Hi,

Im trying to get a bedtime routine going with my baby boy, age nearly 7 weeks. We bath him, dress him then lie on bed having cuddle followed by feed. Ideally i'd like to put him in moses basket slightly awake so he learns to self soothe but generally he starts screaming & then when i try the pick up, calm him down and put back down routine he screams more and then starts rooting, making chomping gestures as though hungry so i end up feeding him again. Invariably i end up letting him fall asleep on me whilst or after feeding & then put him down which is more successful. Do we just continue doing this and deal with the consequences of him always wantng to be fed &/or held to get to sleep later. I find it hard to ignore the signs he's hungry especially as he has reflux & therefore often re-feeds where he has brought up previous feed. We have moses basket at angle but guess he could still find lying down uncomfortable.

Suggestions, people's experiences much appreciated. Thank you!

Linds

this was us, i was so worried but you know what, at 4 months it all changed and my baby drifted off alone and it was ok. theres so much pressure to make tiny newborns be something theyre not, dont worry so much, are you bf-ing? if so, the breast is comforting for baby and theyll naturally want to sleep there. Theres nothing wrong with this, baby wont do it forever, believe me, i thought id never stop it but my baby did it herself.

is the moses basket cosy enough? I found rolling up towels so she felt snug was helpful as she then felt like she was being held but she wasnt.

make sure basket is warm, hot water bottle in first for a while? do u have a t-shirt smelling of you in the basket?

just remember baby is young, routine wont be set for a bit yet, i only started trying at 8 weeks.

you'll get there xxx

Hi Rosemary,

Thanks for your reply. It is so hard to know what to do when for the best! You read & hear so many stories of people who started getting routine established at 6 weeks & babies that self soothe that early! I'm going to continue the calm bath, getting ready for bed, cuddle etc but if he falls asleep on me and that's how i put him down then so be it. I guess i just wasn't sure if i'm being used as a human dummy & the whole thing can take hours so gets exhausting.

We've actually just moved him into crib as he keeps kicking the end of basket & we thought was waking himself up! But we are looking at making it cosier for him so he's not hitting his arms on sides etc. I already cuddle him in a blanket so he goes down with this around him which hopefully feels warm & smells of me.

We'll get there I am sure

of course u will

babies at that age arent capable of doing certain things, self soothing i think is one of them, theyre totally brand new to it, love them!

i didnt like my moses basket, my baby just felt so restricted and she much prefered her cot.

xxx