Getting My 2 Month Old to Sleep in Bassinet

ONe thing that I've read is that you should try to get your baby to sleep, then eat, then have awake time. That may help get your baby on a schedule (used loosely) that will help him sleep without eating first. Also, my son has ALWAYS been a light sleeper and we had him next to our bed until he was 7 months. So when we would roll over, make ANY noise, etc. he would wake up--I started putting a fan in the room. I face it away from him but the sound helped drown out any other noise. He slept much better. You could try a air purifier, a humidifier (though messy), or a sound machine. The sounds are also supposed to be soothing, so that in itself may help!?!?

My son didn't like the bassinet either. It was too open for him. I tried the pack and play bassinet and then went to once upon a child and got a smaller one. He still didn't like it. I finally figured out that he was cold and it was kind of hard. I took a nice warm blanket and used that as a sheet and laid him on top of that. Once I did that he slept just fine. I covered him with a blanket and tucked that in as well, as he hated having his arms swaddled.

Good Luck!

I am a Mother of four children and I remember my daughter being a lot you describe your son. I found success in slowly changing the sleeping arrangement. I allowed my daughter to sleep in my bed, but not against me. Eventually, I moved her to her cradle and kept my hand in the cradle. Soon she was sleeping on her own.

I kept a nightgown of mine in bed with her, as well. She could feel that nightgown and would put her fingers on it. She continued to sleep with my nightgowns until she was about three years old! And she always liked to sleep in the bed with me.

Same situation for us; I sleep with our 3 year old on one side of me, and our baby on the other side. Apart from nursing, she sleeps 12 hours at night because she feels me next to her, and wakes happy. During the day, I wear her in a sling or carrier much of the day, and ease her out into a vibrating bassinet about 5 mins after she dozes off, when she's still sleepy, and not yet well enough rested to fully wake. She's getting better at these "mommy-free naps" and I'm getting up to 30 mins of "free time" at each nap. Hang in there, and try to enjoy the bonding.

Wow I had this problem with my daughter she would be asleep in my arms then as soon as I put her down in her basinet she would wake up freeking out, I asked my doctor what he thought was wrong and he sayed some babies get a different smell from a basinet they can scence it or something. I thought he was nuts!!! but by the 3rd week I was so tired, my husband told me to lay her in her crib and turn on the baby monitor, I was so upset because she was our first and I wanted her close but I finally gave in she slept the whole night in her crib I was almost sad because she was away from me but I did get sleep and ended up taking my beautiful basinet back because my daughter hated it, maybe that Doctor was right after all!

My son was a lot like this too. What worked for him was the "Sleep Sheep" purchased at the "right start store" or Maccalous in the Danville Town and Country shopping center. It has 5 different soothing white noise sounds. The ocean setting distracted him to sleep and he would go into a little trance then fall asleep. Good luck, it does get easier around 4-6mo.

Hi L.,
I HIGHLY recommend the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth for sleep training. There are a lot of books out there but I L. this one because it is broken down by age and gives several different options for soothing besides the CIO method. My daughter was colicky and would only sleep if she was being held for the first two months of her life. At about 10 weeks she suddenly settled down and started sleeping better. If you get that book, skip the intro unless you have extra time as it boring though it does explain the reasons for sleep training and the biological sleep rhythms. I remember putting my daughter in her bassinet once she was asleep and practically laying on her for a minute or two then keeping my hand on her tummy for another minute or two until she settled back down. He is definitely too young to CIO, and if you start a healthy sleep schedule now you shouldn't have to use that method at all. Make sure he goes back to sleep within 2 hours of waking to insure he doesn't become overtired and unable to sleep. His biological sleep rhythm should be emerging about now with the morning nap around 9am coming first. My daughter's sleep schedule at that age was this: wake-up around 6:30-7am, nap around 9am, nap around 1pm, short nap around 4pm and asleep at night around 7pm. As we dropped the late PM nap I moved her bedtime earlier by 45-60 mins. Being able to see the signs of sleepiness and getting him to sleep before he becomes overtired is the key. It gets easier in another month or so. My daughter also prefers to sleep on flannel or chamois sheets. I was also reading in Parents magazine that the AAP and Consumer Reports no longer recommend sleep positioners as they could end up causing suffocation. Scary, huh? Email me if you want more suggestions.
L.

my daughter and son were the same. In my daughters case, i found that she slept very well in the car seat. A friend of 3 kids suggested i put her in the car seat for naps...and sure enough, it worked! we'd strap her in at night too and she started sleeping through the night! As for my son - he wanted to eat all night long and was tiny, so the doctor said that he was too young to be sleep trained and I kept him in bed with me until he was six months old. That was a hard time for all of us because we were so tired, but once the doctor said he was old enough to be sleep trained, we did it and it was the best thing i could have done! now he is a fantastic sleeper and very well trained!
Point is - I would ask your doctor what he advises and keep in mind that this too shall pass. As you well know, everything comes and goes in phases with these little ones and very soon, you might have to let him scream it out. He WILL move pass this...hang in there!