I will try to keep this somewhat short and to the point - as we are all sleep-deprived here !
My DS is almost 18 months old. Coslept and then I began transitioning him to the crib only because he slept better in there. (my 3 yo DD still cosleeps with us). Anyway. He goes to sleep around 7:30 or so usually. I take him in his room, nurse in a rocker with his teddy bear until he begins to fall asleep, break the latch and give him his pacifier. I put him in the crib, he rolls over and goes to sleep. Well, MOST of the time. Sometimes he insists on nursing to sleep, or throws a huge tantrum when I lay him down , etc....but MOST of the time he does o.k. If he doesn't go to sleep right away, I let him "fuss" a bit, talks to himself or babbles with his teddy bear - and eventually falls asleep. If he cries, I go back in to help him. If he wakes up in the middle of the night, I do go in and pick him up, rock him, give him paci, etc. He no longer nurses to go back to sleep (huge accomplishment!). Ok, enough of the history.
Nursing him to sleep/sleepiness in the rocker doesn't take long, so I don't mind it right now. But we are TTC #3 and I would rather not have a drastic change if possible in the future. I am looking to transition to some sort of bedtime routine with him that doesn't include nursing, but where do I start adding other aspects of a routine. He is not one to sit still if I read to him. If I sit in the rocker, we nurse. If I sit in rocker and don't nurse, we scream.
OR , is it too early to consider this. Be honest. I'm not in a rush, I just like to do things gradually. He is a pretty decent sleeper and I'd like to keep it that way....my DD is a worse sleeper than he is, and she is 3. I think I created part of that...but don't we all ?
Any insight is helpful...
Christine
My DS is almost 18 months old. Coslept and then I began transitioning him to the crib only because he slept better in there. (my 3 yo DD still cosleeps with us). Anyway. He goes to sleep around 7:30 or so usually. I take him in his room, nurse in a rocker with his teddy bear until he begins to fall asleep, break the latch and give him his pacifier. I put him in the crib, he rolls over and goes to sleep. Well, MOST of the time. Sometimes he insists on nursing to sleep, or throws a huge tantrum when I lay him down , etc....but MOST of the time he does o.k. If he doesn't go to sleep right away, I let him "fuss" a bit, talks to himself or babbles with his teddy bear - and eventually falls asleep. If he cries, I go back in to help him. If he wakes up in the middle of the night, I do go in and pick him up, rock him, give him paci, etc. He no longer nurses to go back to sleep (huge accomplishment!). Ok, enough of the history.
Nursing him to sleep/sleepiness in the rocker doesn't take long, so I don't mind it right now. But we are TTC #3 and I would rather not have a drastic change if possible in the future. I am looking to transition to some sort of bedtime routine with him that doesn't include nursing, but where do I start adding other aspects of a routine. He is not one to sit still if I read to him. If I sit in the rocker, we nurse. If I sit in rocker and don't nurse, we scream.
OR , is it too early to consider this. Be honest. I'm not in a rush, I just like to do things gradually. He is a pretty decent sleeper and I'd like to keep it that way....my DD is a worse sleeper than he is, and she is 3. I think I created part of that...but don't we all ?
Any insight is helpful...
Christine
