My Baby Is One Of Those … He’s Just Sleeping In My Arms! – Being Parents

My baby fell asleep in my arms! Seconds later, when we try to get them to the cradle, they reactivate as if they were in a strange and boring place: they are looking for our contact again. Is it negative?

According to many pediatricians, it may be inappropriate for a baby to associate rest exclusively with the arms of his mother and father. However, there are some nuances that we need to know in order to come to a clear and objective conclusion, especially since when it comes to a baby’s sleep all we need is time, patience and a lot of time. love.

We invite you to discover them with us.

My baby is sleeping in my arms: is this a problem?

We’ll start by clarifying something important: No, it is okay for your baby to fall asleep in your arms if he is less than six months old. From this age, rituals and habits are already of paramount importance and it is time to install small behaviors.

If we are not doing co-sleeping, it would be appropriate for a 6 month old baby to be able to fall asleep in the crib and associate this place with a space in which he wakes up and falls asleep every day. However, that does not mean at all that when he needs it, we will hug him, reassure him and put him back in his cradle.

Let’s see some more important information below.

Up to 6 months, he just needs to feel safe

We need to be aware that a child’s brain will not mature until they are around 7 years old. However, we could say that the first maturity leap comes at three years. Many neural networks are covered in myelin, and the electrical diagram allows them to regulate their sleep cycles.

We’re going to need to understand that waking up a child several times during the night is normal. However, the ideal is to gradually integrate routines and fixed habits as soon as possible.

• Up to 6 months old, all a baby needs is to feel safe. The only way you can do that is to feel your warmth, to feel the arms of mum or dad.
• Our baby spent 9 months in our womb, protected, isolated from this outside world which seems so threatening and where leaving him in a cradle, is interpreted by him as a simple abandonment.
• It is also necessary to know that every child will have needs. There will be babies who use the bassinet normally and there will be others who are more dependent, with a greater need for physical contact.

So don’t worry if your baby is only sleeping in your arms. This does not mean that in the future he will have more autonomy problems. This has nothing to do with. Up to 6 months, you just have to wait until he is well asleep and then put him in the crib.

Strategies for our baby to fall asleep in the cradle

As we pointed out previously, the most important thing is to adjust the habits in the child as soon as possible. For this, it is advisable to take into account the following tips:

Teaching him to sleep in the cradle does not mean giving up affection

If we have decided not to co-sleep, our child needs to get used to sleeping in the cradle. It will be good for us and appropriate for him to seek to adopt habits and routines. Do not hesitate to establish the usual behaviors:

• A good bath before going to bed.
• Feed him without straining too much, we should not fight with him at this time if we see that he does not want to.
• Leave him in the crib, fondling him affectionately for as long as necessary until he closes his eyes.

Show him you’re there.

Leave him a garment that bears our perfume

• A very appropriate technique for the baby to take the cradle without trauma and sleep there is to leave a garment that carries our smell or our perfume.
• This will reassure him. Leave him in the crib and stroke him to let him know we’re with him. Leave this garment under her head and be patient until sleep prevails.
• Smell is one of the most developed senses in babies under 6 months old. So we have this wonderful opportunity that is worth taking advantage of.

Don’t force behaviors, the key is patience and affection

There are moms and dads who despair of seeing their babies fall asleep in their arms. When they take them to the cradle, they wake up and cannot sleep again. This anxiety ends up being projected on the child.

• Believe it or not, sleep is not a behavior that can be taught like teaching a child to read. Sleep is an instinctive behavior, and during the first few months, a baby does not fall asleep until he feels safe, when he is not afraid.
• Week after week, these fears will disappear because they will mature, because little by little his need for attachment will not be so intimate. Do not worry. It doesn’t matter if you take a nap with him or if he sleeps with you in bed one night.

Over time, it will reclaim its space and regulate your sleep. You will tell us: my baby no longer sleeps in my arms!