Help with 5 Week Old

He is way, way too young to cry it out. I'm against this method, but if you want to try it, please wait until he is AT LEAST 6 months old. If you let him cry it out now he will feel abandoned & I truly believe it will affect the type of personality he has when he's older. Do not let him cry it out!! He is also too young to expect him to sleep through the night, sleep in his crib alone, etc. He is only 5 weeks old. Rock him or nurse him to sleep. Do whatever you have to so he is comfortable, relaxed, and loved. Start a bedtime routine. Allowing him to cry will worsen the situation, that should not even be considered an option. Frankly, if anyone else says to let him cry, do not listen to them! Be patient...I know your hands are full w/ 3 other kids, but he shouldn't suffer because of it. Use the tv to occupy your kids if necessary so you can give him the necessary time & attention to put him to sleep. Get a baby carrier so he can sleep on you, while you are playing with you kids. That may be a good option too.

Please don't let him cry it out. Like tracy said, he is wayy too young for that. I'm sorry and don't mean to sound rude or condescending, but i wish people who choose to use certain methods with their kids would do some research first and see how it affects them. Also, I dont care what anybody else thinks or says, i just think that if a baby is crying, its for a reason and it should be addressed. Even if baby just wants to be held or cuddled.
Maybe try a bedtime routine? And u were lucky that ur baby slept even that good in the beginning!! My daughter would sleep maybe 2 hours if i was lucky for the first couple months! As for getting him to fall asleep on his own, that is going to take some work and patience if you dont want to let him cry it out. If you want a good read, try reading the "No Cry Sleep Solution". It really does give some good tips and advice on how to get baby sleeping better and easier.. but dont expect a 'quick fix'. He's still a brand new baby and it takes time!

A 5 week old baby is too young to sleep by himself or understand any kind of sleeping technique. It must be very h*** o* you to manage your other kids and the 5 week old, but if you can, co-sleep or use a bassinet that lies right next to your bed until he can establish a sleep pattern.

Have you tried swaddling him? He has spent 9 months inside you listening to your heartbeat and your voice. How will he be used to living outside of you so soon and without crying it out?

No no no cry it out at this age!! You may have to "wear" him on you with a sling or a baby bjorn front pack (his chest to yours at this age). We also had GREAT success with getting baby to sleep in a swing when she was having difficulty sleeping. Worked like a charm. In fact, we'd often put the swing next to our bed and baby would swing the night away right next to me. Also, have you tried a co-sleeper? Small little portable bassinet that is missing a side and that side fits snugly against your side of bed. Baby is near you, can smell and touch you and this leads to longer stretches of sleep time. Not to mention being so convenient for nursing, etc. if you are doing so. You can pick up a co-sleeper on craigslist for half of what they are new. Good luck!!

My second son is much more of a "cuddler" than my first. He also had a hard time separating from Mama to sleep. I finally (after talking with a lactation consultant) decided to just follow his lead. I held him when he slept. He slept on my chest or next to me for most of the first 4 weeks. Slowly he transitioned to sleeping in a pack n play in our room. Then by 7 weeks he was in his own room and sleeping well!

It is hard when you have other children to care for, but different kids have different needs. Follow his lead and the transition may happen more quickly. Do you have a sling or ergo? I used that a lot at the beginning.

I wouldn't make him cry it out yet....he's too little and just isn't ready to be away from his mama yet. Good luck! This too shall pass....

My youngest was quite the mommy's boy and he is still my little cuddler! I just put a lazy boy recliner in his room and held him and rocked him until he had the security he needed.

Morning--
Check out "The Happiest Baby on the Block"--it's all about the swaddle!! The book teaches you (or you can get the video) how to swaddle so they can't get loose and it works like a charm. Also, everyone here is correct--you can't let a baby that small cry it out unless you want to cause permanent emotional damage (I'm not being melodramatic--there really is a ton of research to support that claim).
J.

Remember all babies start a growth spurt between 5-6 wks and really need that one on one with mommy and more milk to help them.. it will pass. Make sure that he feeds when hungry to let his body know that his needs are met. CIO method shouldn't start this young. I'm not a fan, but the book itself doesn't recommend it at this age. It recommends waiting until they are at least 12 pounds. Good luck!

Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp. LIFESAVER! For my daughter, the combo of swaddling and the REALLY hard shaking of her bassinet and the shhhhhhhing worked WONDERS. The book explains how to do it all, and some people don't dare to shhh loud enough or jiggle hard enough, but you are jiggling the cradle, not the baby. For my son, a passifier and white noise (like the shhhing) was the key and he was the BEST sleeper.
Another of my friends swears by the babywise program, but I don't know what it is so I can't give my personal recommendation. But I know that the swaddling and stuff works.
If he wants to be close to you, you could put him in a babysling while you do housework or are with the other kids. That worked with my daughter before I discovered swaddling at 8 weeks. That way you have your hands free, but baby is close to you, can smell you, hear your heart, feel your warmth. Good luck!!

Dear T.. Congratulations on your new addition. From the research I have done as a new mom, each baby is indeed different in terms of their needs and sleep patterns. Have you considered "wearing" your baby to help him sleep? In this way, you still have your hands free to deal with your other children and he sleeps. In addition, from what I read, letting a child this young cry it out is not so recommended. They are so young and cannot communicate their needs. I know it is hard, and I hope my answer helps a bit.
Jilly

Has something changed in his environment? 5 weeks is still too early to have a pattern set in stone. He may have his days and nights mixed up. Also are you BF or formula? If it is formula it could be an intolerance to it and he has tummy troubles causing pain and unable to sleep. Look at switching if that is the case. Is he swaddled? Also, make sure he is being fed througout the day and not missing feedings. My pediatrician did say if they miss out on eating during the day they will wake more frequently at night to catch up on feeding. Make sure too you are doing same routine with him over and over again. He will get used to it.

I read in the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (which I don't recommend because it reads like a textbook-- painful!) that babies seem to go through a fussy phase about six weeks after they are born. If they're premature then it's about six weeks after their due date. This was actually true with my DD. She was 4 weeks early (8.1 lbs so no complaints) and at about 10 weeks she went from this easy going baby to a fussy one. It only lasted a couple of weeks so maybe your little guy will get over it. BTW: we used the baby wise schedule and it worked well for us. My DD sleeps about 10-12 hours now at 5 months occassionally waking up in the night, but even then she's just talking to herself-- not crying.

I feel for you now that you have four, every kid brings on more job and more work. Babies this age though should not do cry it out (and I am a fan of the cry it out method). A sling is a good idea and remember this is only a stage and won't last forever. They are only little for a very short time.

That is a tough one -- and at that age it really is a week-to-week change. I never let my kids cry when they were babies (my youngest is 6 months old) -- mainly because they cry at that age only for "help," and just that -- not to be spoiled or anything like that. So, all my kids (I have 5) slept through the night by 8 weeks, but until then, it varied from one child who needed to be held 24/7 to another child who would fall asleep in his crib from being wide awake... so I guess the point is that all kids are different, but don't let a newborn cry :(

"Wearing" the baby as another poster suggested is a great idea. (I used the Bjorn and the Hotsling.) I always told myself if things didn't change by 3 months, I would try something else (I love the idea that the first 3 months are really the "fourth trimester"), but by then, my kids were always sleeping fine, so I can't give any advice past that! Until then, I just did what the baby needed.... it is hard, but they change so quickly (I know it does not feel like that now, especially with 3 others to care for). Best of luck and hang in there.