Sleepy baby

Hiya, I had the same with my first. I figured out that it was because of me drinking him to sleep while breastfeeding. Once we stopped that he slept muchhh better and I could put him away in his own bed (wasn't easy though to stop🙃). I hope that you'll find your own way! X

Following as my toddler is almost 2 and we're still doing this 🙈

Hi, sounds like he is in the habit of using you as a dummy/comfort blanket and as long as he sleeps in your bed unfortunately this will always be the case. 🙈 are you open at all to moving him out of your bed into a cot and sleep training him to learn how to fall asleep independently?

@Rochelle Yes! I do want to move him out of my bed. I don’t expect him not to wake up in the night but hopefully not as much as he is now. I’m unsure of “sleep training” because he’s still so young. I sleep trained my oldest at 9 months and I probably should have waited but was at my wits end. I just don’t even know where to start how to help him connect sleep cycles and sleep independently.

@Bailey I think you should make sure you are ready 100% before you try. As the worst thing would be to start and give up due to crying etc as it will make it worse and your next attempt harder. We made that mistake with our toddler 🙈 when we actually went ahead with it she was much smarter much more determined and physically able loool so it went from just a baby crying and fussing to standing up , screaming (she would even fall asleep standing up sometimes) it was bad! And she was persistent!!!!

@Rochelle oh yeah I know! I did sleep training with my oldest when he was 9 months and it worked in three days I never gave up. I’m not scared of doing it, but scientifically it’s not good for babies under a year old to do the cry it out method so I’m not interested in doing that with my youngest babe. I don’t need him sleep trained I just need him out of my bed and to sleep alone for naps during the day. I don’t mind some contact naps and such but I have another child to take care of and give attention to.

I would say the best thing to do with the least resistance right now would be to prepare them. A daily consistent routine of activity. Eg wake up, , Change feed, get dressed, nap, wake up, nappy, feed, playtime, nap, wake up , feed , play, get ready for bed, feed and bedtime. This is just a made up routine but the point is to have a consistent pattern so your baby can get used to. It helps with eating , going toilet , naps and just baby being settled. You will create your routine based on baby and your family. The main thing is to make sure the total time of nap during daytime does not exceed 5 hours (varies due to age but on average) and that you allow the nighttime bedtime and wake up time to give them at least 10-12 hours sleep. Eg all my children would go to bed at 7pm and wake up between 6-7am. Ensure they eat enough during the daytime otherwise they will have to wake up make up the calories during the night.

The only thing is I don’t know how this will work as baby is already in bad habit. This advice is usually for young babies Once they are out of the new to earth phase… you could try putting baby to sleep with some sort of comfort but just be careful not to start new bad habits to replace the old ones

In terms of cry it out method, I never did that and I don’t know much about it . But there will be crying involved as you are removing something from them that they like and it will upset them (even if it is for their good in the long run). Maybe research some other methods and see if any suit you better. Just be wary of the ones that promise no crying as babies cry , it just needs to be they not crying because they have a need that is not met; but they are crying because they are used to having a dummy (you). They only know how to fall asleep using us if we sleep with them (especially EBF babies). So it’s hard to learn a new way. Once they learn how to fall asleep they will be fine. It’s just the transition that’s hard.

Start with nursing to sleep but then putting down when asleep in own crib. At the same time have him play in his crib during the day and you leave for just a few minutes at a time so he gets used to you leaving and coming back. He will still wake frequently and need you to nurse back asleep. Then, start nursing at the beginning of the bedtime routine in well lit space and not letting fall asleep. Follow a specific sleep training method at bedtime. Keep night feeds but put down awake after the feeds and follow sleep training. Try sleep training for first nap of the day and keep contact nap for last nap of the day. Then you can begin weaning each night feed. I help families through this exact process in 2-3 weeks. I’d love to work with you! https://nightsandnaps.com/consulting-for-babies

I was in this predicament as well but wanted to move my daughter out of my bed before she started to crawl, for safety purposes. I listened to The Happy Sleeper, it’s a gentle approach to sleep training. And once I got her in the crib sleeping on her own, I could finally relax at night and slept so much better. I kept the crib beside me at night for a long time still.

@Shannon thank you for this recommendation I truly appreciate it!

@Alex thank you for the recommendation! I’ll look into that!