My 3 week old wants to be held all the time..

Did anyone else have this? I can't put her in anything when she is awake other than my arms! And, it is so hard to get her to sleep in the bassinet by herself without being held.

I hope I am not spoiling her!

Re: My 3 week old wants to be held all the time..

You can never spoil a newborn

My DD was like that. Would wake the second she hit the bassinet, crib, swing, anything. I slept in my living room chair holding her every night. But she eventually outgrew it, with some encouragement from us.

You will get through it. Do you have a baby sling/carrier? A lot of people swear by them (and I have no clue why I never even tried mine )

Re: My 3 week old wants to be held all the time..

I didn't have this problem but have you tried the miracle blanket? I have heard that it did wonders for a lot of people.

Re: My 3 week old wants to be held all the time..

You can't spoil a newborn! You'll probably read that 1000 times on this board but I believe it's true. DD was like that at first, but after a bit she was happy in the swing and in her bouncy chair. Swaddling helps for naps and bedtime.

Re: My 3 week old wants to be held all the time..

My son was like that and if he wasn't in my arms then he was in the swing...it was all that would work to help him sleep.

The best advice I can give you....
Put her down when you think she needs to go down but have the intention that if she needs to be picked up and held that you will do it. It's mind over matter for the both of you...so long as you give her the opportunity to go down she'll soon learn...and so long as you set your mind that this is the task at hand (holding her if she needs it) you'll deal a lot better with your time being dedicated to that task. I used to get all anxious because there were a million things to do...but once I set my mind on this it was easier not to stress and to just hold him. We used to take a lot of naps together.

And remember to look at it from her point of view...this is such a strange and even scary time for her...she's in a new place very different from your womb. You are one of the few comforts that she has right now while she's sorting it all out. She needs you now more than ever. So it's okay to hold her...you won't spoil her now.

Re: My 3 week old wants to be held all the time..

You cannot spoil a newborn.

Re: My 3 week old wants to be held all the time..

Thank you everyone!!! I think this time will pass and will take all of your words of wisdom! It is so nice to have other Mom's to ask questions of other than family!

Re: My 3 week old wants to be held all the time..

Do you have a sling? DD was like that for the first 6 weeks so I started using my hotsling and it made a world of difference for me! Oh and everyone is right, you cannot spoil a newborn.

Re: My 3 week old wants to be held all the time..

Re: My 3 week old wants to be held all the time..

I posted the same thing when Cailen was a newborn. I wound up never putting him down!

and he is the most confident and independent child as a result!

Re: My 3 week old wants to be held all the time..

I agree with PPs, you can't spoil a newborn! I would try swaddling or using a sling...whatever it takes to make it work! I held DS as long as he wanted when he was a newborn and it doesn't seem to affect him.

Re: My 3 week old wants to be held all the time..

I think most young babies are like that......hold her and enjoy every second

Re: My 3 week old wants to be held all the time..

DD was the same way. You can't spoil a newborn - if your DC wants to be held all the time maybe consider a sling or carrier so you can at least have your hands free a bit

Re: My 3 week old wants to be held all the time..

Re: My 3 week old wants to be held all the time..

I agree with everything Ang-Nick said.

DD was always wanting to be held, and with a toddler running around, it wasn't always possible. THe swing was a lifesaver when I couldn't hold her. It did go away by 1 month of age and she became more ok with just hanging in the bouncy or on the floor.