Created a monster

callistosmile · March 2016

My son used to sleep through the night AND put himself to sleep, but he was swaddled. The 4 month regression hit, and then he developed a dependence on the pacifier. Now we're in a Merlin suit, he still needs the pacifier, and he needs a bottle to fall asleep while I rock him. This includes MOTN wake ups, which are still pretty frequent. I type this as my arm falls asleep holding him, because he woke up in the middle of a nap and couldn't go back to sleep. How did you break these bad habits? Anyone else in the same boat? My partner doesn't think any of it is a problem and is probably the one most responsible for the bottle dependence so I feel pretty alone in this struggle.

cmommy13 · March 2016

I'm currently sleep training my son who needs to be nursed and rocked to sleep. We used to co sleep and he's fighting the crib a lot tonight (it's night 4). As far as breaking bad habits I'm not sure. I've never used a suit and my son hates pacifiers. But I would def try to break the bottle dependence before teeth arrive because the formula/milk can pool in the mouth and cause decay I've been told.

But you are not alone. My son hasn't slept longer than 30 min since 8pm tonight. Almost immediately falls asleep in my arms just doesn't want to sleep in the crib

callistosmile · March 2016

He's already got two teeth

I brush them twice a day but his last bottle is after that. I think I just need to get a better routine. We had some feeding issues and had his tongue tie revised which really screwed up his hunger cues. That's definitely the habit I am most concerned about too. Ugh I know he'll sleep normally eventually but I'd really love to get back to my own bed. We sleep on the pullout in the living room so I can rock him back to sleep more easily right now.

jennahkross · March 2016

I would try gradually adding something else to the routine, like a book or a song. Something else your LO can associate with sleep, it might make it easier to break the bottle habit.

jwebbbber45678 · March 2016

My baby only fell asleep if we held him tightly and bounced up and down on a yoga ball. It was getting really difficult and tiring because he was getting so heavy. One night I just decided I couldn't do it anymore so I put him in his crib and put my hands on him and kissed his little head and he cried for twenty minutes but eventually fell asleep. The next night it was five minutes. Now I just cuddle with him in bed until he's sleepy and put him in the crib and he rolls over and falls asleep. He really likes sleeping on his side or belly now and sleeps longer that way. He still wakes up 2-4 times a night and I always end up pulling him in bed with me. I wake up at 5am to work and right now just breastfeeding him back to sleep is quickest and easiest. While that is supposed to be a bad habit, it works well for me and I don't mind it. You should definitely work on fixing the things that bother you most, just one at a time. It might take a night or two of crying, but you can definitely break the rocking to sleep habit. You may find once he's out of the sleep suit he'll eventually figure out how to put himself back to sleep by rolling onto his side or tummy. As for the needing to feed to fall back to sleep in the night, I haven't figured that one out yet! Good luck!

callistosmile · March 2016

Oh my goodness we just had an epic 1.5 hour battle of wills lol. He had a 3 oz bottle and fell asleep. Put him down, awake after five minutes. Finished the last oz and fell asleep, put him down and awake in five minutes. I refuse to overfeed him just to get to sleep. I tried letting him roll around without the suit. Wailing. I tried snuggling him without the suit. Wailing. I put him back in the suit and snuggled him. Fell asleep. Put him down and so far still asleep. And now I'm so stressed that I can't sleep. Argh.

cmommy13 · March 2016

My DS woke every 2 hours last night

I'm going to let him fuss for 10 min tonight instead of five

it is exhausting!

