please advise about 5 week old baby!

[Saffron]

You could also try a baby hammock instead of a basket. There are many benefits to baby hammocks in that they have a fit and motion similar to a sling. Someone had a secondhand baby hammock for sale a while back on the Forum.

xx

Edited to say I found a couple of links...

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?25,624332,624332#msg-624332

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?25,627780,627780#msg-627780

[hellosailor]

I know, it was me that bought it! How funny! We are going to assemble it today! thanks saffron!

[mima08]

Hellosailor, I could have written your post myself just a 3 weeks ago...At 5 weeks I felt exactly the same. The shhhhhh patting & swaddeling made a huge difference - even though LO did not appear to like the swaddling initially, he now loves it.

In terms of a routine - i had the same feeling of inadequacy and stupidly read all the same books without being able to see a) how to implement a routine and b) whether it is even right for me. Now I am trying to implement a roughly similar time for bath/wash each day (but even that varies, depending how the day goes/he sleeps/what we are doing) and do my best to ignore other "advice". I found it helpful to be told to try anything I like the sound of for 3 days and if it works, great, if not move on - that was probably the soundest advice of all!

The one thing that did really help me though is to look out for the time by which he's been awake each time roughly 1 hr to look very carefully for tiredness signs and at the first sign calming him down & getting ready to put him down - it helps avoiding the overstimulation (sometimes...)

[Beagle]

For what it's worth I couldn't contemplate the thought of a schedule until week 11. We had a reluctant daytime sleeper and unstoppable evening cluster feeder. Ok, I couldn't get much done during the day but when I look back on those precious first months both my husband and I derived huge pleasure from just holding our baby when she slept. Those first weeks go by so quickly and next thing you find yourself putting your baby down at 8pm, and the little head turns away and next thing she's asleep. The first night we tried that (at 11 weeks!) I felt redundant, I really did not know what to do with myself.

What I am trying to say is I don't think there is a finite window for training your baby that you are in danger of missing. Some babies thrive on a routine, others will get into it later. Just enjoy these weeks. All of a sudden babies start to amuse themselves for longer periods, or decide they don't need to feed all night and actually fancy bed and at that point you will find yourself in a routine. I think the pleasure from holding your new little baby in the first months is so fabulous and it will fly by. Our 6 month old still only cat naps a few times a day but is in a decent enough routine despite our late start.

[mumof3girlies]

I second all the comments everbody has made regarding your baby - she is still tiny and adjusting to the world, I just wanted to add the only book I read and found interesting and helpful was Desmond Morris 'Babywatching', it is a beautiful book, very factual about what newborns like, don't like and how the world seems from their perspective and charmingly non-judgemental and absent of any advice or do's or don'ts - it's in Southwark Libraries. Good luck - just enjoy this incredibly special time.:)

[Fuschia]

Margot Sunderland science of parenting also - great book re what babies need and why