Newborn in Moses basket

whitelightrider

Folks,

Is it possible that a newborn could not like a Moses basket at night? Our little one is 11 days old and seems to sleep in the basket. Downstairs, but as soon as. We come up to bed she won't settle in it at all. She can't keep sleeping in the bed with us so we're contemplating trying the Cot, but are worried about how small she is in a big cot.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated for these first time parents!

Acoshla

Whitelightrider why can't she keep sleeping in the bed with you both, she's still too little for it to start bad habits or anything, would just provide comfort for her.

whitelightrider

Acoshla wrote: »

Whitelightrider why can't she keep sleeping in the bed with you both, she's still too little for it to start bad habits or anything, would just provide comfort for her.

Hey acoshla, well my family are saying we need to get her into routine as its easier on everyone.

Acoshla

whitelightrider wrote: »

Hey acoshla, well my family are saying we need to get her into routine as its easier on everyone.

Sorry I deleted my last post by accident!

How Strange

Why don't you want her to share your bed? Are you afraid you might roll over on her or smother her? I used to be terrified of cosleeping but now I'd recommend it at least for the first four months while your baby frequently feeds or specifically is breastfed during the night.

If you're really adverse to cosleeping then perhaps look at getting a cosleeper cot which is 3 sided so the 4th side drops down and is attached to the bed. I got one called the arms reach mini cosleeper. Google it for more information but it gives the benefits of cosleeping without the nervousness.

My son hated his crib and just wouldn't settle in it. He slept on me for two weeks and after that he settled in a Moses basket but usually ended up in bed with me from 12am onwards. Just remember she's only 11 days old so she's just newborn and still adjusting to this cold, noisy and scary world and she wants her mother to comfort her. It will change over the next few weeks and you'll look back and think 'ahh remember when she wouldn't settle in her Moses basket and only wanted to sleep with us. How cute was that.'

How Strange

Oh the dreaded routine. I never really had one except what my son dictated. From 12 weeks he wanted to nap once in the morning and once in the afternoon and he went down for the night at 7. That was our routine. Other than that I fed him when he wanted and we took every day as it came.

We're so obsessed with routine, not spoiling, not giving bad habits, not bring manipulated. I think it's sad because the baby stage goes very quickly.

Wibbles19

Co-sleeping for me always worked out the best, never had a problem with my 3. As regards the moses basket problem your little one might love sleeping in it downstairs because of the soothing and familar noises of whats going on around them. Another thing to think about is the difference in temp when you move them upstairs, maybe instead of trying to sneak them upstairs in the basket (if that's what you are doing) it's never too early to start a bedtime wind down routine that moves the gently from downstairs to upstairs.

Anniebell

whitelightrider wrote: »

Acoshla wrote: »

Whitelightrider why can't she keep sleeping in the bed with you both, she's still too little for it to start bad habits or anything, would just provide comfort for her.

Hey acoshla, well my family are saying we need to get her into routine as its easier on everyone.

Hi whitelightrider,

My little man is the same except he hates the Moses basket during the day too. Please ignore your family. They mean well I'm sure but they're not the ones who would be up all night with your little one & then bog-eyed the next day. It's waaaaay too early to be thinking about routines. At this stage the only routine you'd get into is putting baby in basket, baby cries, spend ages trying to comfort baby, put baby back into basket, baby cries, and so on.

It's such early days, my boy sleeps wherever he ends up during a feed, either on my chest, across my belly, beside me in the bed etc. he sleeps, my partner sleeps and I sleep, so I can function properly the next day.

No such thing as bad habits at this early stag either, just whatever gets you the most sleep! Good luck & sorry for sounding preachy. I'm on my way to bed for the next mad night!!

Orion

I've split this conversation out to its own thread. It's not about breastfeeding.

cbyrd

None of our started off in the moses basket.. all shared our bed for the first few weeks and slept on our chests beside us whatever was comfortable for some sleep.. by 3-4 weeks we'd have them sleeping between feeds at night and now at 3 months the youngest is sleeping through the night..all are good sleepers.. please ignore well meaning but useless advice and go with your instincts.

if you need sleep and the only way you're going to get it is with the baby in between you then go for it.. gradually when you get your game together and get more confidence you can wait til baby is asleep and put him/her into the basket.. and then when s/he wakes for a feed then take into the bed.. you'll find when you get more sleep you can cope better and the times between feeds become longer you'll get a better routine OF YOUR MAKING not anyone else's . .

Going Demented

Both my daughters, (21m and 3m) wouldn't sleep in the crib at night, they would only sleep in the moses basket. But second daughter is hard to get asleep at night but simple during the day. It's the noise. She can sleep no problem with the noise in the sitting room during the day, as soon as she goes down the room she comes alive, starts crying etc. It's too quiet. If i turn on anything noise, fan heater, radio, music thing on crib she will go asleep.
First daughter was the same, i had to leave a fan heater on constantly at night for a few weeks, esb bill was massive.

liliq

My baby slept on my chest most of the time until he was 4 weeks old at least, and quite often after until about 12 weeks I think.
I found it comforting as well having him so close, and it does make sense that it's comforting for babies to be so close to someone as well after being in such an enclosed warm place for so long.

