Our son is 5 weeks old and literally only sleeps when I'm holding him or my wife is. The second we try to put him down in the bassinet he wakes up and screams. I'm exhausted. Is this normal? How long does this phase last? My back is killing me from being hunched over all day.
Man, that's rough. I'd say just roll with it for now if you can. Every kid is different but most of them grow out of that needing-to-be-held thing pretty quick.
Yeah, that's totally normal at 5 weeks. Our third was the same way. It'll pass, I know it's exhausting but you're doing great. The holding phase doesn't last forever.
5 weeks in and you're still in the trenches. This is completely normal but also completely exhausting. Newborns are basically tiny tyrants who only sleep on demand. Around 12 weeks it usually gets better when they start understanding day/night cycles.
Real talk: at 5 weeks your baby literally cannot self-soothe yet. Their nervous system needs the connection. You're doing exactly what he needs, even though it feels relentless.
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We did contact napping for months with our first. You're not broken, your kid just wants to be close. Try shifts with your wife where one person holds the baby and the other handles everything else. Takes some pressure off.