Breastfeeding
TheAnalyticalMommy
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Desperately need baby sleep help!
TheAnalyticalMommy
member
Sorry in advance for the long email. I think my sleep deprivation has reached an all time high and i'm desperate for some help!
So I ignored my pediatrician's warnings and nurse LO to sleep. At first, he would fall asleep nursing, and then i'd carefully move him to his crib and more often than not, he'd stay asleep and let me sleep for 2-4 hours.
He's now 8.5 months and he will no longer sleep anywhere but in my arms or int he bed next to me. The second i move him, or my husband takes him from my arms, he wakes up and freaks out. We've tried letting him sleep in a cradle swing, we've tried staying next to him, we've tried talking to him, carressing him, warming up his matress with a heating pad before putting him down (obviously removing the heating pad before putting him in his crib) etc. It doesn't seem to help.
He and I seem to have a symbiotic relationship ... If he can see, hear, or smell me, he wants only me. Don't get me wrong, I love the look in his eyes when he spots me, or the way he calls for me, but i need some sleep and I don't sleep with him in our bed. I'm the type that likes to be praticaly under the blankets so sleeping with the blankets on just my feet, or not at all, just doesn't work. And then of course, there's the no pillow thing... I can only sleep without a pillow if i'm on my stomach and i can't do that with him in our bed.
I really need some advice and i'm posting it here because I suspect he's like this because of our BF relationship.
Any suggestions? I need sleep! 3-4 hours a night of inremental sleep just isn't working.
Thank you!!
Rachel (a.k.a. The Analytical Mommy.com and @analyticalmommy on IG)
I'm just trying to make sense of things :-)
I'm just trying to make sense of things :-)
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Re: Desperately need baby sleep help!
Now that it's not working so well for you, you can reassess! No harm, no foul. Have you read No Cry Sleep Solution? It has some tips for gently helping kiddos fall asleep after nursing (instead of during it). It isn't a quick solution, though.
Also! For us, months 8 and 9 were one long hideous blur of teething and sleep regression. Is he teething?
See if you can solve any physical discomfort, and then try working towards slightly longer sleep stretches (I liked NCSS a lot, but it worked better for us at 10/11m than it did at 8/9, just as a caution).
Hugs, mama.
Aww, momma I’m sorry you’re so tired! It sounds like your baby really loves you
. Most research indicates that getting children on a sleep regimen earlier is typically the more favorable solution. But getting your child on a sleep regimen is still possible, so hang in there! Have you considered speaking to your pediatrician about what kind of sleeping patterns he should have at this stage? Maybe consider sitting down with your hubby once you have that information and form some type of plan for how to follow through with that. It might be extremely difficult at first but I have faith you guys can do it! Wish you well!
teedaalee0712
I'm just trying to make sense of things :-)
We are waiting on our copy of the sleep lady's good night sleep tight.
Fingers crossed tonight goes well for you!
I'm just trying to make sense of things :-)