Our little guy is 3 weeks old and refuses to sleep in the bassinet. The second we put him down he screams bloody murder. Wife and I are taking shifts holding him so we can at least get some rest. Mom says this is totally normal but I'm worried we're creating bad habits. When does this phase end? Asking for a friend who hasn't slept more than 2 hours straight in 3 weeks.
Welcome to the club man. This is the hardest part honestly. Your little guy feels safe being held because that's what he knew for 9 months. It does get better but I won't sugar coat it, those first few weeks are rough.
3 weeks in you're still basically in the newborn fourth trimester. He spent 9 months attached to your wife, so being held is his comfort zone. My daughter did this too - I literally couldn't put her down without screaming. One day it just clicked and she was fine in the bassinet.
Have you tried the Snoo or one of those motion-activated sleepers? We borrowed one from a friend and it saved us.
This was us with our first. The bassinet felt too big and cold to them. We found that warming up the mattress with a heating pad before putting him down helped a little, and white noise made a difference too.
Totally normal at 3 weeks, man. All four of mine did this - they want to hear your heartbeat and feel safe. We did the contact nap thing for a while too, and honestly it goes by so fast. Hang in there, the shifts with your wife will pay off.
Wait until the bath time kicks in. Then you get two hours of peace while they're down, and suddenly you understand why parents love bedtime so much.
Totally normal. Our little guy did the same thing for like 6 weeks. He just wanted to be held and we kept thinking something was wrong. Turns out he just needed contact. It gets better, I promise.
Is he your first? If so, I'd say this is pretty standard newborn behavior. Try swaddling him tight before putting him down, and maybe run a white noise machine. Worked for both my kids. The holding phase doesn't last forever even though it feels endless.
Sign in to join the conversation.
Totally normal. Our son did the exact same thing at 3 weeks. We were exhausted but apparently it's called the fourth trimester or something. We just kept him close and waited it out. He eventually figured out the bassinet was okay around 8 weeks.