Is it too young to learn to sleep?

[chungcat]

My baby is 9 weeks old and I have to rock/swing her to sleep. In order to keep her sleeping, I have to hold her until she is ready for the next meal. There is occasion that she can be put down when she is in deep sleep.

Yesterday I tried the cry-out method. Even though my daughter was in drowsy state, she was very awake and cried once I put her down. I followed the method and let her cry. She basically didn't give up and cried each time I put her down after soothing her to drowsy state. She didn't nap any because of all the crying.

Is my daughter too young to learn to sleep? Should I wait until she is 3 or 4 month or 6 month old? Does that mean I have to hold her to sleep until she gets older?

[SnuggleBuggles]

It is too young. The person who 1st advocated the cry it out approach no longer recommends it till age 6 months+. Until then babies are not crying to be manipulative or something (I don't think they are even at 6+ months)- they do not have any other way to communicate. At 9w old they are crying because they need something. That something could be the obvious food, diaper or other physical need or it could simply be that they want to be with you. Close to a warm, soft body that smells like someone they know and has a heartbeat that lulls them could just be what she needs.

Where is she sleeping? Maybe you could co-sleep or she could sleep in a bassinet (a crib can be too big and feel insecure)? Swaddling? Lay down a warm towel in her sleeping area, that could help. There are lots of things you could try instead of having her cry. You could at the least share the duty with someone else if you have someone else living at home with you. Splitting night duty with my dh was my saving grace with both of my boys. During the day I had success transferring to a vibrating bouncy seat or bassinet in the family room.

It really will get easier.

Beth

[misshollygolightly]

Ditto what Beth said. Babies that young just need to be soothed to sleep. You can try swaddling, using a swing or bouncy seat, using a white noise machine, wearing her in a sling, or co-sleeping to help her stay asleep if you need to transfer her someplace other than your arms. But I do think it's unrealistic to expect such a young infant to be able to fall asleep on her own. Cry-it-out isn't really intended for babies under 6 months, and even at 6 months or older, it doesn't necessarily work or work well for every baby.

Good luck and hang in there!

[thumper3]

My daughter was the same way - it was EXHAUSTING! I was tired and hungry all the time. I know how you feel and I'm sorry. Luckily I had help from my mom. I followed Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child book by Weissbluth and let her cio when she was a little more than 4 months old. At night she learned to fall asleep on her own in about 4-5 nights, (but still woke up to eat 1-2 times/night) but daytime took a good 8 weeks - it was terrible. I think if I had to do it again I would wait a little longer to do daytime sleep. But at the time I was too tired and too hungry all the time to hold her any more. I can tell you there is light at the end of the tunnel. My DD is now 9 months old and is finally on a routine - one 40 minute nap in the AM and usually 1 1/2 hours in PM.

[jennilynn]

Have you tried wearing baby in a sling? That really helped me get a few things done when DS was that age. It took a few minutes of walking around to get him to sleep but then he would nap in it.

[barkley1]

My son was just like that, too...(mostly at night, though). My husband and I just had to take turns on the couch holding him at night. Just keep trying...it got to where we could put DS in the swing to sleep, but that's it. then, we started transferring him from the swing to the bassinet while he was asleep. Finally, he was OK with the bassinet. It just took a while for him to grow into it. Here's what helped us:

*I wrapped a t-shirt of mine (worn so it would smell like me) around the bassinet mattress
*Also put a nursing pad in there (again, smell)
****probably the key was using a sleep positioner...I think it made him feel like he was still being held (it was the most basic kind - just two triangle shaped wedges that velcro onto a piece of fabric.

Good luck ~ this too shall pass!