DS will only sleep on me

[ammiga]

DS is almost 3 months old, and has only slept on me. For the first couple of months, I liked that. But he is turning into a lighter sleeper and my dd wakes him up while he naps on me during the day. And now the tv bothers him in the evening (he seems to like to sleep for the night around 7:30). This isn't working for any of us. DS is tired all day from being woken up, and I am not willing to stop watching tv or talking to dh around 7pm. And dd feels guilty when she wakes ds up. DS needs to start sleeping on his own for some naps and the first part of the night.

Because I held ds for so long, he has never been swaddled or slept on his back. When we co-sleep, we face each other on our sides. At 3 months, ds is almost 16 lbs, happy during tummy time, and sleeps through the night other than a few sleepy nursings.

After talking to the family doctor, we are comfortable putting ds to sleep on his tummy. The problem is, every time I try to set him down, he wakes up. So I pick him up, he falls back asleep, and then wakes when I put him down again. This happens no matter how deep asleep he is when I try to put him down.

How do I get him to sleep on his own? I am out of ideas, but we really need him to go down to his crib for some sleep!

[mommyhoodnxtrt]

I was in your shoes about five months ago. Honestly, the best advice that I could give you is to be patient and implement changes slowly. My daughter began to sleep without me in her bassinet after a week of persistence. In the beginning, and no matter how tired she was, whenever I would put her down (she was also a tummy sleeper), she would wake up and cry because she didn't want to be without me. I didn't mind co-sleeping with her for naps and bedtime, but when I started working again, I needed to do things while she slept.

So, and during my week of "operation nap time," I came up with a plan. My plan was that if she woke up (no matter if it was the first or third time of trying), I would pick her up immediately (before she fully woke up), and start the routine of rocking, singing, and, sometimes, nursing again. I would continue doing this until she finally stayed asleep. It was stressful! And, there were times that I felt that I was going to lose my mind, but I didn't. She now takes naps in her crib and sleeps for the first part of the night in her crib as well. All of this took hard work and determination. I hope this helps. Know that you can and will get through this!