My baby fell into his own night time routine, and now goes to his cot at around 9:30pm and apart from the last couple of weeks where he's woken up to feed during the night, he sleeps until at least 7:30am the next morning.

Letting baby sleep with you at the start definitely doesn't mean there won't be a routine later on

Congrats on your new baby

whitelightrider

Hey folks,
I think well just have to go along with what our little one dictates. I thinkmim just tired as I'm staying up with my oh during feeds so neither of us are getting much sleep. The only reason I was thinking of the cot is that we could put a mobile or something on it that might pacify her and help her sleep

sillysocks

One thing to try might be to use an unwashed nightdress of yours as a sheet in the Moses basket. In the maternity hospital if my baby was going to the nursery they always asked for a nightdresses to do this as they said baby would then get my smell and sleep better and feel more secure. Might be worth a try.

dahamsta

Surprised by the amount of people commending cosleeping here, myself and the wife decided against it very early on because of the risk of cot death. Out of curiosity, do ye not agree with/believe the recommendations on this?

In our case it took a lot of trial and error, but he took to the cot grand in the end with tight (relatively speaking) swaddling, gradually reduced, and then a padded sleepsuit instead of blankets. 5 months now, still hates blankets.

doubletrouble?

we're in the same boat. no problems from the twins during the day. up until a few days ago they'd sleep in the donkey . we set up a travel cot where they're side by side and they seem to love it but from 9pm to about 1/2am it's an absolute nightmare. it's as if they're creatures of the night. wide awake and screaming all the time in turns plus it's as if they're chatting to each other across the room at night..we're trying to get them into a feeding routine and i think thats half our problem. everytime we wake them up for a feed at night it's near impossible to get them back to sleep so much so purple has told me from now on we'll feed them when they wake up.
we've a cot bed ready to be made up just wondering if it's worth making it and putting them together at night. our present arrangement is we've one on either side of the bed in moses baskets.
rider as sleep goes i've been trying to figure out what that is ever since we got the twins home.:D
sillysocks your idea sounds good might give it a try.

How Strange

The risk of SIDS through cosleeping when neither of the parents have consumed alcohol or drugs, even prescription drugs, is very very low. There is evidence to suggest that a baby sleeping with its mother reduces the risk of SIDS as the baby's heart rate and breathing synchronizes to that of its mother.

Cosleeping was the normal way to sleep until infant care became medicalised and then commercialised in the 19th century. There's a whole commercial market established on the premise that cosleeping is dangerous. Imagine how the sales in cribs, Moses baskets, cots and accessories would fall if families cosleeper with their infants/children.

January

If you really don't want to co-sleep (you shouldn't co-sleep if either of you smokes, has had a drink or has taken drugs) then have you tried swaddling the baby? There's some excellent tutorial videos on youtube for it. The baby feels secure, but some babies hate being restricted so your little one might not like it, it's worth a try though. Two of my children were swaddled (we're still in the process with one) and they were/are great sleepers.

January

dahamsta wrote: »

Surprised by the amount of people commending cosleeping here, myself and the wife decided against it very early on because of the risk of cot death. Out of curiosity, do ye not agree with/believe the recommendations on this?

In our case it took a lot of trial and error, but he took to the cot grand in the end with tight (relatively speaking) swaddling, gradually reduced, and then a padded sleepsuit instead of blankets. 5 months now, still hates blankets.

Regarding this, co-sleeping really was not an option for us because my partner is a smoker, but I used to sometimes take the babies into the spare bed with me if it was a particularly bad night. It's like there is an inbuilt sensor in there, I was always aware the baby was in the bed with me... it's the best feeling ever having a little chubby hand hit you in the face in the middle of the night

wmpdd3

I had no intention of anything but having my daughter in the crib beside me when I came home from hospital, but she would cry everytime I put her in the crib even though her eyes would be nearly closed before that. I tried swadling but she was so small that the swaddling that my sister in law gave me would go around her twice!

No body offered me any advice as I had been the main babysitter for my 2 youngest siblings as I was a teenager when they were born. Both of them slept in a moses basket / cot.

I just went with the flow, she would sleep like a log on my chest or my shoulder. For the first few days / weeks, I was a wake as she slept on me. Then one night I woke up with her one me and I lost the plot. I was so worried, I never thought I'd fall asleep. But then I set the bed up so she couldnt fall anywhere and we slept together. After a while she'd sleep beside me. I did try mimic the bed in her crib by putting a sheet we had slept on in the crib etc etc but no go.

