My baby refuses to sleep on her back in her moses basket. My husband and I have tried so many things to get her to, but she just won't. Since coming home nearly 2 weeks a go I have had my baby sleep on her tummy on my chest, as it's the only place she'll settle. Has anyone else had the same problem and do you let your baby sleep on it's side or tummy?

mine, mine mine!!!!!

ds will not settle on his back in the basket and only really has a deep sleep on my chest!

he does have a cough and cold BUT even before he wouldnt fully settle anywhere other than on his front on me!

HV said NOT to keep doing it and to "encourage him" to settle with gentle pats on his back etc in the moses basket...yeh ok, how on earth are you supposed to "encourage" a 3 week old to sleep in his own bed I do not know lol!!

He does sleep on his side, swaddled in a blanket but that only last 10 mins or so when he stires and realises he cant feel me there! I do put a rolled up sheet in front of him so that he cant fully roll over on his front.

Hey - just g/c from born in Jan

My son Cameron was exactly the same! He just point blank refused (in any position) his bed but would sleep on me without a seconds thought. It's completely exhausting! Anyway he's six weeks now and has no problem going down most of the time. I don't know if any of these will work for you but we started with the following tactics:

putting hot water bottle in the basket so it was warm when we tried to put him down (obvs don't leave it in there with them)

Putting a piece of warn clothing in the basket (so it smells llike mummy)

Carrying round his blanket with me so again it smelt like me

If i'm being honest, none of these worked amazingly well but did bring a little improvement. I think what worked best for us was to wake him up just a little before putting him down, (or putting him down fully awake but sleepy) and then sitting on a chair next to the basket with one hand holding one of his hands and having my other hand on his chest and gently rocking the basket (have rocking stand). This way he feels safe and close to you but also falls asleep in his bed so that if he wakes up he wont panic about not being on you. I used to sit there up to an hour trying to get him to go to sleep (marathon!!!!) but now takes less and less time, sometimes only 5 minutes now!

In terms of positions they say back is best but my mil said they used to say on their side is best!! I think sleeping on there front could be a bit dangerous but i think on the side is fine if he'll sleep like that!

good luck xxx

Adam much prefers being on his side to being on his back - the MW said it was fine for the first few weeks, but obviously to make sure that he can't roll over onto his tummy.

His favourite position *by far* though is sleeping on my chest or in my arms, so it's really reassuring to know that he's not the only one!

He will sleep fine in his cot during the day, but at night he hates it! I have no idea why. He'll sleep really soundly if I am holding him though...

When I was in hospital the MW actively encouraged me to allow him to sleep on me if this is what he wanted - as long as there was no way he could roll off the bed (lots of strategically placed pillows!)

I am determined to get him into his cot at night asap though...

Cath and Adam (8 days' old)
xx

Has to be said, that I have brought mine into bed with me, as during the day he sleeps fine in his bed, but at night likes me to have hold of him, either with a hand placed on him or me lying down holding him, or falls asleep in my arms/boobs.. which then i get bad back. We will either put him on his back or side in his crib with rolled up blankets to make sure he cant roll over onto his front. we have also found putting a pillow under his head end of the crib helps too as he doesnt like lying completely flat, if you do this must make sure their feet really are at the foot of the bed. We tried a blanket smelling of me and it didnt work, we put him in his bed swaddled and semi awake (both day and night).

I'm very pleased to say that persistence really does pay off. After 3 weeks of sleeping on my chest, my baby girl finally slept on her back in her moses basket at night for the first time on Friday night and again last night. I finally feel like things are starting to get better and I can hopefully get into a routine now that she will settle somewhere else other than on me. :\)

What techniques did you use NYY1927?

Adam will sleep fine on his own during the day, but will only settle at night if he is lying on me!

Evan is just like his mummy - he'll sleep anywhere and in any position. x

What techniques did you use NYY1927?

To be perfectly honest, I think it's the fact that I switched her to full time formula feeding that made the difference. Unfortunately my body was just not producing no where near enough milk to keep her satisfied and therefore we had trouble getting her settled. Every feed she would be attached to me for around 2 hours and it still wasn't enough to fill her up. Therefore, I made the very tough decision to switch to formula and ever since she has settled so much better and will sleep anywhere we lay her. I am disappointed as I had planned to breastfeed for at least 6 months, but we now have a very content and settled baby since switching to formula.

To be perfectly honest, I think it's the fact that I switched her to full time formula feeding that made the difference.

I could have written that myself! We switched to mix feeding over the weekend (although I am running my 'supply' of breast milk down so we will be on formula only soon) and it has made the world of difference. Adam now sleeps happily in his carry cot at night and during the day (he's in there now!) which means we are all sleeping much better. It's a real relief!

It also means I have started to enjoy being a mummy. The constant 2-hour feeding sessions were really painful and I dreaded them. Now a bottle takes 20 minutes max and everyone is happier!

I too had blanned to BF for 6 months, and I do feel a bit guilty, but am pleased we've made the switch.

It seems that you and I have very similar babies! I feel better now knowing that I'm not the only one who had to make the decision to switch to formula feeding. I really don't regret doing it as it's so nice knowing that she'll settle in her moses basket on her back without any problems. I also made the switch by mix feeding and running my supply of breast milk down, though it only took 2 days to do as my supply was so little already. :\)

I would have loved to BF for as long as possible, but it was really running me down. I lost almost a stone in weight last week when hubby went back to work as I was feeding Adam so much I never got a chance to eat anything myself!

I was dreading all the washing and sterilising of bottles etc, but it's actually not as much hastle as I thought...

I'm taking Adam to baby clinic to be weighed tomorrow, so I'll see how he's getting on then...

xx