Getting new baby to sleep?

Celia has had such a hard time sleeping anywhere but in our arms. Even if we put her down for one second and she seems fine (i.e. full of food and dead asleep) she is awake within minutes and screaming. When I say screaming, I mean crying, coughing, wailing all at the same time. We tried pre-heating the place we are going to lay her by using a heating pad. We have tried swaddling, unswaddling, clothes, no clothes, different types of clothes, different sleeping places (basket, bassinet, support pillow), we tried different blankets. I am not talking about getting her to sleep through the night, just long enough so DH or I can pee or brush our teeth. Its like playing a constant game of hand-off where you are paralized until someone else is available to hold the baby.

One problem is that she hates being on her back. If she is on her side or at a slight angle, she sleeps wonderfully. Unfortunately, all of her favorite sleeping positions are the same ones that will lead to her suffocation according to the hospital staff. She also dislikes being swaddled because she can't completely relax her body. Last night DH and I thought we were going to lose our minds because one of us was up with her the whole time holding her so the other person could sleep. I am on shift right now.

We talked about co-sleeping, but I am nervous about co-sleeping with her because of the blankets etc. and DH sleeps like a rock. Plus, if we drop a cool $50 on one of those snuggle bed co-sleepers I feel like we will have blown money on one more place she hates to be. Has anyone had any luck with an in-bed co sleeper? Do they make ones that hold the baby in a safe place, but that you can still spoon with (the ones I have seen are like little low boxes with supports inside)?

Sorry, I am tired, rambling and at a loss. Hopefully one of you ladies with mommy experience will have the magic solution .

I co slept with Evan and Im doing it with Uriah as well...I will admit it is scary at first but it works for us..sometimes I lay Uriah on my chest and put a pillow under each of my arms so I can hold him up..others I lay on my side and have his head on my arm and hold him with my other arm. My bed is against a wall so I fold a thin recieving blanket into the crack and only cover the bottom half of his body with my blanket. This works for me because I breast feed and its easier access but at the same time he stays asleep longer because hes with me.
Ive never tryed any kind of sleep wedge or co-sleeper bed. You could try one of those positioning wedges..there are some that adjust for side sleeping. It would keep baby in place and then maybe you could sleep a little more comfortably with them in your bed.
Or you could try puting a shirt you have been wearing all day near baby when you lay them down so that way baby can still smell you...it may work.
For actually being able to walk around and function during the day try a sling or carrier....I have one for Uriah and he loves it because he is close to me.
Its all a mater of trial and error...you will eventually find something that works and more often then not it will be something completely strange LOL

We had this problem with Alyssa for the first day or two when we came home with her too. DH and I would take turns sleeping in the recliner with her. Then, we put her in the swing to sleep and that worked! She has one of the papasan swings and we would wrap her in a blanket in that. We moved her to the bassinet after that. She hates sleeping on her back too, so we put her on her side and that works pretty good. In my opinion, the doctors tell you alot of stuff, and it is good advice, but you have to do what works for you. We don't use any wedges or anything, we just put her in there with her blanket wrapped around her around her chest or so. I still do fall asleep with her sometimes, that is just me not being able to stay awake. Good luck to you. It is frustrating those first few days, but it gets better. Alyssa does pretty good sleeping at night now, she is only waking up twice at night and goes back down usually in an hour.

I have put my lo's on their side with a recieving blancket rolled up behing and in front of my babies. If she like to sleep at an angle you could put a couple encyclopedias or books under one end of bed where her head will be and she will be slightly elevated . This works great also when they have a cold. Most of my lo's have slept in a swing which was a lifesaver at night. Also just an idea, when Madison was in NICU, they had a soft arm with a hand that snuggled up to baby like you had your arm there. It would conform to the baby where you put it so it felt natural. I found a website for it that explains it...http://www.babygadget.net/2006/07/zacky_infant_pillow.php And here is where you can order...http://thezaky.com/en/shop/online.php.
Hope you can find something so you and dh can sleep better.
Andrea

have you tried a bouncy seat that vibrates??? A friend of mine gave me hers and said it really worked for her when her lil girl was fussy and didnt want to be put down.. im a FTM too so i dont have much advice but thats what we are gonna try..

PP mentioned a sling... I've done a lot of research, and was going to buy a wrap type, but felt it would be a pain to get it tied. I found this one... it's expensive, but perhaps worth it?? I hope so, because I ordered it the other day.

http://www.mybabynest.com/#

Anyway, just a thought so you can function while holding her.

Good luck!!

side sleeping is ok. so if she sleeps on her side fine just roll up 2 blankets to keep her in that postion. they have little things you can buy to keep them side sleeping but blankets do the same thing.

I used several different things with Ava - vibrating bouncy seat on our bed between DH and I, boppy pillow around me to support my arms while she slept on my chest, Mobi Wrap sling while I slept sitting up in a recliner, and my personal favorite - the swing. Once we started using the swing, we never went back! She just didn't like sleeping without some kind of motion - vibrating or swinging. It may take you a little while to find what works best for her, but hang there!

I am completely inexperienced here, but is it possible she has reflux? Perhaps sleeping on an incline would help?