[nsmomtobe]

<p>I know it is normal for babies to like to be in contact with their caregivers when they sleep, but is it normal at 10 months old to not be able to sleep any other way? My son slept in his crib for at least part of the night until he was 3 months old, when we started co-sleeping full-time. However, at 6 months we had to rearrange things because he became mobile and now the crib is up next to the bed to keep him from falling out when I am there. From 6-9 months, I was able to put him in the crib for naps (up to 30 min) and for the first part of the night (waking every 30-120 min) until I went to bed, at which point he would refuse to go back to the crib and only sleep in the bed with me.</p>
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<p>At 9 months, he had a cold and I believe being stuffed up made it hard for him to lie down. He could only nap while being held upright and slept with his head on my chest for a night. But ever since that time, he has refused to be put down in his crib. We hold him until he is asleep but as soon as we start to lower him into the crib, he wakes up screaming and thrashing and then he is up on his feet and wide awake all over again. It means that I do not get anything done (except read message boards) during his naps, because I am holding him or wearing him, and that limits my movement and prevents me from doing anything too noisy. In the evening, my husband and I take turns holding him while he sleeps until I am ready to go to bed for the night. While we don't really mind this, it means that my husband and I never get alone time with just the two of us because one of us is always holding him (he just got passed to me so that DH could go to the bathroom). I am also concerned because DS is starting day care in a month and--although the DCP said she would be fine with holding him until he falls asleep--I don't think he will be able to be held the whole time he is sleeping.</p>
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<p>Is it normal for him to need to be held continuously while sleeping? Is there anything we can do to get him sleeping/napping in his crib?</p>

 

[memz]

<p>NO advice to give you, because my DD who is 10 months also, needs to be held for naps and we also have to hold her for bedtime until we all go to bed......I know this doesn't help but just to tell you you're not alone....</p>
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<p>Curious to see what others will say....because she will start daycare in about 3 months and I hope that by then it will be better because I don't want them to let her cry it out for naps....</p>
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[sunwise]

<p>Hi there! My DS is only three months old, so this may or may not apply to your situation....but I could never get him to nap at home unless I was wearing him. He just started daycare this week and the caregivers really seem to have a lot of tricks for getting the babies to nap. My LO has been consistently napping (not being held) every day he's been in daycare so far. I would have killed for some of those naps when I was home with him! He's been down for naps as long as 90 minutes to 2 hours! I couldn't believe it. So I would probably not worry about the daycare situation - your LO being with new caregivers in a new environment will probably allow him to develop different habits than he has with his parents at home.</p>
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<p>Sorry I don't have any advice for the nighttime/home situation though.</p>

 

[nsmomtobe]

<p>Well... It's good to know that he is not the only 10mo with this issue and that it may not be a problem for day care.</p>
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<p>Today I am making an effort to put him down in his crib every time he falls asleep because eventually he should be tired enough not to wake up, right? He's definitely tired now, but still wakes every time.</p>

 

[Carrie1105]

<p>Your babe sounds like my daughter.  At around 9 months, she got a bad cold that lasted two weeks.  I had to hold her in a chair to sleep because the congestion was so bad.  Then, she started to wake, rubbing her ears.  Thought ear infection and took to doc to make sure.  Ears were fine.  A week later she got Roseola, so obviously sleep was out the window.  I thought once that was done, she'd go back to sleeping fine.  She has slept in our room since day one, but in her own space.  We do co-sleep when she's not feeling good or when a tooth is getting ready to push through.  When she's not feeling 100%, she clings to me.</p>
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<p>Right in the middle of her having roseola, she started to chomp on her fingers.  Once I get her down to sleep, sometimes, if I'm lucky, she'll sleep an hour or two on her own.  Most of the time, she wakes every sleep cycle.  If she fussed before, all I had to do was go in and place a hand on her back.  Now, she just screams and screams until I pick her up (which I do, but I always try laying my hand on her.  Once in awhile it will work).</p>
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<p>Fast forward a few months.  She'll be a year on the 25th.  Sleep is worse.  I've been to the doc a number of times.  I have tried meds (advil/tylenol) and it doesn't help.  She has many symptoms of allergies (rubbing nose/eyes/ears/sneezing and dark circles under eyes).  My doc actually told me to try allergy meds and gave me a prescription to singulair because we both thought it was seasonal allergies.  I don't like putting her on anything, but I wanted her to feel better and all of us to get some sleep.  It hasn't worked.</p>
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<p>I really think it's her molars.  She's been a bad teether.  All four of her first year molars will swell up and go down at various times.  One of them now is just starting to show, poking down, but not through the gums.  Don't know if this is your babe's problems, but I really don't have anything to offer except that you're not alone.</p>
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<p>We now co-sleep once she wakes up.  Sometimes she even wakes up in our bed.  Last night she tossed and turned from 0130-0315 and then wanted a bottle, which is a new development since the sleep issues, also.  She never woke for a bottle once she started STTN.  Now she does.  She's fighting sleep like crazy and naps are just as fun.  Sometimes she'll end up sleeping on me for them, but yesterday, she wanted to sleep, but wouldn't even sleep on me.  I'm also 34 weeks preggers.  I don't know what I'm going to do once the new babe arrives.</p>

 

[nsmomtobe]

<p>Well, we had a bit of a breakthrough! With our anniversary coming up this week, DH and I decided to go on our first "date" since DS was born. We asked my brother and his wife to come over because they have been begging to babysit since before he was born and we thought it would be a good wake-up call for them. I instructed my brother to wear ds to sleep after going through his bedtime routine and I adjusted the Ergo for him. I laughed when his wife kept asking repeatedly about putting him in the crib and I said, "We haven't been able to put him in the crib in months. If you can get him to sleep and get him to stay asleep in the crib, we'll be amazed." I know that she disapproves of cosleeping, but we weren't asking her to cosleep. We were merely asking my brother to wear him until we got home. I should have known that his wife would have other ideas and probably should have been clearer with her, but thankfully, I think it worked for the best.</p>
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<p>When we returned 4 hours later, DS was indeed sleeping in his crib! According to my brother, the Ergo was not putting him to sleep and his wife was doubtful that they would be able to transfer him to the crib once he did fall asleep (no kidding!) so she insisted on putting him into the crib awake. He screamed at first and stood up (no kidding!) but apparently she managed to calm him down by rubbing his back and talking gently to him until he started to relax and they were able to ease his legs out from under him and lie him down. I guess it took about an hour altogether for him to fall asleep, but they did it! Most importantly, they didn't just leave him to cio! He slept an hour and a half after we got home, so we were finally able to get some time together.</p>
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<p>Last night I gave myself lots of time to do the same thing. He didn't even cry when I put him in the crib, but he started to fuss after 20 min of me not taking him out.I end up basically hugging him with his head on my shoulder and his feet in the crib until I felt him starting to go limp, and then I laid him down with my hand still under his head. He cried, but didn't open his eyes. I rubbed his belly and he was out. 45 minutes, tops. And again, he was down for an hour and a half. I hope that if we are consistent with this method, it will take less time each day.</p>