My ds just turned 9 months old today. He is pretty much ebf (we offer solids about once a day but he is still not really interested in eating them). He has never taken a bottle or paci. The ONLY way he goes to sleep at night is nursing laying down with me and it takes usually 45 min to an hour. For naps he'll go to sleep in the car or carrier or nursing. Once he falls asleep we cannot move him, put him down, etc, or he wakes up. At first I was really tired and didn't mind laying down with ds and if I fell asleep too, oh well. But now I am starting to wish just once in a while dh could put him to sleep so I could have some "me" time or get some things done before I am too tired. He will fall asleep in a carrier with dh, but then we cannot put him down in bed. I am starting to feel really angry laying there at night wishing I could get up and a couple of times I have had an overwhelming "get off of me and let me get up!" feeling. Is it possibe for dh to put him to bed at night every once in a while, or did we miss the boat? How would we go about getting ds used to falling asleep at night with dh without having him cry?
My ds was about that age when I started having my dh put him to sleep. I just couldn't take it anymore. I was newly pg, and my 2 year old dd needed me at bedtime and I was just so tired and touched out that it became a matter of necessity. I was a better mother for it.
I'd nurse him and then hand him off to dh while I took our 2 year old up to bed and got her to sleep. Yes, he didn't like it at first and he fussed some and even cried for a few minutes. I'm almost afraid to say that because I know how people feel about that on this board, but we felt that it was okay for him to fuss or cry some in my dh's arms. If he became clearly upset and/or wasn't settling down, then of course I'd take over for awhile and then try to hand him back. However, each night this became less and less and then he loved going to sleep with his daddy. Now at 13 months, either one of us can put him to sleep easily. This was not the case with my 2 year old at that age so it's very refreshing, and I'm a much calmer mamma.
If you can't handle him fussing or crying some while in your dh's arms as he adjusts to being put to sleep by him, then this won't work for you, because he will. It will also be a bit harder for a few nights as you will probably have to take him from dh, settle him down and then hand him back (maybe a few times in one evening), to help him adjust. This will not hurt him (this is my opinion only). It's waaaaay different than leaving him in his crib to CIO. Not even close to the same thing.
It's just whatever you are comfortable with, if you even want to try it. I do understand where you're at though.
Thanks for the suggestions. I am definately going to talk it over with dh today and try something. I just think I would be a much happier mama if I could have a couple of nights a month to myself.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Mothering Forum
16.5M posts
285.1K members
Since 1996
A forum community dedicated to all mothers and inclusive family living enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about nurturing, health, behavior, housing, adopting, care, classifieds, and more!