aside from the tooth issue (and yes, you´re little boy is truly beautiful) we have been working on the nightweaning for just over a couple weeks now - I am taking it slow, being more firm when I feel I can be, but trying to be sensitive to his needs and giving him some slack when I feel like it´s needed...
I am shocked and delighted to say that he is consistently going to sleep at night, initially, not only without nursing, but on his own in his bed - and happily! I didn´t think we would get to that point so quicky...I did the Dr. Sears (and maybe others) recommended technique of saying goodnight and encouraging them to relax and try to sleep, but saying i would be back in a few minutes to check on him - and making those intervals longer little by little...
the first night I went in and out 5 times and then decided to lie down with him, at which point he fell asleep instantly..the second night I went in and out 4 times - he would still start playing in his bed a couple times, but I just went in calmly and asked him to lie down so he could try to sleep again - he eventually fell asleep on his own...
the third night we had our nanny do it and she said he actually smiled and waved goodbye to her to signal it was time for her to leave the room - she said she went out 3 times before he eventually fell asleep...
the 4th night - I went in and out twice (and noticed he had stopped his tendency to play around in between my checking in) before he fell asleep
and last night I went out once and by the time I checked back in he was already asleep - I have been amazed and thrilled!
in between the first nights there were a couple times he was so exhausted and/or cranky and or completely off his rythm that I allowed him to nurse, not wanting to force it all on him right away...but now he seems to not even expect it and seems to be quite happy with this new routine...
that being said, he is on a more "free" schedule where we really try to wait until we know he is ready for bed, instead of forcing a bedtime on him every night - he doesn´t always nap anymore, but when he does, it is often later in the day and when he wakes up at 4, we know he will not be ready for bed until between 9 - 10 pm, so we still just go with the flow for now
as I suspected, the nightwaking to nurse has been a lot harder to deal with, although he´s done o.k. - sometimes it just seems too stressful on him and I let him nurse, not wanting to ruin the other aspects that are going great right now - I take it night by night, but I suppose that as more time passes, I´ll be more firm about that, as well - we´ll see how it goes, step by step...but I would say, overall, so far so good...
for me, I am finding patience, sensitivity and flexibility to be the keys in keeping this process moving forward in a positive direction...
I also had to - and have been able to wait until the 34 month mark - at 28-30 months, he just wasn´t able to handle it and neither was I, energy wise...
everybody really has to do what´s best for them in their own way
and I´m trying to get him in to the dentist for the first time this week
Part of me is really nervous, part of me is still hoping it resolves on its own. But, I am commited to starting after the dental procedure, which is scheduled for March 19th. We are also planning to transition him to his own bed and DH taking over nighttime with him....
