I'm having a bit of trouble. My 6 week old daughter won't go to sleep without being held or without me. It doesn't matter how tired she is she can cry and cry in her bassinet and just won't fall asleep! I don't know what to do. I hate having her try to cry it out, especially when it seems to get her nowhere.

My daughter is 3 months. 4 months on the 27th and I had that same issue and still do!

Up until about a month ago I'd let her sleep on me so she wouldn't wake up. She'd fall asleep on my chest and there she would stay and I'd sleep on my back to let her. Probably why she sleeps easier on her stomach and prefers her stomach to sleep.
My daughter is the same way as your baby. I can't even put my little girl down otherwise she gets fussy unless we are outside. She'll lay on a blanket on the ground or just giggles like mad baby when she's in her pram and we are walking around! She loves movement
Anyway, now I just let my daughter cry. She'll cry for about 15-20 minutes normally before she starts to calm down (which rarely happens) If she's screaming for 30 minutes or longer (the normal) I will go and pick her up.. I'll walk around with her for about 15 minutes then put her in her bouncer and she'll fall alseep or stay asleep and once I know she's in her deep sleep I'll go place her in her moses basket
I'm still working on getting her to go to sleep on her own. I know I got her into a bad habit and I'm trying to break it. I'll only hold her for 15 minutes before I put her in her bouncer. If she's not asleep by those 15 minutes she's typically she fluttering her eyes open. At first I was doing it for 30 minutes but am slowly making the time I hold her less and less. For us it seems to be working!

Good Luck!

Hello

Do you swaddle her? I used to wrap my son up quite snug, and he found it comforting. Another thing I used to do was leave the Tv on (he was sleeping in my room, in his cot), sometimes even with a tiny bit of volume, and he found that comforting, but I think that was when he was more towards 3 months old (the light from it was what he liked).

I think it's a good idea to do what you can to get her to fall asleep on her own, trust me, it will make your life a lot easier in the future

I would sit beside the cot until my son calmed down, which can sometimes take 20 minutes, but it all paid off because after I did that for about 2-4 weeks, he would sleep on his own

Good luck! You will get there she is still so young! So don't worry too much about it.

I'd like more info before I attempt to answer your question.

Is this something that just started happening? Have you always previously held her, and now you're trying to put her down and she's crying? Have you changed her diet, or eating times in any way. For instance, has she been breast fed and now you're giving her formula? Have you noticed any rashes, or is she running a fever? Have you checked her bassinette for anything unusual? Could something be sticking her, or is her mattress lumpy and uncomfortable? Could it be too hot for her in the bassinette?

There's too many things that could be causing this. She could be sick or have colic. If you're breast feeding, and changed YOUR diet it could be giving her a stomach ache. She could be coming down with a virus or have an ear infection. A low grade fever will make anyone feel crummy. If she's uncomfortable in anyway she'll cry. It could be something simple like outgrowing the bassinette and not getting enough air circulation, and being too hot. It could be she's in the habit of you holding her too much.

Post some more info, so we can be sure she's not ill, colicky, or just plain uncomfortable and we'll figure it out.

Angeldolllogic- getting her to fall asleep on her own-it started happening a week after we got home from the hosptial, but sleeping ALONE never happened. i haven't changed my diet, shes been breastfeeding since day 1- no changes there. No fever, no rashes. Her bassinet's fine it COULD be hot in there since it's part of a pack & play and it's very warm material.

shann- i try swaddling her but she hates it, she moves so much! I usually leave the tv on with no volume & her music playing it makes her tired but she fights it if i put her down.

Gracie1- sounds exactly what my daughers doing!

thank you all!

marchbaby: Try to keep her a little bit cooler for a couple of nights and see if that helps. If not, it could be that she might be a little colicky (and "Yes, breastfed babies can get colic". See if movement helps. If it does, you might want to invest in a baby swing. I breastfed my son and he had dreadful colic for his first 5 months. The baby swing saved our sanity. Keep us posted on your progress with her. Good luck!