baby sleeping on my chest

marious

Hi there
Was just wondering if any of You have an experience with baby falling asleep perfectly on my chest but when moved to his cot kicking blanket away, moving, eventually waking up and crying from time to time (waiting to put him on my chest again) I'm basically afraid about his back, I think he should get some amount of sleep on flat surface on his back for a healthy growth... he is only 9 days old and I know he might be scared being alone in bed and lying on my chest he'll feel safe. I just don't want him to get in to some bad routine or sth. We were trying warm up the bed already but not much of result.. Maybe You have ideas what to do or its going to change after some time?

thanks for any tips

Khannie

I wouldn't think it's good to get into a routine of baby needing body warmth to sleep. Wrap baby up properly in a cellular blanker, not too much insulation, away from a radiator, bottom of the cot, on his / her back. Yes they can wake up but it passes after a while. Definitely better to put up with it initially (IMO anyway) for the long term benefits.

edit: Guilty of it myself though. I love baby sleeping on my chest.

pickarooney

I wouldn't put a blanket over a newborn for safety reasons - a sleeping-quilt, or whatever they're called in English (http://www.petitestetes.com/Boutique/catalog/images/gigoteuse-fleur-entier.jpg) would be safer and he won't be able to kick it off.

It's such a great feeling when they do fall asleep on you. I usually end up having to sort of slow-motion rugby-tackle my daughter onto the bed in order to keep her in contact with me while I set her down

January

Those sleeping bags are only suitable if the baby is over 7lbs 8oz apparently... couldn't use one straight away on my daughter who was 6lbs when born.

There is swaddling. Wrapping the baby up in a blanket to stop the startle reflex which can wake them up. Plenty of videos on youtube showing how to do it.

marious

"Wrap baby up properly in a cellular blanker, not too much insulation, away from a radiator, bottom of the cot, on his / her back"

not working, we're wrapping him tight but he seems to be very annoyed freeing his hands first then kicking blanket away.

Ickle Magoo

We used to put a hot water bottle which was at body temperature in the cot and then take it out and pop baby in so the cold cot didn't wake them...sometimes puting a rolled up blanket under the head end of the mattress to give it a slight tilt helps too.

guppy

marious wrote: »

"Wrap baby up properly in a cellular blanker, not too much insulation, away from a radiator, bottom of the cot, on his / her back"

not working, we're wrapping him tight but he seems to be very annoyed freeing his hands first then kicking blanket away.

He's not annoyed, he's doing no more now than he did in your/your wife's womb! If he's getting out of the swadding, you're not doing it tight enough. You can get swadling blankets if that helps.

On the other hand, he IS only 9 days old to this strange world. Before this, he had the warm dark of his mother's womb where he had no worries, and nothing to assault his senses at all. Falling asleep on your chest is normal, as he hears your heartbeat, which was the only sound he heard all the time in utero.

Anyway, what I'm saying is that what's happening is natural, your son needs some time to adjust to life outside. He'll get there, be patient!

seeturtle

I miss my babies sleeping on my chest! It's the most precious thing. Inhale it.

Billiejo

Its the natural order of human need in a new baby, safe & warm.
Skin to skin [/B]is even better.
Also whether you are breastfeeding or not he is linked to you by smell. (similar to vanilla)

Make sure you have his cellular blanket over him while on your chest, which will be body warm with Mum's odour when laid down into a warm cot which has a hankerchief smeared with breast milk[/B].

Nevyn

Both mind did that, I would just make sure that I had the v pillow positions so I wasn't going to move and the duvet on me from the waist down and a celluar blanket over the infant and me.

metrovelvet

It also helps regulate their body temperatures, skin skin contact with the mothers chest.

trad

When our first was born my wife went for a bath so I lay on the bed with our new born on my chest. Needless to say both (me and the baby) fell asleep and the nurse wasn't impressed with me in my big motorbike boots asleep on the wifes bed. Precious memories.

Sleepy

My daughter fell asleep virtually every night either on my chest or while her mother was breastfeeding her for the first 7/8 months or so... It led to us having an awful couple of weeks where we ended up having to use controlled crying to get her to go to sleep in her cot so I'd say enjoy it for a while but don't leave it so long that he gets to thinking that the place to go to sleep is on Mammy/Daddy.

Saint Ruth

Sleepy wrote: »

My daughter fell asleep virtually every night either on my chest or while her mother was breastfeeding her for the first 7/8 months or so... It led to us having an awful couple of weeks where we ended up having to use controlled crying to get her to go to sleep in her cot so I'd say enjoy it for a while but don't leave it so long that he gets to thinking that the place to go to sleep is on Mammy/Daddy.

Exactly the same thing here.

That was the only way she could fall asleep. Which is fine at 8pm, but not so fine at 4am...

But at 9 days, I wouldn't worry about that yet...

llester

marious wrote: »

Hi there
Was just wondering if any of You have an experience with baby falling asleep perfectly on my chest but when moved to his cot kicking blanket away, moving, eventually waking up and crying from time to time (waiting to put him on my chest again) I'm basically afraid about his back, I think he should get some amount of sleep on flat surface on his back for a healthy growth... he is only 9 days old and I know he might be scared being alone in bed and lying on my chest he'll feel safe. I just don't want him to get in to some bad routine or sth. We were trying warm up the bed already but not much of result.. Maybe You have ideas what to do or its going to change after some time?

thanks for any tips

it's so sweet when they do it though isn't it I remember our baby when he woke during the night would only get back to sleep by lying on my hubby's chest (mine was too erm...cushiony ) and when he was put back into the cot he would sometimes start crying again. So we waited till after the 6 week check, bought him a grobag, then put him in a cot in his own room and we've all slept relatively peacefully since