Inside: The ultimate guide on what to do if your newborn only sleeps when held.
It’s that never-ending cycle many parents have come to dread. We spend over an hour (and sometimes more) putting our babies to sleep, but the minute we lay them down, their eyes flip wide open. Then it’s back to square one, all over again.
I’ve been there.
In the first few weeks, I understood how much my baby needed me to put him to sleep. He’s a newborn, after all, one who had grown used to the rocking motion of the womb and had to transition to his new environment.
I even prided myself for being the only one who could successfully put him to sleep—in my arms, of course.
But after a while, I began to wonder if I could’ve done things differently. Because it seemed like my baby—who at one point had been willing to nap in different ways—now would only sleep when he was held.
The more he grew, the more he relied on sleeping in arms. He had a difficult time sleeping in ways I wanted him to, such as flat on his back, in his crib, or even in his stroller.
While kids do outgrow certain habits, I also knew that some continue to linger, including sleep habits. Stories of parents rocking toddlers or sleeping with their three-year-olds made me wonder if I was setting myself up for years of sleep deprivation.
When your newborn only sleeps when held
I realized this wasn’t a sustainable way to keep going. No one was getting the quality of sleep and rest they needed, even the baby. I could barely take a shower, and felt like I was breastfeeding him to sleep all the time. I wanted him to be able to sleep not only in my arms, but in other arrangements as well.
Perhaps you can relate.
Maybe your baby only sleeps when he’s held or resting in your arms, and not in the bassinet or his own crib. Nap times and sleep cycles barely last longer than 45 minutes, and that’s if he naps.
He’s too young to sleep train, and your bedtime relies on whenever he goes to sleep, since that seems to be the only thing that does the trick.
And you’re beginning to wonder how long this will last. Because at some point, you know you’ll need to find a way to ease him out of your arms. As much as you want to comfort and hold him, you also worry you’re establishing bad habits.
The result? You feel alone holding him day and night—stuck, hollow, and desperate. It seems you have no moment to yourself to breathe. And you feel drained both mentally and physically.
If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. We have all been there. And the good news is, you now have solutions to try.
How to Get Your Baby to Sleep without Being Held
After I realized I couldn’t keep holding my baby to sleep every time, I tried different strategies to help him take to other sleep arrangements.
I sought the right baby gear and tools to help make that sleep happen. I tweaked his daily schedule and changed the way I put him to sleep. And I implemented the habits that would encourage him to sleep anywhere else but my arms.
These strategies not only worked with my eldest, but with his brothers as well. When my eldest was three-years-old, I gave birth to twins.
I knew from the start I didn’t want to repeat many of the mistakes I made with my first baby. You can also imagine how impossible it is to hold two babies to sleep. I implemented these strategies and, even with two of them, saw a remarkable difference in how they took to sleep.
I include all the tips that helped me get my babies to sleep well. They were still too young to be sleeping 12 hours straight just yet, but I was able to lengthen their sleep into longer stretches.
They were also more willing to sleep without being held, and I was establishing the habits that could help them get the sleep we all needed.
This ebook is for the new parent who:
- Wants to establish the sleep habits that will help her baby fall asleep on his own
- Has no time to search and search the internet for answers
- Has a baby who will only sleep when he’s held or is co-sleeping
- Can’t get her baby to nap for long stretches
- Has a baby too young for sleep training
Instead of paying hundreds of dollars for sleep coaching, you can now get everything you need in this action guide for a fraction of the price.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- How to time your baby’s awake times so he falls asleep without a fuss
- The ideal time to feed your baby
- The importance of establishing a routine
- How to avoid digestion issues to make your baby more comfortable
- Creating the right kind of environment conducive for sleep
- Using sleep aids to help your baby sleep anywhere
- Experimenting with different naptime arrangements
- How and why you should put your baby down to sleep drowsy but awake
Now is the time to do something to help your baby sleep better. After all, have you fully considered what might happen if you don’t take action? How many hours of lost sleep is that going to cost you?
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“We recently purchased your Baby to Sleep PDF and have found a lot of the tips very helpful! We struggled with knowing when our daughter needed to nap or when we should start the process of putting her down. She often would fight sleeping or only sleep for minutes at best before waking up again—we had no real routine, and reading this guide helped us establish one.
I feel more confident in getting her naps in and the structure has built a little routine for us where we previously didn’t have one. The tips have given us so much more freedom from carrying her and rocking her to sleep ALL the time. It’s made for a happier baby and happier parents!” -Jess A.
“Getting my baby to sleep through the night with minimal wakeups was a huge challenge. Your ebook gave me tools to get my daughter through the early months and saved us many hours of lost sleep—thank you!!” -Shawna V.
“Hi Nina! I bought your ebook and read it during night feedings with my baby. Oh my word, we are doing so much better now! Naps are still a challenge and my sanity is still on the fence, but little by little we are making progress thanks to you! It felt so good to have someone empathize with us and have some sort of framework. Thank you so much for your support from afar, Nina. Harvey is my first baby, and having a guide is a life saver.” -Elsie R.
“Thank you so much for the book. Caring for a new baby is the hardest thing I have ever done! I had a hard time getting her to nap without being held, and before reading the book, my biggest challenge was timing naps based on wake times. I often waited until my baby was overtired, making it much harder to put her down. And I have already started to implement the strategies you recommended and almost immediately was able to get my baby to fall sleep outside of my arms.
The book helped me build a bedtime routine and see the signs of tiredness, and I progressively was able to put my baby down near me and sometimes drowsy. As a new mom, you don’t realize how much time is spent getting your baby to sleep. It was nice to read about other moms’ challenges and gain tools to manage.” -Danielle C.
“I love this. This was my first son to a T for the first six weeks of his life, which made returning to work at 8 weeks even more stressful! With baby #2 on the way, I will be more diligent with these techniques. I love the 90 minute rule!! Thank you!” -Kelly
“These are EXCELLENT tips.” -MaryAnne K.
With this guide, you’ll learn how to establish those habits, as well as get survival tips and gear to make it happen. And it has no fluff or vague messages—this quick read is straight to the point.
If you’ve read other sleep books, you know how confusing many of them can be. I understand how limited your time is right now, and that you need just the tips to help your baby sleep better.
This newborn stage is tough, no doubt. I hope that, with this guide, you can help your baby get the sleep he needs—and not always in your arms.
Join thousands of parents who’ve bought the ebook and get your copy now:
