Ok, so let me start by saying that we are expecting a new baby in the next few weeks. I have a 4yo who has never been a "sleeper" and I am feeling this pressing need to get him sleeping through the night once and for all before this baby comes.
When he was born, we co-slept and nursed on demand and it was great until he was a few months old, and I realized he was waking 10-20 times to nurse at night and my sleep was really disrupted. But I knew he was too small do do much about it, so I suffered until he was about 18 months and I was just *done* with him being in my bed. We moved him to a toddler bed which was a nightmare, he was NOT ready. For the next year or so, I would start him out in his bed and he would come in my bed halfway through the night and nurse like 80 times. He also seemed to require about half the sleep of a normal child. As he was turning 3, we found out he had sleep apnea and horridly enlarged tonsils and adenoids. We had them removed because he was sick constantly and had so many sleep issues as a result.
After he recovered from the surgery, I decided to night wean him, thinking that would do it once and for all. Well, he stopped being sick all the time, stopped snoring, and stopped nursing at night but still came into our bed every single night. At age 4, I moved him into a room with his brother (had tried this previously but it didn't work)- and this time it seemed to help a lot. He started sleeping through the night about half the time, and things were looking better. He still doesn't require much sleep (maybe 9 hours with NO nap, if he naps he sleeps about 7-8 at night).
Lately (he's almost 5) he's been coming in my room during the night again, and waking up at 6am (we don't get up until about 7:30 for work and school) and I am 9 months pregnant and NEED my sleep. I am not sleeping well at night, and I might as well stay up all night if he's in my bed. We've also tried making him a bed in our room, doing reward charts for sleeping in his own bed, and just getting downright pissed off. Nothing seems to help long-term. Does anyone have any suggestions of something I might try? I absolutely cannot get up at night with two kids.
I might also add that I have a 7yo DS who has slept like a dream since birth, so this last 4.5 years has been SO hard for me. I'm one of those people that must have 8-9 hours of solid sleep to function at my best- plus an afternoon rest/nap especially while pregnant- I do suffer from CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) so that just compounds our issues!! Any advice would be great, as I feel that a child who will be 5 next month surely has the ability to stop waking his parents at night if nothing is "wrong".
When he was born, we co-slept and nursed on demand and it was great until he was a few months old, and I realized he was waking 10-20 times to nurse at night and my sleep was really disrupted. But I knew he was too small do do much about it, so I suffered until he was about 18 months and I was just *done* with him being in my bed. We moved him to a toddler bed which was a nightmare, he was NOT ready. For the next year or so, I would start him out in his bed and he would come in my bed halfway through the night and nurse like 80 times. He also seemed to require about half the sleep of a normal child. As he was turning 3, we found out he had sleep apnea and horridly enlarged tonsils and adenoids. We had them removed because he was sick constantly and had so many sleep issues as a result.
After he recovered from the surgery, I decided to night wean him, thinking that would do it once and for all. Well, he stopped being sick all the time, stopped snoring, and stopped nursing at night but still came into our bed every single night. At age 4, I moved him into a room with his brother (had tried this previously but it didn't work)- and this time it seemed to help a lot. He started sleeping through the night about half the time, and things were looking better. He still doesn't require much sleep (maybe 9 hours with NO nap, if he naps he sleeps about 7-8 at night).
Lately (he's almost 5) he's been coming in my room during the night again, and waking up at 6am (we don't get up until about 7:30 for work and school) and I am 9 months pregnant and NEED my sleep. I am not sleeping well at night, and I might as well stay up all night if he's in my bed. We've also tried making him a bed in our room, doing reward charts for sleeping in his own bed, and just getting downright pissed off. Nothing seems to help long-term. Does anyone have any suggestions of something I might try? I absolutely cannot get up at night with two kids.
I might also add that I have a 7yo DS who has slept like a dream since birth, so this last 4.5 years has been SO hard for me. I'm one of those people that must have 8-9 hours of solid sleep to function at my best- plus an afternoon rest/nap especially while pregnant- I do suffer from CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) so that just compounds our issues!! Any advice would be great, as I feel that a child who will be 5 next month surely has the ability to stop waking his parents at night if nothing is "wrong".
My kids have always been light sleepers and I'm sick and tired of the couch and floor!
