15 mo ds is waking up and playing nearly every night. This has gone on all this week, and all of the week before last. We also had a bout of this for a couple of weeks in September. He wakes up in the early morning between 2 and 6, nurses for a looooong time, sometimes gets a diaper/goes potty, but can't get back to sleep. He'll try for a while, but eventually he seems to give up and gets up to play. He yawns and is obviously still tired. He'll play for 1-2 hours and then wants to go back to sleep, but that takes at least an hour as well. This is becoming extremely detrimental to me and dh. I'm in school, and I need to be getting homework done during his naps, not napping myself. Dh has health problems so when he lets me sleep during these play times he suffers for it big time the next day.
I suspect part of the problem may be in how he likes to fall asleep, which is currently nursing in the mei tai while I bounce on an excersize ball. He wakes other times through the night and nurses to sleep in bed fine, just not in the early morning it seems. Sometimes I get up and bounce him again to to get him to go back to sleep, other times I'm just too darn tired, and he fusses, lays down to nurse, gets up to play over and over until he finally crashes. I have started working towards eliminating the bouncing by moving to the bed before he's all the way asleep, which works sometimes, but sometimes he just gets woken up too much and we have to go bounce again.
My reactions during the night wakings have ranged from getting up and turning on the tv for me and letting him play, to bouncing him as soon as he wants to get up (takes at least an hour, if it works at all), to laying on the bed/couch drowsing while he plays in the dark, to going on long walks in the carrier with dad. Nothing seems to get him to go back to sleep any sooner then about 2 hours from the time he woke up.
Other pertinent info:
We bedshare, and do no have a crib/pack n play. The house is reasonably baby proofed if the right doors are shut, but I still don't feel safe letting him have the run of the house unless I'm out on the couch at least half way listening to what he's getting into. He learned to walk months ago, and doesn't seem on the cusp of learning any new major motor skills, though his language comprehension has recently taken off. He has huge bumps where is molars will eventually be, but they've been there for months and he doesn't seem fussy or in pain there or anywhere when he wakes up. He switched to one 2-3 hour nap in September, and goes to bed about 8, and gets up at about 7. He wakes 3 to 4 other times during the night and nurses back to sleep. While I'd love it if he'd sleep through the night, I'll take nightwaking and nursing back to sleep any day over these hours long interruptions. I'm considering night weaning soon, but thought it would be better to work on eliminating the bouncing to sleep routine first.
Ideas, advice, BTDT anyone?
I suspect part of the problem may be in how he likes to fall asleep, which is currently nursing in the mei tai while I bounce on an excersize ball. He wakes other times through the night and nurses to sleep in bed fine, just not in the early morning it seems. Sometimes I get up and bounce him again to to get him to go back to sleep, other times I'm just too darn tired, and he fusses, lays down to nurse, gets up to play over and over until he finally crashes. I have started working towards eliminating the bouncing by moving to the bed before he's all the way asleep, which works sometimes, but sometimes he just gets woken up too much and we have to go bounce again.
My reactions during the night wakings have ranged from getting up and turning on the tv for me and letting him play, to bouncing him as soon as he wants to get up (takes at least an hour, if it works at all), to laying on the bed/couch drowsing while he plays in the dark, to going on long walks in the carrier with dad. Nothing seems to get him to go back to sleep any sooner then about 2 hours from the time he woke up.
Other pertinent info:
We bedshare, and do no have a crib/pack n play. The house is reasonably baby proofed if the right doors are shut, but I still don't feel safe letting him have the run of the house unless I'm out on the couch at least half way listening to what he's getting into. He learned to walk months ago, and doesn't seem on the cusp of learning any new major motor skills, though his language comprehension has recently taken off. He has huge bumps where is molars will eventually be, but they've been there for months and he doesn't seem fussy or in pain there or anywhere when he wakes up. He switched to one 2-3 hour nap in September, and goes to bed about 8, and gets up at about 7. He wakes 3 to 4 other times during the night and nurses back to sleep. While I'd love it if he'd sleep through the night, I'll take nightwaking and nursing back to sleep any day over these hours long interruptions. I'm considering night weaning soon, but thought it would be better to work on eliminating the bouncing to sleep routine first.
Ideas, advice, BTDT anyone?
