[Rox5266]

What I would like to know is if anyone knows when a baby/toddler/child is "supposed" to reach sleep maturity. I remember reading that a babies sleep cycle lasts 45-60 minutes, a the end of which they are in a light sleep/waking mode. Some children are able to put themselves back to sleep and some are like my little man and need help, making for a very tired co-sleeping mama!

What I am getting at is, when will a see light at the end of the tunnel? My ds is almost 2 years old and wakes 3 times a night on a GOOD night. I have toyed with nightweaning, but I think he will still wake and need help to get back to sleep. He is the love of my life and he comes first

, but over 2 years sleeping poorly is taking it's toll on me, and I am so hoping that the night waking may just "stop" on it's own one day soon. Even if he woke up just once a night for a few minutes I would be so happy!

Any info/stories would be much appreciated!

TIA!

Roxanne
Daniel 8/9/03 my Mr. Wakey Man

 

[earthcore]

Well, neither my brother nor I slept thru the night til we were almost 5. I nightweaned at 3.5 years and he nightweaned at 4.

After sleeping thru the night the first three months, my DD is now up 6-8 times a night.

They all outgrow the need for nighttime parenting eventually. I'm sorry you've been so sleep deprived for so long. maybe he'll sleep better soon

:

 

[AugustineM]

If it's any help, my cousin said 2 was a "magic" age for both her boys, and was when they both started sleeping through the night consistantly.

 

[NatalieS]

DD didn't sleep thru the night until she weaned. She weaned abruptly at 16.5 months. For a few days, she'd still wake up and come to bed with me but didn't want to nurse. After a few nights, she stopped waking.

DS on the other hand, at 2.5 is still nursing strong and who knows how many times he wakes up. At least once at night and around 5 am ish he nurses for about an hour or so until he falls back asleep- on a good day anyway. Sometimes sister wakes him up before he can get back to sleep and then i know i'm in for a BAD DAY!!

I'm lookin' for that same light, mama. I'm tired too. There have been a FEW times when i can offer him a cup of water instead of me but i don't know how realistic that is to night wean with. I"m toying with the idea of having DH soothe him for a few nights and see if it helps. He's totally able to fall asleep on his own, he does it all the time with my dad so i know that's not the key issue. He just likes to nurse have 'have milk' as i was awoken by last night!

Hang in there. I keep telling myself that he won't take me to college...

 

[Rox5266]

Thanks for the responses! I think I am just exasperated because ds is teething (2 year molars) and his sleep has got really bad again recently. None of the homeopathic teething remedies I have tried have worked and I hate to give him motrin too often.

I don't want to night wean until he has AT LEAST got his molars in, if I can bring myself to night wean at all. My fondest wish is that he gets all his molars by age 2 and wakes less at night (sigh). I guess I'll have to wait and see...

Roxanne

 

[TiredX2]

You might want to visit the Child-Led Weaning forum for sympathy. There is a current thread of 2/3 year olds who still night nurse.

DS will be 4 in August and just recently has been going 3-4 hours consistently and is starting to get closer to 5 on occasion.

 

[nancy926]

I think it probably depends on the kid.....but our story is that DD rarely slept through until she was nightweaned at age 2. Now sometimes she sleeps 10 hours through, sometimes 7, sometimes 6....but she definitely sleeps longer than she did when she still nursed at night.

I nightweaned her pretty much for that reason....I wanted to get some sleep! Now of course I'm 7 mos pregnant and she's sleeping better than I am.

 

[Rox5266]

Thanks, Nancy and TiredX2, but I really was not trying to create yet another dreaded nightweaning thread :LOL . It's just I have heard that some children just start sleeping longer as a matter of sleep maturity, whether they are nightweaned or not. I have been on the fence about nightweaning for a while, and am not comfortable with trying it yet, especially when ds is teething.

And I post over at the CLW forum sometimes, but have not looked there recently. I'll check it out.

Thanks!

Roxanne

P.S. For what ever reason ds slept great (for him) last night, letting me sleep for 5 hours without waking/being restless. Go figure