5 month old changing sleep times

[cheezelkat]

Gosh, DS is driving me insane at the moment. Now I DO co-sleep with DS because quite frankly he is a high needs baby. He needs to be breastfed lying down or rocked to go to sleep and will absoloutely not fall asleep on his own without me.

Now from 0 - 4 months his routine was:
7.30am Wake Up
10.30-11.30am Nap
1pm - 3.30pm Nap
7.30pm Bed

Now in the past 2 weeks it is like this:
9am Wake Up
10.30am - 11.30am Nap
2pm - 4.30pm Nap
10.30pm Bed (with about 4 feedings in bed during this time)

How can I encourage him to settle to bed a little earlier in the evening? By the time he ges to bed he is so cranky and tired! We don't really have a nightly routine going yet, but definetley willing to get one if some people have suggestions :thumbsup:

Secondly, I would like to move DS to his cot for some of the time, but each time I transfer him from my arms to his cot, he wakes and cries, even if I pat him gently. How can I encourage him to go to sleep on his own or somehow get him to seep in his cot without freaking out on me? Am I doomed to a lifetime of breastfeeding him to sleep? We havent't started solids yet - is there a chance that might improve things? It's making going out very difficult for me, and finding a babysitter will be an impossible :sleeping:

[ozzysmum]

they love to mess with the system, don't they - just when you think it's all sussed out they change the rules! when ozzy's sleep patterns went belly-up at about 5 months everyone told me it was normal; that at about 6 months (ie. between 4 and 8 months!) they do change...
I would start by waking your little one up a bit earlier from the afternoon nap, maybe just by half an hour. I have found this continues to help with ozzy's sleep times.
for a nightly routine may i suggest the classic bath/bottle/bed? If you can express and your bub will take a bottle it will help you feel like you're not quite so doomed to a life of BFing to sleep! It was at about 4 1/2 months that i put ozzy onto a formula bottle before bed as i was concerned he'd never get to learn to sleep without me (or rather, my boobs) as well as other reasons. he still has a bottle before bed (and i'm still BFing the rest of the time) now and usually falls asleep half way through it. it took a few weeks for him to really "get" the routine but now he knows bath/bottle/bed and when he's really tired looks positively relieved when i start running the bath, like 'thanks, mum, i need to sleep soon" :)
for transfering him to the cot - well, gently does it and making sure he's well asleep helps but i'm sure you're doing that already. I always make sure i've got ozzy facing the right way so i'm not moving him too much - just down. it can also help to have the bed at a nice temperature (sheets can be cold :( putting a towel from the tumble dryer for 5 mins on them can help without overheating them - just take it off before bubs gets in) and people have suggested having the smell of you on the sheets too - a little squirt of your perfume nearby or something so it's not an alien environment.
i hate to say it but solids may or may not help - in our case they didn't and i had my hopes up so high :o
babies do need to learn how to sleep on their own but they also need to know that mum is there for them - enjoy these moments because one day he'll be 14 and not want you to walk down the same side of the street as him!

don't know if i've been any help and you'll no doubt get plenty of other ideas and opinions - that's why we love bubhub:thumbsup: good luck with it all!