Need nap help for 9 mo. old.....

[southernmommie]

He has food intolerance issues that we just figured out 2 months ago so we're still dealing with that. He lost and didn't gain any weight after 3 1/2 to 4 months until almost 8 months when we found out about the food intolerance. I've breastfed him exclusively until almost 8 months. Now we breastfeed and do homemade baby food. He never was much of a daytime sleeper unless I am breastfeeding him. He's only slept on my shoulder not feeding once in his whole life. As soon as I lay him down any where, whether full asleep, half asleep or full awake he instantly arches his back and screaches. I have a crib support for reflux and tried that in his crib for the first time. He has slept in bed with us up until last night I tried to transition him. I'm so lost on what to do. Any suggestions? I'm not a big proponent on CIO.

[southernmommie]

Has no one else gone through this and has pointers?

[BabySmurf]

i so feel your pain! your post describes us to a tee - except it sounds like your LO's allergies are worse than my DS's.  my DS was an obligate chest sleeper since day one - and almost always had to be nursing.  at some point he started unlatching for part of his naps, but he will look for the boob again at some point. i could never transition him to the crib - i think it's because of the change in heights causes his startle reflex to kick in.  i still can't put him DOWN anywhere. 

what has worked for us is just accepting the fact that LO needs me to sleep.  since he needs me to sleep, i had to find an arrangement that worked for both of us.  for us, it was sidecarring the crib.  i found that i was able to transfer DS into the crib easier since i really just had to roll over, or slide him off of me, but because i wasn't causing a startle reflex, he would stay in deeper sleep.  most of the time he sort of wakes up, but now that he is more comfortable with the idea, he will go right back into a good sleep.  at first he would only sleep for a half an hour at most, then up to an hour, and now he can even go for two hours.  we started this process around 7 months (i think), and he will be nine months next week.

i would read the no cry sleep solution by elizabeth pantly for some ideas.  she recommends not letting LO fall asleep at the breast, so that they don't need that to go back to sleep if they wake up.  if that is what you are hoping to accomplish, it is going to take some time.  if i were you, i would start slowly with sidecarring the crib and letting LO get used to it.  then get LO to sleep in bed, with you.  when LO isn't hitting a milestone, or teething, or something, start to try to move him next to you in the crib.  at first you will have to stay there with him.  he may only last a few minutes, at which point you can pick him up and nurse him back to sleep again.  if he seems open to it, try moving him over again when he is asleep, if he's not, try again at the next nap.

eventually he should start getting used to having his own space to sleep, and now my DS prefers it unless he is hitting a milestone.  if your LO didn't gain weight very well, he could very well just need to be nursing a lot to get calories any way he can, but if he's not eating and just soothing, he might just have a belly ache.  it seems with my DS that "normal" poop feels weird to him, especially since we have been starting to add solids too. 

i hope this can give you something to start with!

[~Adorkable~]

swaddle? i know he is older but maybe a flexible one like the Wombie to help him feel cuddled

Swing? a gentle swing might be just hte right combo of upright and motion