Then one night around 3 months I just put her in a sleeping bag and put her in the crib, she slept no problem. She hasnt been in our bed since.

Roll on 15months and she is a dream to mind. I just put her in the cot and she's either asleep within 10 mins or at the most she'll talk to herself for 30 mins and then fall asleep. She never refuses to get in her cot like my siblings used to. She just knows I'll only put her there to sleep, so that's what she does.

Next one is due and day and I'm just going to take it as it comes, but I am getting sleep and so will he, so we'll do what has to be done.

egan2020

Would you not try her in the cot? I know she'll look tiny in it but I'm sorry I didn't put my daughter in it earlier than I did (about 7 weeks). She was the same as yours, loved the Moses basket during the day but just wouldn't settle at night. I tried her in the bed with me but she wasn't much better there. From the first night in the cot, she was a lot more settled and after another couple of weeks I moved her to her own room and not a bother since

whitelightrider

Hey folks,

Sorry about the delay. Had a bit of a rough night. She was fussy for most of the night demanding feeds and then wouldnt go near the basket. She slept on me for the night.
I wouldnt try co-sleeping as we'd be too afraid of anything happening to her. Especially when we're both so tired. The cot is another option and I think we may just have to try it. We're both shattered at the minute. My wife is going to start expressing on Monday so maybe that will make the feeding a little easier as one of us can sleep for longer.
We tried swaddling and she went nuts! She hated being constricted and wrapped up which left us a bit confused as everyone said it settles them. The only other option is to try a grobag, but at 6lb 8oz is she a bit small?

sillysocks

Our little one didn't like being fully swaddled, always wanted her arms out, so we used to just wrap her up and then take her arms out of the swaddle so it was really just her legs wrapped. Might be worth a try if the 'normal' swaddling isn't working.

whitelightrider

sillysocks wrote: »

Our little one didn't like being fully swaddled, always wanted her arms out, so we used to just wrap her up and then take her arms out of the swaddle so it was really just her legs wrapped. Might be worth a try if the 'normal' swaddling isn't working.

Sounds very like our little one! I might try that and see how we get on.

January

How old is your little one? Be prepared that expressing can bring supply issues. If baby is below six weeks then your partner should hold out on expressing until then, the best way to build a supply is to latch baby on as often as she can, every 2 hours really is best.

whitelightrider

January wrote: »

How old is your little one? Be prepared that expressing can bring supply issues. If baby is below six weeks then your partner should hold out on expressing until then, the best way to build a supply is to latch baby on as often as she can, every 2 hours really is best.

She'll be 2 weeks on Monday and the breastfeeding nurse said she could start expressing from then. Obviously express in the morning and then feed as normal after that.

annamcmahon

I agree with the suggestion about putting something that smells of you in the basket. I used to use a pillowcase that I had slept on for a night or two as a sheet in the basket.

dahamsta

I'll pass over the baby-goods-military-industrial-complex comment, it belongs here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=576

I realise that this is a subject that's probably been discussed to death in here, and I don't want to stir up a flame war. However I do want to part by saying that I'm not just pulling an opinion out of a hat, both myself and my wife researched the subject in detail during pregnancy, and the vast majority of literature - from many disparate sources - recommended against cosleeping. As my baby gets older I'm less concerned about it, but up until recently if he was feeding in bed I made sure to stay awake (because my wife could sleep for Ireland). When he was newborn, nobody slept until he was down. No exceptions.

It's up to each parent to decide for themselves, I'd just stress that each parent should research the subject carefully themselves, and make an informed decision, rather than work off the recommendation of a few forum posts. Including mine, of course.

OP, they're all different, experimentation is the key. Keep at it, you'll figure it out, I promise.

lynski

There is also a wealth of new research saying cosleeping for breastfed babies is safe and possibly safer then a cot.
One study found that in one us state all deaths associated with cosleeping in three yrs were all formula fed babies and unsafe cosleeping practices were used.i think people sometimes need to give other parents the credit to be able to research and make decisions based on more then the posts on even this excellent forum.
The point of a forum like this is up bring info other then that available on the leaflets from the phn or on commercially sponsored websites. The conspiracy theory link is not appropriate imho as the links between information providers and commercial interests in the area of babies and children is well documented.
My son btw would only sleep in his basket right beside the bed and after his night feed he sleeps with us most of the night. Wish I had not wasted so much time 'seetling' my other two.

whitelightrider

Hey folks,

I know there are pros and cons to co sleeping, but for our situation it's a non runner. Neither myself nor my wife would feel comfortable with it. So we're going to have to figure out a way to get her used to the Moses basket or used to the cot.
One option for us to try is a Grobag. I'm hoping to talk to one of the shops here in Galway tomorrow to see if we can out a 2 week old in one.

dahamsta

My fella hated the grobag, legs all over the shop; it was tight swaddling or nothing, as below. Again though, they're all different.