2 mo. sleep help

[drako]

I am a new mom to my 2 month old daughter. I am new to all this and can't figure out what to do to get my 2 month old to sleep in her porta-crib along side my bed. From the day we brought her home she has had difficulty sleeping on her own. Lately she screams when she is in the crib. I put her down when she is asleep but she will wake up within 5 minutes and scream. Hubby walked the floors with her until 5am the other night. I also have put her down when she was sleepy and not totally asleep and the same thing she screams, starts kicking and flailing her arms. I have tried swaddling but the swaddle never stays tight because of all her kicking. Lately we have been bringing her into bed with us. I will say it is the best sleep that we all get. I hate doing this because of safety reasons and than having trouble transitioning her into her crib down the line. I don't want to continue having her in our bed but we need to get some sleep. It is easier nursing her while lying in bed and I do wake up when she wants to eat during the night. I am just not that comfortable with keeping her in the bed for a long time. Does anyone have suggestions for us?? I think it is too early to put her in the nursery in her crib and I think she is too young to CIO. I just don't know what to do.

[LMPC]

You must be exhausted! I agree that it's too early for CIO and it doesn't sound like you really want her out of your room...just out of your bed. Have you seen that video called "Happiest Baby on the Block"? DH bought it when our DD was born and it has some really great tips that you can pick and choose from. Does she sleep well anywhere else? Carseat, bouncyseat?

[jolie]

Miracle Blanket. My LO also would not stay swaddled but he can't get out of the Miracle Blanket and it has helped us A LOT. Also, the hairdryer has been a great way to get him to sleep--swaddle the screaming baby, swing her in your arms and have DH turn the hairdryer on high. The "Happiest Baby on the Block" is also golden.

[jenny]

The miracle blanket never worked for us. DD hated it. She loved having her hands by her face, so being so restricted freaked her out. But it might work for you...worth a shot I guess.

When DD would wake up and scream in the middle of the night at that age, we just gave in and brought her into our bed from her bassinet. We bought one of those little newborn beds that you put on your mattress so you don't roll over your kid. She slept really well in that little bed, but I have to say it was a tight squeeze for me and dh in our queen-sized bed. There were some nights when she'd wake up and she slept on my stomach. I'd fall asleep with her on my stomach for about 2 hours and put her on her mattress. Not ideal or PC, but when you're sleep deprived, you'll do whatever works.

P.S: We read Happiest Baby on the Block and watched the DVD. It has some helpful tips for soothing a crying baby. We'd take DD to the bathroom and run the faucet really loud to get her to calm down when she was screaming.

[drako]

Thanks everyone! Yes, I have the 'Happiest Baby on the Block' DVD. Some of the things work but she just likes to be with my husband and I. I can get her to sleep in my arms, swing, etc. but as soon as you put her down in the pack 'n play she wakes up within 5 minutes. Then the screaming begins. That is why I bring her into bed. That is when everyone sleeps well! I don't want to keep her in the bed because I don't want her to become dependent on us and also for the safety reasons. Last night we had her in the swing but the same thing with that ...I don't want her becoming dependent on that either. She does like her bouncy seat but not for sleep. She will sit in it for a while but when she is bored of it she will let you know. I know she is very young but I wish she would be content sleeping on her own. So, do we wait it out a little bit until she is older?

jenny - where did you get that newborn bed for your bed? What is it called so I can do an internet search?

Thanks!

[pastrygirl]

Lately we have been bringing her into bed with us. I will say it is the best sleep that we all get. I hate doing this because of safety reasons and than having trouble transitioning her into her crib down the line. I don't want to continue having her in our bed but we need to get some sleep. It is easier nursing her while lying in bed and I do wake up when she wants to eat during the night. I am just not that comfortable with keeping her in the bed for a long time. Does anyone have suggestions for us??I was very worried about this, too, but co-sleeping was the only way for us to get sleep those first few months. He ended up going into the crib for the first part of the night at around 4 months... but it did take about an hour to put him down. When he woke up to nurse the first time, he'd come back into our bed. I started nursing him in his room when he was only waking twice a night, and I was able to put him back into the crib.

While he was co-sleeping, I worked very hard at trying to get him to sleep in the co-sleeper attached to my bed instead of inside my bed. This is what I did to get him to sleep in there (in addition to swaddling): I used a sleep positioner/mattress thingy on my bed, like the one from a Snuggle Nest (but I didn't use the hard outside frame of the Snuggle Nest). Toby slept on top of that, snuggled right up to me, for days. I eventually moved him to his co-sleeper on top of that thing, so that his atmosphere didn't change -- he was still snuggled by the positioner, and it was still a warm mattress he was lying on. Then when he woke to nurse, I moved the whole thing back into my bed. Back and forth, back and forth, for a few weeks. Eventually I tried moving just him, without the positioner/mattress... and one day it worked! He was about 3 months old at the time, but I hadn't started until he was 9 weeks old because I hadn't thought of it before then. I never let him cry, though. It wasn't that kind of training. It wasn't long before I was able to move him to a crib in his room. I think it was only a few weeks later, maybe at around 4 months. Though I did bring him back to my bed and co-sleeper after his first nighttime nursing.

I plan to do this from the start if the next baby won't sleep in the co-sleeper right away. Hopefully it works again!

ETA: It took me an hour to get him to fall asleep and stay asleep in the crib. If I jostled him too much after rocking/singing and he woke up, I had to start over. I also played white noise in his room all night long. We were able to ditch the white noise when he turned 2 without any problems. He was just a really light sleeper and everything woke him up! He only napped for 30 minutes at a time, too. It was such a pain rocking him for an hour just to have him sleep for 30 minutes. It got MUCH better at 9 months. He's been an awesome sleeper since then!