I am terrified

[lilac05]

That is totally normal. The first two nights home with DS1, my H and I slept on the couch/love seat with the baby in a bassinet between us. I woke up countless times panicking that he wasn't breathing. I made my H get up and make sure. It was crazy...and completely normal, from what others say.

Welcome to survival mode! Trust your instincts and take it one hour at a time & you'll get through it. Don't worry about spoiling baby this early...do what you need to do to get as much sleep as possible.

[kangaroo11]

My kid is nearly 2 and I still check to make sure she's alive.

[gretchenindisguise]

Totally normal.

I still have freak outs about L sometimes.

[pb127]

((Hugs)) do you think a monitor might help you? I loved my angel care and my Motorola video monitor.

[arebee]

Sounds normal to me too. The first few nights with DD I never really knew what was ok and where she should sleep. She slept the best in her bouncer or on us but I was so worried that that was 'wrong' and that she should be sleeping in her PNP.

One time H and I were switching shifts so he handed me the baby and she was so still that I was convinced that she had stopped breathing. No, she was just sleeping.

Do what you need to get through the first little bit. It gets better .

[curbsideprophet]

It gets better, hang in there. Congrats on your little one!

[laurenh]

I'll echo the totally normal - I probably woke up my H 10+ times a night that first week so he could make sure she was still breathing.

And I still glance in at the monitor if I wake up during the night now and she's 2!

[jorja]

The first two weeks are the most overwhelming and emotional thing I've ever been through. It gets better soon! Hang in there...I'm sure you're doing great!

[thebreakfastclub]

Normal in these early days. I was shocked at how emotional the early days were. Trying to recover after a more difficult birth adds another physical and emotional layer.

It gets better. I couldn't wait to get DS out of my room 2 weeks later. Bye kid.

[bowies]

Yeah my H and I slept on the couch for a week or two and then transitioned into the guest room for a couple of months because our bed is so high that I couldn't easily see the rise and fall of his chest in the RNP.

Then we bought a Snuza. Clearly I'm somewhat in survival mode still.

[ssmjlm]

Normal! We spent a ton of time in the glider with her the first few nights.

[pinotgrig]

Aw, this is totally normal. Big hugs. I still roll over and turn our monitor on in the motn and squint and stare until I can see G's chest rise and fall.

On another note, I thought your first sentence said basement instead of bassinet and I was throughly confused for a minute. So you're alreqdy doing a great job by choosing the bassinet over the basement!

[mlvmd]

I remember having that same experience the first night home with DS1. To be honest I am still waking up in a panic sometimes with DS2 and he is two weeks old and I have to make sure he is still breathing.

[greycat]

I think most of us have checked to make sure our kids are still breathing - it's completely normal! Hugs!

[greencrayon]

I felt that way too when we brought her home. She slept on my side of the bed in the rock n play, and I would struggle to keep my eyes open to make sure she was alright. I still go in her room to make sure she's breathing. We got a video monitor which helps a lot.

[Jalapeñomel]

It gets better, I promise.

[Jalapeñomel]

Dec 20, 2014 6:47:11 GMT -5 greycat said:

I think most of us have checked to make sure our kids are still breathing - it's completely normal! Hugs!

I check every night.

[Deleted]

It gets better.
A lot of is hormones/natural instinct and just beyond your control.

With DD she went straight to her crib from Day1 but was still near us. I checked on her every 2 hours. She was also the freak kid who slept 5 hours at a time from birth so I panic attacked for a good week she wasn't breathing.
DS is on the opposite side of the house from us and I wouldn't let him leave our room for 2 weeks. When I did I cranked the monitor up as high as it could go to the point it was ear shrieking.

I still check on them both on the regular.

[teatimefor2]

Totally normal. I still remember our third night home with DS1, but his first time sleeping in the bassinet, my DH fly out of the bed to DS1. Who was less than six inches from my side if the bed to see if he was breathing. He was?.

Welcome to parenthood!

[andthentherewere10]

It was the same with me and maybe even worse since my baby was hospitalized for inability to breathe on his own for 8 days. Please do not sleep with him in the recliner/chair/sofa, though. That is one of the most unsafe places to sleep with him.

I think it is safer to look into safe cosleeping practices if you must rather than resort to unsafe practices (I cosleep, so I am an advocate for safe practices).

I know the fear is paralyzing - it gets better.

[MrsAggie]

I've checked to see if W is breathing several times. I need my cardiac monitors! But remember if baby is pink, he's breathing!

[cinnamoncox]

@astrid is his bassinet in your room? I'd keep him in with you for a bit, first month or so, until things settle a bit. It's so tiring getting up constantly, and if you can just reach over vs getting up and going to another room, it'll be a bit "easier". None of it is easy, just little things to help.
Do you have a rock and play sleeper? I have bamboo floors and found that if we gave the RNP a slight rock, the momentum kept it going for a good while, I think it was the wood vs carpet.

Hang in there. It gets easier, but you're in the thick of it now. Dh and I put our finger under their nostrils every time we went to check for breathing for like the first four months, as we neared the 6 month mark we eased up a speck. It sucks but it's normal. Good luck.

[MamaMaui24]

The first night is the hardest! It gets better.

[djc315]

Oh gosh, i still freak out and check his breathing now.

It does get easier though! Try to take care of yourself.

[bbonanza]

Congrats on your little one and echoing everyone else, totally normal!

[cvillern]

Oh god it's so hard in the beginning. Newborns also do a fun thing called periodic breathing where they will pause for a few seconds and then pant a little. It's totally normal and totally terrifying at the same time.

[dancingirl21]

Normal. J slept in our room the first 3 months and we had a night light in there so one of could inevitably roll over every 10 minutes to make sure he was still breathing.

[Deleted]

@astrid I still check to make sure DD is breathing before going to bed. She's 2 years old.

She slept in our room for only the first month. She was a noisy sleeper and would wake us up. Or, she'd be unusually quiet and I'd wake up in a panic.

Parenthood is such a mind fuck.

[vtdiamond]

I totally worried about the same thing and actually had a panic attack night 2 that we were home from the hospital because I got so worked up. For me the lack of sleep definitely contributes to the anxiety so hopefully you can get a nap in today to help relax yourself a bit. I still check to make sure the babies are breathing, totally normal.

[t]

My first night home with DD was awful. Had nothing to do with DD; DH and I were a nervous. I remember us crying and saying how could they just let us take her home?! How do they know we are equipped to care for a baby??

She was a noisy sleeper and every time she made a peep, we both jumped up like OK, we're ready for battle. It was so silly in retrospect.