Discovery Home & Health

Is it too soon to introduce this to my 7 week old son? He is very clingy and will not go to sleep on his own, in fact he will not tolerate being on his own at all! If he is put down for even a second he screams his head off, and as soon as he is lifted he stops immediately, it is like a switch has been turned off!! I have tried letting him cry but he never seems to stop. I do not want this to continue for much longer as I cant even get showered or make a cup of tea unless he is asleep. Hope someone out there can help!!

Hi Louie, personally I think he's too young, plus any of the baby whisperer programs that it is used in, the babys are older. My now 14 week old son was the very same from when he was born up till about 10 weeks. He just seemed to change over night. I think some babies just like the security of been held. I know it can be draining on you (I have a 4 year old too) but they are not this small for very long. Have you tried talking to him when you put him down so that he knows your still around? Also when you put him down can he see you?

Hi tracy, thanks for replying. I have tried talking to him and stroking him to see if that helps, but to no avail. I wish someone could tell me how he knows that mummy & daddys bed is much nicer to sleep in lol. If I put him down for 1 second he is out like a light! I was wondering if it could be because my mattress is softer? Anyways, he hasnt been too bad, he is going down to sleep on his own now and again. I think that you are right, that he just likes the comfort of having someone close. Hopefully he will change overnight too lol (though I wont hold my breath lol)
Oh by the way where in Ireland are you? I am in the North, just outside Belfast.

My son was like this about sleep. I finally tackled the problem head on when he was about 16 weeks, though the experts say it's never too early to teach your baby to learn to fall asleep independently.
Basically I comforted him in the cot, only picking him up if he got really bad but putting him straight down again. It was hellish at first - he just screamed and screamed. But I stuck with it (night and day, oh God) Eventually he began to learn that being in his cot meant it was time to sleep. Now he falls asleep in his cot all by himself.
One of the key things I found was timing. If I let him get overtired he was far worse. I spent a few days writing down his day eg when he slept, how long he was awake for and so on. This way I learnt when he was likely to start becoming tired and could put him in bed before he got overtired and unmanageable.
Good luck, it will get better. But you may have to grit your teeth and put up with the crying until he learns.