Would LOVE your suggestions regarding sleep for 8 month old

[sierradawn]

Hi All!

I don't post much but do a lot of reading. I'm hoping you might all have some suggestions or ideas to help me with getting my 8-month-old to sleep sooner at night and also transitioning him into going to bed in a different way.

Right now this is his schedule:

6-7 am: Wake up
8-9 am: nap for 1-2 hours
11:30-12:30: nap for about an hour
Here is where it gets uncertain. He's showing signs of being tired by 5:30-6 pm and on occasion I can get him to go down for the night by around 6:30-7 pm BUT he almost always wakes up within 20 minutes and then he's got a second wind and have the hardest time getting him to wind down again right after that so he ends up staying up until 8:30-9.
He'll wake up several times until around midnight (usually easy to put back down) and then again at 2:30 (sometimes) and 4-5 am (almost always) and then wakes up from about 6-7.

Some things that might help you to know:
He has 7 teeth, and appears to still be teething. I give him Hyland's teething tabs.
He is swaddled for every sleep time, but appears to not like it at times, but can't seem to go to sleep without it.
He sleeps in the crib right next to our bedroom and doesn't seem to mind it. I bring him to bed sometimes at 4 am.
He's crawling now and pulls himself up and stands.

Some things I need advice on about some things I would like to change:

Ever since he was born, I've swaddled, nursed and rocked him to sleep. It takes me anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to get him to sleep without him waking up when I put him down. Because he is 22 pounds now, this is getting to be a burden on my back and body. I need help figuring out an easier way to get him to sleep without resorting to CIO. I don't know how to transition him to falling asleep in a different way. Any suggestions?

Everything I've read says that babies his age need to sleep 11 hours a night, but he is really only getting about 9 hours a night and about 1-4 hours of napping a day (on average 2 hours). I'm scared that he's not getting enough sleep. I don't know how to get him to go to bed earlier as he seems to wake right up again when I do get him down earlier, and then he has a second wind.

Sorry this is so long-winded, but I am in need of some help!

Thanks Mamas!

[alegna]

My kids NEVER needed the amount of sleep "they" said. Only times they ever slept more than 10 hours straight at night was if they were sick.

Have you tried nursing him down in bed and co-sleeping when you come to bed? Many babies sleep better next to mom.

-Angela

[Fuamami]

At his age, I'd push his second nap back a couple hours to the early afternoon, then try for an 8:00 bedtime.

Do you have a boppie or similar pillow? I nursed all mine in the rocking chair with a setup like that, and it was incredibly comfy. Or sometimes in the bed, sitting up with pillows around me.

[sierradawn]

I do nurse him down for every sleep time, but unfortunately I can't nurse him down in bed unless he's half asleep otherwise he just arches his back and tries to get out of the swaddle. Once he's out of the swaddle, he just flails his arms and legs around. So I have to sit on the edge of the bed and nurse him while gently bouncing on the bed for rocking motion. I don't have a rocking chair and quite frankly don't think it would work with him as it's not "bouncy" enough. He is very particular! We co-slept him full-time for the first four months. We would put him in the crib for his bedtime and then bring him to bed when we went to sleep. Now we just leave him in the crib and then nurse him back down when he wakes up at night. A lot of times we'll bring him in bed with us around 3-4 am for the rest of the night. He's very sensitive to how he is put to sleep so it's a hit or miss. I may try just bringing him to bed when he wakes up the for the first time after we've gone to bed, regardless of the time.

[Pookietooth]

Are you sure he's outgrown his third nap? I think he may be going through that awkward stage where he is almost ready to go to two naps but not quite. I would try putting him down around 3-4pm and see if that helps. Is that about when his third nap used to be? Also, try to keep his naps as long as possible. 1 1/2 - 2 hours is more like it if he's only doing two (and right now it really looks like he needs that third one unless the other two are longer and/or farther apart).