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mumma inky
11-06-2011, 21:46
My DS is 15 months old and we have come a long way with his sleeping using Elizabeth Pantley's no cry sleep solutions. He no longer co-sleeps all night with us and sleeps in his cot from 8pm until 530 and I bring him into the ned with us and we sleep together until 8am. He naps wonderfully from 1230 for at least two hours.
BUT I cannot get him to fall asleep without holding my hand or (I hate to say this as it sounds odd) kneading my boobs until he falls asleep. When he goes to sleep in his cot I have to sit there for at least 10 minutes while he grabs and squeezes my hand until he nods off, but sometimes it takes 30 minutes or so. I try to gently pull away just before he goes to sleep but he is onto me every time and just grabs hold tighter. I have tried to get him to attach to a security object but he just takes it and tosses it (even after carrying pooh bear down my top for three days, would not have a bar of him).
I have to go to him at least twice per night to resettle him (on a bad night every two hours) and he still has a milk feed at about 3am.
This usually would be fine with me however we have baby number two coming in 18 weeks and I would like to have him settling a little easier by himself and not waking as often overnight as I think it will be unfair on him that I won't be able to devote so much time to settling him once his little brother comes along.
Hubby is great support but there are just the two of us and he is self employed which usually means very late nights home, no work, no money I'm afraid...
Obviously I want to continue to do this as gently as possible and seeing as we still have 18 weeks I am hoping for a bit more progress over time.
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

mumma inky
13-06-2011, 20:22
any ideas anyone please? It's just taken 45 minutes to get him to sleep and tonight I've had enough.... now I'll have to wait before he is well and truly asleep and then do the dishes fold the washing blah blah blah and it's 11 before I get to bed myself, whilst even the dogs have been snoring for hours! lol!
I would just love for him to drop of to sleep easier, especially seeing as my sister rubs it in all the time about what an angel her baby is and all you have to do is put her down and she goes to sleep. Even mum has joined this bandwagon tonight telling me how wonderful it is to look after her because "all you do is put her down and she drifts off". Probably why i'm so over it tonight...
Anyway, whinge over, time to do those dishes :cantbelieveit:

Myztiks#1Fan
13-06-2011, 20:33
hugs. sounds super draining esp with being pregnant. i dont get a full nights sleep yet and my boy is 4yrs old but i am not pregnant either. is there any sort of toy he is interested in? car? doll? soft toy? can you try a new one each time perhaps? photo of you near him like on the wall or something?

good luck and hope he finds something he loves to go to sleep with.

nerdgirl99
13-06-2011, 20:48
Rather than getting him to hold the comfort object straight away perhaps you could just have it with you every time he goes to sleep. He may slowly associate it with sleep time and begin to cuddle it. I would wedge DDs comfort bunny between her and my arm every nap time. After a week or two I put her down in her cot and she reached out and grabbed the bunny herself. Now, as soon as she grabs the bunny her thumb goes in her mouth and she closes her eyes.

Not sure if that helps. I Hope you find a solution.


**Coming to you live from my iPhone**

FearlessLeader
13-06-2011, 20:50
hi there, how upset does your DS get if you let go his hand? My DS likes to go to sleep holding my hand, only occasionally though. What i generally do, is once he's calm, i take my hand away and rest it on his back/chest. If he stays calm like that i move my hand onto the mattress next to him. And if he's SUPER calm, i can just sit next to the cot. I don't wait till he's almost asleep, i do it as soon as he's been calm.
Anyway i also wanted to add, 18 weeks is a long long time for a 15 month old, think of where you were with sleeping 18 weeks ago, i'm sure he's come leaps and bounds since then, i'm sure he can get even better :)

mumma inky
13-06-2011, 21:50
Than you for your advice everyone!
The answer just came to me while I took time out in the bath.... (I should of taken the dishes in with me because they are still dirty on the sink!)
The problem is not my DS the problem is the dishes, so I'll tell DH when he stops snoring on the couch that we need TO BUY A DISHWASHER! Lol!
And that he can feed the dogs before he sits down on the couch and falls asleep...
And in the meantime we will keep trying with the security object and trying to move away when he is calm.