[bekah876]

My little girl is 4 weeks old. She can't seem to entertain herself at all. When she is awake I can put her down for maybe 10 minutes before she starts getting fussy. I put her in the swing, the bouncy chair, the entertainment mat, etc... if I am lucky she will be happy for 10 minutes before she starts crying and as soon as I pick her up she is happy again. Also, she can not fall asleep on her own. She fights sleep and must be held and soothed before she FINALLY gives in to sleep. Since this is my first child I don't know if this is normal for a newborn. Am I spoiling her to need constant attention or are her behaviors normal? It is so hard to get anything done because she always wants my attention. Suggestions please.

[bEaUtIfUlbRuNeTtE]

At four months, yes, she needs all of your attention.

Have you tried attatching her to yourself, like a carrier so that you can get things done? I garuntee she will fall asleep that way.

[bekah876]

She is 4 weeks. I have one of those front carriers but she is still too little for it. I put her in it and the carrier just about swallowed her whole. She was 6 lbs when she was born and we go to the doctor tomorrow to see what she weighs now.

[bekah876]

Also, at what age do you let them cry themselves to sleep. I want her to eventually learn to self soothe.

[bEaUtIfUlbRuNeTtE]

Oh I'm sorry, 4 weeks. More than ever does she need your every living second.

Yes this is normal.

[bEaUtIfUlbRuNeTtE]

Sometimes just standing there will lull her to sleep. You don't have to be holding her.

She will have to wean herself to sleep.

Babies can be difficult. There are the ones who cry constantely and there are ones who sleep fine without their mother holding them.

[startover22]

She is still so tiny, she needs you that is why she cries when you aren't with her, she loves you and needs to feel you do her!
I think you can come up with a way to carry her in one of those front pouches, get a couple rolls of toilet paper and put it in the bottom to stiffen it up a little, then slide her in with a little neck holder thingy to keep her from slumping too much. You have to think of way to work it out. Little tiny ones need youmore than ever, if you need a break ask a friend to come over and sit with her while you do what you want or go grocery shopping.
When sleep time comes she should be full and clean and comfy, you can lie her down and turn on some soothing music, I always rolled a baby blankie up and put it right up snug to their side like it felt my hand was there. You can let her wimper a little, but she shouldn't be crying herself to sleep at this age, at least not in my opinion. You could rock her, and be very patient when she falls asleep don't just assume you can put her down, she needs to be all the way asleep. A little patience goes a long way with babies. Good luck sweetheart, and ohhh how you are so lucky to have her! Congrats!

[ang8318]

My son also had trouble falling asleep at night. I started using a projector that also has sound (rain, heartbeat, music, etc) I would position it so that it shows on the bumper of the crib, even though his vision was not that good, he would lay there, watch and listen until he fell asleep, now he is three months old and goes to sleep with the projector every night. It also has a timer on it, so that it does not keep my husband and I up.

[babieface85]

At 4 weeks it is not normal for your baby to self sooth. My little man is 4 month and just now is he starting to self sooth and entertain himself. If you think about they were being held 24/7 when we were pregnant. The best thing you can do (in my opinion) is say this is a short part of my life and I'm going to give it to her. I'm not judging because I just went through it. Its been hard. Just keep trying to put her down when you need to do stuff, if she cries pick her up. Before you know it she will cry she because she wants to be on the floor playing!

Ps be sure you let friends and family give you breaks from your full time job.

Also try a baby carrier so you can hold her with your hand free

[buggage]

As far as a hands free approach at such a young age, putting them in a carried isn't going to work so well since she is so tiny and needs head support. However, they are handy little deals out called Baby slings(ex. The Sling Station - Moby D) and these are easier for use with a small new baby, yet still allow hands free ability. At this age, its important to remember that she's still very new to the world. For 9 months she was wrapped in warm security, held tightly and comfortably by you, hearing your heartbeat and other familiar noises and smells. However, now she is out in the bright loud sometimes harsh world, and it is a long term adjustment. At this age they don't know how to sooth comfort and calm themselves, and they are solely dependent on you. There are times that you just have to simply let the house work go for a few days, or at least until your man(or other friend/family member) gets home to take over duty for a while. This doesn't mean you have to hold her constantly, but I can tell you that it is impossible to spoil a baby this young. Up until about 6 months (in my personal opinion) it is not wise to let baby cry themselves to sleep. As they get older, comfort them and calm them until they are drowsy and then lay them in bed, but always try to do it before they fall asleep. Staying near them and being close enough to comfort them till they fall asleep will help them to learn that it is OK to put themselves to sleep. But its something that doesn't happen over night, it's a long process for most babies. There may be other issues such as indigestion/gas/colic etc in the picture as well. Do you still swaddle her? This helps. With my last son, I put him in his bassinet and wheeled him around with me all over the house, and this helped comfort him, yet allow me to have my hands free for a few minutes(granted at that time I had a one level apartment, so I didn't have stairs to deal with... this time around its going to be a differernt story for me. Hah) White noise also helps calm some babies (vacuum, running water, static on tv/radio etc) Basically in all aspects of parenthood, it's a trial and error method. You got to keep trying things, until something finally works... and that thing that works may end up changing many times. Just be patient and understanding, get personal breaks whenever you can so that you don't get over run, physically and emotionally. Just enjoy this age, because soon she'll be up and getting around on her own, and her independence will start to shine... then you may start to wish/miss when you could hold her more often.Good luck!