sleep help

celiabwatson

So, here's the situation. My son has partially bed shared his whole life but has also slept fine in a crib the other part of the night. He wake around 12, and 2 to eat and I'm fine with those wakings. He nurses and goes right back to sleep and I can put him down in the crib. However, he also nurses sometime after 4am. That's the one I'm having trouble with. Whenever he wakes after 4 he nurses but never stops. He's more awake than the other times and he just keeps wanting to nurse and doesn't go completely back to sleep. I often bring him to bed with me but that doesn't help him go back to sleep, it's just more comfortable for me. The problem is that I have to get up at 5:30 for work and he's often still attached to me at that point. If I try to get up and leave him with my husband he wakes up and cries. If I try to get him up with me he's cranky and upset (and I feel guilty for waking him when he's clearly not done sleeping). If I lay there nursing him I resent him because I need the time to get ready (and get his stuff ready). Any ideas? I really don't like starting the day annoyed.

glasgow_girl

Are there things you could get ready in the evening that would allow you (&him) to sleep a little later?

Other than that, I'm not sure.  Could you have your hubs feed him a bottle at that time instead of nursing? 

 

aglenn

DD is the exact same way (except last night it was 3 am instead of 4...oh, joy).  I try my best to get her back down in her crib at that last waking and tell her it's nighttime, sleepy time, blah blah blah.  Sometimes I can do it and she will sleep at least until I'm through the shower.  Other times, like today, I end up bringing her to bed with me where she nurses and rolls around forever, falls asleep and snores REALLY loudly in my ear for a while, then nurses some more and freaks out when I get up.  Yeah, I'm a little grumpy about the situation today.  3am is too early for me to be up for the day and be at all productive at work.  Grrr.

Sorry I don't have a solution, because we just take it day by day.  Sometimes DH can get her back down at that waking (she will fuss and say "no, Daddy, no" for a while but then roll over and go back to sleep).  Sometimes that backfires, though, because if she gets really mad she's not going to go back to sleep at all.  It is a guessing game every.single.morning for us.  Blah!  Hopefully someone else has some good suggestions.

celiabwatson

No, my morning these days pretty much consists of going to the bathroom, getting dressed, brushing my hair, eating breakfast and putting lunches in bags (not making, just moving from fridge to bags). Unfortunately very few of those things are babywearing friendly. 

We could do a bottle then, but I think he's comfort nursing and not actually hungry. I might try it tonight though and see if he'll just go back to sleep if he's just getting food and not the boob.

Thanks for your help, or at least your sympathy.