I'm starting to nip this problem in the bud with my little 6mo old son! You're a trooper for lasting so long, being so selfless!
Your son is more aware than mine and is accustomed to having things a certain way for a much longer period of time, so I suspect that any change you try to make is not going to be accepted without any fight from him. Mine is unhappy at my maneuvers, but gives up the fight after a few minutes of fussing.
I've been nursing to sleep at the beginning of the night, then popping off, and putting on a shirt. I nurse once in the middle of the night, and once again in the morning before we get out of bed, because he's still so young, but I cannot survive on sleep in 30 minute intervals with him latched onto me all night, so that's it.
It helps my son if I scoot away from him to where his limbs don't brush up against me, until he's pretty deeply asleep. It also helps sometimes if I put him in his crib that's sidecar-ed up to our bed. I think he's just naturally a light sleeper, and I wake him up with just normal sleep movements, and I'd have to put him back to sleep. So part of my solution, outside of covering the girls up, is to not disturb his sleep.
An unpopular idea around here, sometimes, but a couple of my co-sleeping friends have told me that you have to do it on a case-by-case basis, and take into account a baby's sleep habits. Some babies do alright with all the turning and tossing in a community bed, and others are bothered by it. Could that be the case with your ds?
Good luck,
Tresa
Your son is more aware than mine and is accustomed to having things a certain way for a much longer period of time, so I suspect that any change you try to make is not going to be accepted without any fight from him. Mine is unhappy at my maneuvers, but gives up the fight after a few minutes of fussing.
I've been nursing to sleep at the beginning of the night, then popping off, and putting on a shirt. I nurse once in the middle of the night, and once again in the morning before we get out of bed, because he's still so young, but I cannot survive on sleep in 30 minute intervals with him latched onto me all night, so that's it.
It helps my son if I scoot away from him to where his limbs don't brush up against me, until he's pretty deeply asleep. It also helps sometimes if I put him in his crib that's sidecar-ed up to our bed. I think he's just naturally a light sleeper, and I wake him up with just normal sleep movements, and I'd have to put him back to sleep. So part of my solution, outside of covering the girls up, is to not disturb his sleep.
An unpopular idea around here, sometimes, but a couple of my co-sleeping friends have told me that you have to do it on a case-by-case basis, and take into account a baby's sleep habits. Some babies do alright with all the turning and tossing in a community bed, and others are bothered by it. Could that be the case with your ds?
Good luck,
Tresa
