My suggestion, and one that I wish someone had given to me when my son was born, is to get a baby hammock. My son is 5 months old and we've been using it for about 3 weeks. He coslept at night and napped in our arms until 3 mos. with occasional sleep in his cosleeper or Packnplay. At 3 months, I transitioned him to sleeping in his crib, but he would always end up in our bed before morning came because I would be too tired to keep getting up. He would only nap for 20 minutes and then be cranky. I was at my end of my rope and breaking down into tears! Since we started using the hammock (from Special Delivery Baby Hammocks $85), his naps have improved dramatically. It is so awesome because you can hang it in any room or multiple rooms. I nurse him until he is full and sleepy, but not asleep (as outlined in Elizabeth Pantley's "No-cry Nap Solutions" and "No-cry Sleep Solutions") then I put him in his hammock and bounce him off to sleep! It usually only takes a few minutes. It is so much easier on our bodies and he seems to really like the motion. It is on a spring, so it moves when he moves and it just takes a little push from my finger to get him moving and back to sleep. I got this idea from Pantley's books...she talks about "sleep cycle-blenders" which is what a hammock is. It also holds his body in a position that is similar to being held in my arms and because this particular hammock doesn't have a pillow in the bottom, it is SIDS safe, even for baby's who can roll over. For naps, I sit near his hammock and work on the computer or read or fold laundry, etc, so that I can give him a jiggle if he needs it...his naps have improved from 20 minutes to 1.5-2 hours! His night sleep is improving too. I have the hammock hanging close enough to where I sleep so that I can just jiggle him back to sleep without picking him up or nursing him if it has been less than 3 hours. We are trying hard to get him on a nap schedule and help him sleep for a little longer stretches at night. I think the night issue is more about being hungry than needing comfort...he is so alert, he doesn't want to eat much during the day. Our hope is that once he gets into the rhythm of napping and sleeping, and his little biological clock is set, he will carry over his sleeping into his crib...I do put him to sleep at night in his crib now and then...and just put him back in the hammock if he seems too restless. Good luck!
