Co-sleeping (past infancy)

[rimom]

I am co-sleeping with my 9 1/2 month old and she still wakes several times a night (yes, I nurse her). I'm wondering if anyone has co-slept and NOT had their baby wake frequently at night. I guess I'm concerned that we will not sleep longer than a 3 hour stretch until she has her own room...and I love having her in mine! I know I could do some kind of sleep training but it's impossible to resist her when she's right there. Sometimes I put her in the pack in play by my bed - which she will sleep in - but she'll still wake up every couple of hours. Any experiences to share?

[alegna]

Yep. My dd was one of those kids who mostly sttn (at least 5 hours) from day one. She moved to her own room briefly at 4 and came back and usually sleeps with us now at 6.

Ds goes back and forth- sometimes sleeping great (6ish hours), sometimes nursing a lot.

-Angela

[masha366]

we night weaned while co-sleeping at 13 mos

hi- my daughter and I were cosleeping, and she was waking 5-6 times a night still at 13 months. I was at the end of my rope, totally sleep deprived, couldn't get through the day without tears. I found the website of Dr Jay Gordon- drjaygordon.com and read "Sleep, Changing Patterns In The Family Bed." I followed the plan and it worked!!!! I was amazed at how smoothly it went.

[ssh]

We co-slept until DD wanted to sleep in her own room right after turning 4. Most of her night waking stopped after all her teeth were in at about 2.5. She would nurse to sleep, sleep about 9 hours, nurse and sleep some more. We always nursed on demand until my DD weaned her self a couple of months before turning 4. So yes your DD will sleep longer than a 3 hour stretch before she has her own room even if you do co-sleep and nurse on demand. After about a year we had improvements in sleep any time DD wasn't teething.

[rimom]

masha366 - I found the article (http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html) Thank you! I hadn't read anything like that. I'd love a 7-hour stretch so maybe I'll give that a try sometime soon.

And I haven't eliminated the idea that teething could be a factor. We had a few nights where she only woke two or three times (which is much nicer than five or six!)...and she still has NO teeth...so maybe that wakes her?

She will take a pacifier initially to go to bed, but if I try to give it to her when she wakes she throws it out and cries. Nursing is the only way to get her back to sleep. I will try Dr. Jay Gordon's plan!

[emnic77]

Yes, my older two both did 3-5 hour stretches (developmental milestones, growth spurts, and teething all factored in) and my youngest (5 months) regularly sleeps 4-6 hour stretches at night with no nursing.

[Juvysen]

Yeah... we night weaned both the older two sometime after a year - 15 months for DD, 18 months for Ds1. I found the 8-10 month range to be difficult times for sleep w/both of them because they hit all kinds of milestones *AND* got teeth in that time frame. Hang in there... it does get easier as they get older

[mandi713]

we co-sleep (against what i wanted initially, but what i soon feel in love with) with our 27 mo old dd (our first). initially it was just easier with nursing her back to sleep, and i could not justify making her sleep away from every person she has ever known), but by 18 months, i was quite tired of waking up every 3-4 hrs and needing to nurse in positions that were not natural sleeping positions for me (why do formula babies sleep all night from what seems like straight from the womb?!). but i stuck it out and tho i still nurse her to sleep, she sleeps usually at least 9 hours straight (giving mommy ample time to get up and get a little yoga time in ) hang in there, rimom. i think where you are, is right on target. babies mature when they are ready. we just tend to want it faster than they are ready.

[rimom]

I appreciate all the responses! I imagine in time she'll sleep "though the night" and again, so will I. It's funny how many people I DON'T talk to about this - knowing they will have some comment for how she should be sleeping 12 hours. I don't need that much... two 4-hour stretches would be fabulous. On the other hand, I'm not letting her cry (why would I when I'm right there) and I'm not moving her out (I love waking up to her smiling face poking at me). I haven't slept through the night in well over a year...what's another 6 months?!? Plus, I'm kind of hoping that all this nursing will allow for extended breast feeding. My two other children slept through the night (in their own rooms) and self-weaned after a year.

Thanks Mamas!

[Cheryl33]

My oldest, who is almost 3, slept with us until she was 2, then we started transitioning her to her own room slowly. She now sleeps all night in her own bed, and only recently started sleeping through the night too. I started night weaning her at about 1 1/4 I believe, but the waking didn't change.

One tip I have is to get an essential oil diffuser and run lavender oil when you sleep. That might help.

[witchygrrl]

my 27 month old still isn't fully night weaned, and yes still sleeps with us. I figure I'll move her when she wants her own room.

[widemouthedfrog]

I sleep with my 5-year-old, and she nursed until she was 4 1/2. However, she has been sleeping through the night since 2 1/2 (and fairly well since age 2), so it is possible. She doesn't sleep through every night, of course, but then I don't know anyone else who does that either.

[pinky]

My dd #2 actually sleeps much better when she is in bed with me. We have tried a couple of times having her sleep in her own bed (in a room with her sister), but she just wakes more and has a harder time getting back to sleep when she's in her own bed.

[Minxie]

Yes, my DS STTN around 3 months and has since then. We still co-sleep and he is 4.5; co-sleeping is more at his insistence than mine as there are plenty of nights when I could use some space.

[raelize]

i think that is pretty normal sleep pattern for that age. my 4 y.o.dd had this pattern till her teeth came in:

nurse to sleep, wake 2 hours later, nurse back to sleep, sleep until around 5 in the morning, nurse/sleep on and off till around 8 am. once the teeth came in, she STTN all by herself. it was literally like one night she woke up, the next night she never did.

sometimes she sleeps with us, sometimes in her own bed. when she turned 4 she wanted her own bed in her own room. but she almost never sleeps the whole night in there. when she goes to sleep in our bed, she sleeps the whole night through.

dd2 seems to be following in her sister's footsteps.

i am someone who can deal easily with the night nursing. i found it much harder when i was pregnant b/c i was sore and dry nursing was not fun. but i couldn't take her crying at night to nurse. and the few times when i did refuse to nurse her at night, she would just stay awake from 4 am on.
9 months is pretty young to nightwean. i would wait at least until a year old. 9 months is still depending on those calories at night. and if you don't nurse her at night, what will you do when she does wake up? the Dr. Jay stuff says not to nightwean till a year.

[Adaline'sMama]

We cosleep and DD usually goes the first 6 hours without waking. Then she wakes and nurses on and off for about two hours, goes back to sleep for 2 hours, and then wakes and plays in the bed while Im asleep for about an hour.

[laughymama]

Originally Posted by alegna

Yep. My dd was one of those kids who mostly sttn (at least 5 hours) from day one. She moved to her own room briefly at 4 and came back and usually sleeps with us now at 6.

Ds goes back and forth- sometimes sleeping great (6ish hours), sometimes nursing a lot.

-Angela

Bolding mine. This is our kids. DD is only 5 weeks but so far sleeps in two 4-5 hour stretches each night. DS began sleeping 5-6 hour stretches at 7 weeks and never stopped. DD is in our bed nightly. DS was in our bed until around 27 months. Now he sleeps half the night in his bed and comes into our bed in the early morning hours.