5 week old grunting and straining every 5 minutes and waking herself up. Is this just my reality?

Baby Sleep - all input welcomed

Hi all! I've got a 5 week old baby who is a terrible sleeper, far worse than her older sister was, unfortunately.

She falls asleep without too much trouble in my arms, but if I put her down, within 5 minutes, she starts grunting and straining and will need to be resettled. I've tried all the tricks, various swaddles, white noise, heating the bassinet, hand on chest, butt first when transferring, soothing her in the bassinet, etc.

I've got a snoo bassinet, which doesn't seem to do much. Even when contact sleeping, she will grunt and strain, but at least will eventually fall into a deeper sleep.

If I put her down, I have to sit beside her the entire time to resettle her every few minutes. The good thing is she will resettle in the snoo with some pats or her pacifier (which she instantly spits out once shes back asleep), but she will then start grunting again in a few minutes. If I leave her to it, she will wake herself up 90% of the time.

Im aware of active sleep and that babies make a lot of noise, but she's constantly waking herself back up, and it's so frustrating since it means I can't sleep at night and during the day I basically have to contact nap.

Is there anything I can do to help with this? Or is this just my reality that i need to accept? I've even tried cosleeping, but thats barely any better.

I will add that i dont think she has any gut issues as shes pretty content when she wakes, no abnormal poos or excessive reflux, no colic, no evening witching hour.

My partner and i do take shifts so we can sleep a few hours a night, but it's still so frustrating.

Posted Feb 15, 2026, 8:41 PM UTC

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