake during the day and Swaddle her at night. I used the miracle blanket and she slept in it and in the bassinet until she was 5 mths!! You can see the ____@____.com

I also downloaded white noise sounds onto a cd and played that on repeat all night. If she woke after I laid her down I turned th blow dryer sound on loud and she fell asleep in minutes.

Good luck and congrats!

She may have her nights and days mixed up. She's sleeping so much during the day but thinks night time is the time to be up. It's not uncommon for newborns.

During the day make sure you are sleeping when she is sleeping so you can get some rest. Also, try keeping her up a little more during the day (don't force it but encourage more waking moments). You can try a warm bath and soft lights before bedtime to help her relax and start establishing some type or routine. It will change over time as she grows and you get to know each other. Try swaddling her tightly to help her feel more secure.

Honestly, the first few months are a crazy, exhausting whirlwind of getting to know one another.

It'll take time but slowly she will work through the sleep thing. Establish positive sleep time rituals. For instance, I tried to always put my son down awake. Sometimes we would rock until he was on the brink of sleep and sometimes I was able to just lay him down. Sometimes I had to hold him until he fell asleep...I just felt the situation out and I didn't feel guilty for the choices I made.

Parenting is constantly evolving. No one can prepare you for the frenzy and exhaustion of the first few months. You'll get through it, though. Hang in there!

Good luck!