Our son is 2 weeks old and literally the only way he sleeps is if one of us is holding him. The second we put him down he screams. We're exhausted. Everyone says to let him sleep in the bassinet but that doesn't work. I know newborns want to be close but this seems extreme. My wife is worried we're creating bad habits. Has anyone else dealt with this?
Totally normal. My son is 6 months old now and for the first couple months he was the same way. It's called the fourth trimester thing I think. They want to be held. It sucks at 3 AM but you're doing everything right.
At 2 weeks old this is totally normal. Newborns are basically looking for the womb environment - warmth, close contact, heartbeat. You're not doing anything wrong, just frustrating as it is.
Totally normal but also totally exhausting. The good news is around 3-4 months it usually gets better. The bad news is you've got a few more weeks of this. Sleep in shifts with your partner if you can.
My kid was like this too at 2 weeks. The second he hit 8 weeks something just clicked and he started sleeping in the bassinet. I was losing my mind for those first weeks though. You're not alone in this.
We're dealing with this right now too with our 3 week old. I read it has to do with the fourth trimester. They'll adjust eventually but man is it brutal in the meantime.
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Two weeks in and you're already wondering if something's wrong - that's peak new dad energy right there. He's literally a newborn. The holding thing is completely normal. Your arms are going to get ripped though.
Have you tried white noise? Not saying it's a cure-all but it helped ours. At 2 weeks old though, honestly just hold him. You can't spoil a newborn no matter what anyone tells you.