6 month old sleep help

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I have nursed DS to sleep for the first 6 months without a problem.  Even if DS is half awake when I put him down, he falls back to sleep.

In the last 2 weeks, I cannot lay DS down without him screaming.  He is not a screamer or crier, so him wailing is really hard on us.  We nurse or bounce him to sleep and will hold him for 15, 30, 45 minutes and he will always scream when put down regardless.  But if we pick him up again, he's sound asleep.

Once he's asleep in his crib, any night feedings are fine.  And any time he wakes on his own, he's able to get back to sleep without me.

I made the mistake of asking my pedi today who just have me a grin and handed my a pamphlet on CIO (jerk). I refuse to CIO, and have a very rigid night schedule which was working well. 

He's been up until 10 or 11 almost every night this week and we've been holding him for all of his naps.  I'm so exhausted but I'm not sure what to do.

We did cosleep 2 nights and it went well, but cosleeping is not an option for us. (we coslept when we were away - our bed is way too soft for me to feel comfortable doing it).  

Sorry this is so long - any advice is appreciated. 

someflower6

oh hun, i feel you. the lack of sleep is rough! i'm not nursing lilly, but i give her her bedtime bottle. for the past few months that's been working pretty well... she drinks, we rock, she usually conks out. but lately it hasn't been going so well. she seemed restless in my arms so i would have to bounce with her, rock her, etc for longer than usual. then when i did put her down she'd either wake up right away or within an hour. she would keep waking up, 8-10 times a night! she just seemed so restless.

so i've been trying to put her down awake. not, like, awake awake but not asleep. and yeah, within a few minutes she starts fussing-- put i go in, soothe her, and leave. if she fusses again, repeat. so far it's been working pretty well.

i'm wondering if maybe she's been trying to "tell" me that she's ready to fall asleep on her own. i wonder if somehow my rocking and bouncing was becoming distracting to her. now, when it's night night time instead of mommy hanging around, she can do her business-- sleep. it may just be temporary, but it seems to be working for now!

3003girl

I am in the same boat. My lo has moved her bedtime from 6:30 to 9 or 10 because she just cries for the first three hours. We bedshare and she will nurse to sleep then wake up and cry. And thrash around in bed. So we walk her around until she settles down and will nurse again or at least lay in bed. Repeat that for a few hours. Last night we actually gave her some tylonol drops and she calmed down. I wonder if it's a growth spurt or something? Whatever it is it's making me cranky.