Sleep Settling

QUESTION:

Hello, my baby girl is 6 weeks old.

She is currently only sleeping on me during the day. As soon as I put her down she will wake up 5 minutes later. She will sleep in the bassinet at night. I am worried I'm setting up a bad habit but otherwise she won't sleep. I don't know what to do.

ANSWER:

Dear C,

Thanks for your question and for visiting Kids Consult.

Yes, you are right that you will establish bad sleeping habits if you don't change things.

Firstly - is your daughter tightly wrapped?

Secondly - if you want her to self-settle, you have to give her the opportunity to self-settle. That means leaving her for a bit if she does wake up. I think 10-15mins is reasonable, after which time you go in and pat-pat sh-sh until she settles, then walk out again. This may need to be repeated multiple times.

Regards,

Dr Scott Dunlop
Consultant Paediatrician