I've been sleeping with DS since he was born. We have two beds, a king and a queen, side-by-side in the master bedroom. At this point Daddy sleeps in another room, and DD (who is almost 6) sleeps in the king and DS sleeps in the queen. After he falls asleep and "detaches" I roll over to the king and sleep there as long as I can until DS wakes to night nurse. Every time he detaches after nursing in the middle of the night (maybe 2 or 3 times a night) I sneak back over to the other bed.
There are two major problems. The first is that he has a habit of pinching my belly button and armpit, and although I have consistently tried to deter him for at least six months, he has never given up and it is a constant and uncomfortable battle. He also kicks, hits, and rolls all over - he is really physical and it is driving me up the wall. I have tried EVERYTHING to get him to stop pinching me, to no avail (tight nursing tank that covers belly button, nursing necklaces, dolls, etc.).
Problem two is that lately he has been waking in the middle of the night for a few hours at a time, and he wants to make noise, play, and run over to his sister and roll on her and sit on her. So I pretty much have to take him into another room or else she will wake too. Sometimes she will sleep in her own bedroom, but she always comes into the main bedroom in the middle of the night, so moving her to her own room won't really help. The lack of sleep is really getting to me.
We had a major breakthrough recently where DH has put him to bed for a week straight, and then I take over in the middle of the night. That was a big deal! But DH has had to travel recently and I had to take over again. It is hard to be consistent. It is next to impossible for me to get him to bed without nursing.
I am SO OVER the night nursing and co-sleeping thing with him. I would night wean, it's just that I don't think he will give up in a few days. Given what I've experienced with the bellybutton pinching, I think the hysteria would last for months. He also has dental surgery coming up and he will not be able to night nurse the night before the surgery (he needs an empty belly due to the anesthesia) and that is stressing me out. It could be a miserable night before a miserable day in the hospital.
My neighbor, whose son is 4 days older than mine, just told me that her son slept over a friend's house the other night and it was no big deal. I tell ya... I'm a huge fan of co-sleeping and nursing. I mean, we have two beds in the master bedroom and I'm still nursing my almost 6 year old daughter... but I really sometimes question my sanity and the whole AP nighttime parenting thing. I LOVE cosleeping and cuddling and hearing their sweet breath, but at what cost? My sanity? My sleep? My bellybutton? The only possible solution I can think of is to buy a crib (we've never owned one) and stick him in. Now, I'd never do that, but man it sounds good right now!
We are going away for two months this fall, and we are thinking that maybe I will sleep with DD and DH will sleep with DS, and he will deal with everything in the middle of the night until the transition is made. I'm also thinking maybe I should just go away with DD for a few days so I'm not there as a last resort or enticement. But I don't think any of these things will go easy; I'm not sure either my husband nor I have the resolve to let him get completely hysterical for prolonged periods of time.
Anyway, this just seems like an unsolvable situation that will take years to resolve itself. I am feeling really down on the whole Attachment Parenting thing, wondering if I've been duped. All my friends who did NOT co-sleep or do extended nursing really seem to be so much happier and sane.
I'm not sure if this is a vent or if I'm looking for advice... I'm just putting it all out there...
There are two major problems. The first is that he has a habit of pinching my belly button and armpit, and although I have consistently tried to deter him for at least six months, he has never given up and it is a constant and uncomfortable battle. He also kicks, hits, and rolls all over - he is really physical and it is driving me up the wall. I have tried EVERYTHING to get him to stop pinching me, to no avail (tight nursing tank that covers belly button, nursing necklaces, dolls, etc.).
Problem two is that lately he has been waking in the middle of the night for a few hours at a time, and he wants to make noise, play, and run over to his sister and roll on her and sit on her. So I pretty much have to take him into another room or else she will wake too. Sometimes she will sleep in her own bedroom, but she always comes into the main bedroom in the middle of the night, so moving her to her own room won't really help. The lack of sleep is really getting to me.
We had a major breakthrough recently where DH has put him to bed for a week straight, and then I take over in the middle of the night. That was a big deal! But DH has had to travel recently and I had to take over again. It is hard to be consistent. It is next to impossible for me to get him to bed without nursing.
I am SO OVER the night nursing and co-sleeping thing with him. I would night wean, it's just that I don't think he will give up in a few days. Given what I've experienced with the bellybutton pinching, I think the hysteria would last for months. He also has dental surgery coming up and he will not be able to night nurse the night before the surgery (he needs an empty belly due to the anesthesia) and that is stressing me out. It could be a miserable night before a miserable day in the hospital.
My neighbor, whose son is 4 days older than mine, just told me that her son slept over a friend's house the other night and it was no big deal. I tell ya... I'm a huge fan of co-sleeping and nursing. I mean, we have two beds in the master bedroom and I'm still nursing my almost 6 year old daughter... but I really sometimes question my sanity and the whole AP nighttime parenting thing. I LOVE cosleeping and cuddling and hearing their sweet breath, but at what cost? My sanity? My sleep? My bellybutton? The only possible solution I can think of is to buy a crib (we've never owned one) and stick him in. Now, I'd never do that, but man it sounds good right now!
We are going away for two months this fall, and we are thinking that maybe I will sleep with DD and DH will sleep with DS, and he will deal with everything in the middle of the night until the transition is made. I'm also thinking maybe I should just go away with DD for a few days so I'm not there as a last resort or enticement. But I don't think any of these things will go easy; I'm not sure either my husband nor I have the resolve to let him get completely hysterical for prolonged periods of time.
Anyway, this just seems like an unsolvable situation that will take years to resolve itself. I am feeling really down on the whole Attachment Parenting thing, wondering if I've been duped. All my friends who did NOT co-sleep or do extended nursing really seem to be so much happier and sane.
I'm not sure if this is a vent or if I'm looking for advice... I'm just putting it all out there...
Whatever goes on in your house needs to be beneficial to all parties, IMO.
