Newborn up All Night, Sleep All day...needs to Be Held ALWAYS...any Suggestions?

Maybe not what you want to hear but my son was 2months old before i could get him to sleep with out being near me mostly held. Lots of people say dont hold them because then you will never get them to sleep on their own. I chose to ignore that idea and did what my son wanted and needed me to do. During the day i held him and would try now and then to lay him in a bassinet, he didnt sleep well in one until he reached 2.5 months old. At night he wanted to be held i let him sleep with me in my bed some people say it is terrible but he got rest and i got rest he woke up every few hours to eat then i started laying him in his crib he would sleep there half the night (up every 1- 2 hours) then he would join me in bed for the rest of the night. around 2.5 months he moved to his own rooma dn own crib still up every 2 hours at night until he was 7 months old and now he sleeps in his own bed for 13 hours at night. I gave my son the attention and comfort he wanted and he was not "ruined" he sleeps well now but you just have to work through it. Perhaps you dont liek co sleeping but all i knwo is BOTH of us were happier and better rested when he slept in the same bed.

I know it's hard not to get any sleep! I would second the other moms and sleep when your baby sleeps. Also, remember that your baby has been in a warm, tight, close environment for the past nine months so it may take some time for him to get used to being 'out' of there! Try wearing him in a sling if you have one, that way you can get some things done while he is still close to you. This won't last forever, so enjoy holding that little one.

J.,
My DS never slept well in his bassinet either. I let him sleep in my bed until he was about 2.5 months. The pediatrician told me not to let him go more than 2 hours with out eating, even at night, for the first month at least. He also said the lights are too bright during the day and therefore babies will close their eyes and just sleep. Let him eat when he's hungry. I didn't get much sleep when my DS was born until he was about 3 months. Good luck!

It sounds to me like he prefers sleeping upright. I have three children and all of mine were like this. The first had a sever case of reflux and would wake up a lot as the reflux bothered her until we put her on liquid zyntac and than propping her crib mattress worked with her meds, my second had a reflux problem also and only needed meds for a little bit but we also let him sleep in a bouncy set or carseat in his crib until we had purchsased a wedge for the crib. Now we have our third little bundle and he is 3 months old has reflux and would also only sleep short periods when not being held. I have a moses basket that he sleeps in that is propped up by a wedge that we have in the bassinet. once he moves to the crib we are going to buy the Tucker sling so that he can sleep with the crib mattress up and not slide down. Once we propped him up he sleeps alot better. Maybe you should try propping him up.
I would also try wrapping him in a swaddling blanket keeping him nice and tight might help also. I hope this helps

He is only 6 days old! Sleep when he sleeps, and start worrying about his sleeping patterns in another month or two. ;-)

I would keep the blinds/curtains open during the day, and play music. Then at night, keep it quiet and dark. He will slowly get into the groove of night vs. day.

If you want to offer him formula at night instead of breastfeeding, go for it. The only way you will know if it works for you is to try it. I would recommend breastfeeding him and THEN offering him a bottle. That way, your milk is still getting stimulated. If you don't want to nurse at all at that feeding, then still pump or hand express.

I think he's too young, at six days old, to be trying to work on a schedule yet. Most newborns tend to sleep a lot during the day. At this stage he should eat when he wants and sleep when he wants. Schedules are great, but I think he needs to be a bit older (maybe around 1 month) before you try to start to establish one.

As far as getting him to sleep better, I would recommend swaddling him. I found that helped with sleeping longer when my kids were infants. I swaddled them until they were about 3 months old or so. It really was a big help. Also along with swaddling, having some white noise may be helpful. You could have a fan in his room for background noise while he sleeps.