STTN and BFing Q

PDX

I haven't posted in a loooong time, but maybe you ladies can help me out. DS had his second open heart surgery 6 mos ago. He was in a medically induced coma for a few days, was in the hospital for about 10 days. He was STTN before the surgery and after the surgery he started waking up in a panic a few times a night. I'd nurse him back to sleep. He still wakes up a few times a night (sleeps from about 9pm-7am, waking up 4-5 times) but luckily he doesn't seem as stressed when he wakes up. Any suggestions on how to get him to sleep better? Or has anyone gone through something similar and had it improve on its own? I don't want to let him CIO and I don't think eliminating night time feedings is necessary. We have a pretty regular night time routine for him but the biggest change is that we co sleep during rough nights because he wakes up less often when he's in our bed.

Sally J

I highly recommend asking this question on the Attachment Parenting board to get some advice on no-cry methods to improve your child's sleep.  If you haven't read No Cry Sleep Solution, I would recommend picking up a copy at your local library or bookstore.  There are a lot of suggestions in there to help babies learn to fall asleep and stay asleep.

PDX

thanks. I think it is time to hit up the library and check out some new information. I'm really not a big plan follower, but I think it might be time to try a stricter routine. I definitely did fall into the trap (not quite the right word) of being over involved in getting him to sleep. The good news is that my mom can get him to sleep easily, so he's not totally dependent, but I definitely want to encourage his independence and help him relearn how to self sooth, etc.