So yes, another thread about sleep. 
I suppose this is more to vent, but if anyone has anything helpful to suggest or if you've been-there-done-that, I'd love to hear about it.
The lowdown: My 8.5 month old ds has always been a crappy sleeper. . .or should I say a snuggle sleeper. When he was born he would only sleep on me or DH and preferably at the boob. He managed to learn to take naps on his own (but generally doesn't nap longer than 1.5 hours at a time), but has never consistently slept more than 3 hours at a stretch at night. He has slept in bed with us since day one.
Recently, he has started scooting and getting very mobile and we decided to try and transition him out of our bed. We now have a toddler mattress on the floor next to our bed and are trying to have him sleep there.
But the last week or so has been hell. He suddenly won't nap alone. Wakes every 2 hours at night. Won't fall sleep easily. Wants to be on the boob all the time while sleeping. . .not nursing, just holding it in his mouth.
Is this a dev phase b/c of the crawling? Or is he freaking out b/c we are trying to have him sleep "alone" (really just a foot and a half away form us)? Will it get better? Agh. I told my DH we'd try this for two weeks (he's the one who doesn't want ds in bed with us anymore). . .but I am so sleep deprived and so not believing this will work. DH thinks we have been "enabling" him, that he will sleep fine on his own once he knows that's the only option. I tend to think that ds just isn't a good sleeper and it isn't anything we did or didn't do. . .and that its best to keep helping him sleep however we can. Of course, I'd also love to get some more sleep at night and to get those nap times to myself during the day.
Thoughts?
I suppose this is more to vent, but if anyone has anything helpful to suggest or if you've been-there-done-that, I'd love to hear about it.The lowdown: My 8.5 month old ds has always been a crappy sleeper. . .or should I say a snuggle sleeper. When he was born he would only sleep on me or DH and preferably at the boob. He managed to learn to take naps on his own (but generally doesn't nap longer than 1.5 hours at a time), but has never consistently slept more than 3 hours at a stretch at night. He has slept in bed with us since day one.
Recently, he has started scooting and getting very mobile and we decided to try and transition him out of our bed. We now have a toddler mattress on the floor next to our bed and are trying to have him sleep there.
But the last week or so has been hell. He suddenly won't nap alone. Wakes every 2 hours at night. Won't fall sleep easily. Wants to be on the boob all the time while sleeping. . .not nursing, just holding it in his mouth.
Is this a dev phase b/c of the crawling? Or is he freaking out b/c we are trying to have him sleep "alone" (really just a foot and a half away form us)? Will it get better? Agh. I told my DH we'd try this for two weeks (he's the one who doesn't want ds in bed with us anymore). . .but I am so sleep deprived and so not believing this will work. DH thinks we have been "enabling" him, that he will sleep fine on his own once he knows that's the only option. I tend to think that ds just isn't a good sleeper and it isn't anything we did or didn't do. . .and that its best to keep helping him sleep however we can. Of course, I'd also love to get some more sleep at night and to get those nap times to myself during the day.
Thoughts?
at 8 months my DS was waking very often-- every 15-45 minutes. It was our WORST sleeping time. It will get better soon! He went back to his hourly waking and stayed there until his first year, when he began sleeping 1-2 hour stretches. Then at 18 months we started the nightweaning process (google Dr. Jay Gordon's Nightweaning, for babies 12 months and older) and took it slow (about a month overall)... he began sleeping 3-5 hour stretches! Then we moved him to his own bed and he began sleeping 8 hour stretches! We have even had a few 10 hour stretches! Of course as soon as all this great sleep happened, he started getting his 2 year molars, so he is waking a little more the last couple weeks.. but DH attends to him at night now, since I am pregnant and I won't be able to wake up with 2 babes all night. DS is an extremely light sleeper, it sounds like your DD is too. Have you tried white noise and blackout curtains? This helped us a lot. Also, DH took DS for the morning while he got ready for work and I slept in an extra hour. He also takes DS out every saturday morning for a breakfast date and errands and I get a couple extra hours.
