Sorry- this is long- par for the course for me :)
DS is 18 months old and has never been a great sleeper. He needs a fair amount of help to fall asleep (nursing and cuddling) and wakes up often- sometimes he's better at putting himself back to sleep, others he needs help. I'm due in about 5 weeks with baby #2 and in preparation we moved DS from our bed into his own room, on a twin mattress on the floor, a few months ago. There was actually no adjustment- he was excited for his big boy bed and does wake up less than he did in our bed- he's a pretty light sleeper and does need his own space.
The goal was originally to have him nightweaned before the baby came- doesn't look like that's happening. He's got eyeteeth coming in and I'm just too tired to be consistent about refusing him- it's the fastest way to get him back to sleep. For a while he was doing well letting me just rub his back until around 3am, then he wouldn't go back to sleep without nursing- now he asks to nurse every time I go in. I'm a little nervous about nights with a toddler and a newborn in different rooms, especially since DH is not home every night, but we'll see how that goes.
The one issue I really want to tackle is this- During daytime naps, DS consistently wakes up after almost exactly one hour. 95% of the time, if I nurse him back to sleep and lay with him, he'll sleep for another hour or more, but is very sensitive about me getting up and leaving the room- this usually wakes him back up. I know he needs the sleep- when he wakes after the first hour he's cranky and irritable, but if he gets another hour, he wakes happy. I feel like he could be ready to transition to one nap a day if he would consistently make it a longer nap. I just don't know how to handle this mid-nap wake-up... When I have the baby, I'm probably not going to be able to lay with him for an hour in the middle of the day, not to mention that I don't particularly want to.
Any ideas on how to help him sleep uninterrupted for a full nap? The only thing I can think of that I haven't tried is black-out curtains in his room- it does get pretty bright during the day. Which now that I think of it might be the answer. But does anyone have any insight? I'm not opposed to advice on juggling two at night, either :)
Thanks so much!
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