Bognes · March 2016

I have a pacifier monster who pulls it out, puts it above her head and cries. We're constantly replacing it at night. Some nights every hour:( We transitioned out of the Merlin too. Then she was rolling over getting stuck and crying more. So I put a pillow under her sheet so that she can't roll and it's working well. Have you tried a lovey/little animal blanket? She loves hers and I introduce it during nighttime books and she sleeps with if I the crib whenever she's in it.

callistosmile · March 2016

We have loveys but I haven't tried letting him sleep wth it yet. I'll start adding it in to the bedtime routine. He only woke up 4 times last night (only lol) but the first two times were instant wailing. My kid is generally not big on crying so it's super stressful. He sounded so forlorn

mrsbacz · March 2016

callistosmile said:

He's already got two teeth I brush them twice a day but his last bottle is after that. I think I just need to get a better routine. We had some feeding issues and had his tongue tie revised which really screwed up his hunger cues. That's definitely the habit I am most concerned about too. Ugh I know he'll sleep normally eventually but I'd really love to get back to my own bed. We sleep on the pullout in the living room so I can rock him back to sleep more easily right now.

Sorry this isn't entirely related to this thread, but what are you using to brush his teeth? I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to be doing and don't see the ped until the end of the month.

lmbrandt · March 2016

We had to go cold turkey right out of the Merlin suit. One night he decided to roll over in it, we were shocked watching on the monitor. We spent that whole night awake, watching the monitor like a hawk, flipping him right back onto his back. It was exhausting, and stressful, and sadly we knew the suit was done with.

The next day we did all naps and night time sleep in a Love to Swaddle arms out sack. The naps were TERRIBLE...he cried and cried no matter what we did. He wouldn't settle in the crib, with rocking, with bouncing, etc. Each time we'd lay him in the crib he would roll all around and scoot like a maniac. We were SO stressed all day and terrified to put him to bed that night. When we did, he spent a good 15 minutes rolling around and scooting, and then finally settled down on his tummy and fell asleep, and basically slept through the night...we were amazed! We weren't sure if it was just because he basically didn't nap all day and was SO exhausted that he slept, or if he was truly more comfortable now being on his stomach and free from the Merlin suit.

Every day since then hasn't been too bad, naps have gotten better, night time sleep is pretty good too. Of course there are still some wake ups here and there, but not like we were expecting. (fingers crossed it continues!)

We have a hard time watching him on the monitor scoot around in his crib for sometimes 30 minutes before falling asleep, but if we go in and intervene it doesn't help. It's like he's obsessing about trying to crawl and continuously moves around the crib, then all of a sudden it slows down and he settles in to sleep.

As far as rocking, we ALWAYS used to have to rock him to sleep. Then one day I just couldn't do it anymore...it was taking SO much time, and sometimes he would only sleep for 30 minutes and I'd spend 25+ rocking...it was insane! So one day I got brave and just laid him in the crib, patted his belly a few times, kissed his forehead and walked out. It took him about 10-15 minutes, some fussing, but he put himself to sleep. Some days he fussed a lot, some days he went out within 5 minutes...we just never know. But it was such a relief to not be rocking him anymore! Now if we try rocking him on a bad day, it seems to almost rile him up even more.

cmommy13 · March 2016

@kabaczewski they sat use a clean wet washcloth or some gauze wrapped around your finger to wipe their gums/teeth. I got my DS a baby banana toothbrush and he loves it

hlb8179 · March 2016

kabaczewski said:

callistosmile said:

He's already got two teeth I brush them twice a day but his last bottle is after that. I think I just need to get a better routine. We had some feeding issues and had his tongue tie revised which really screwed up his hunger cues. That's definitely the habit I am most concerned about too. Ugh I know he'll sleep normally eventually but I'd really love to get back to my own bed. We sleep on the pullout in the living room so I can rock him back to sleep more easily right now.

Sorry this isn't entirely related to this thread, but what are you using to brush his teeth? I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to be doing and don't see the ped until the end of the month.

I just saw my dentist who has young twins. She said the best way to clean infant teeth is wipes called spiffies. I just ordered them off amazon.

jwebbbber45678 · March 2016

My baby is into the banana

callistosmile · March 2016

We got the shark version of the banana toothbrush and j let him use it all day. I also use a damp washcloth to wipe his teeth and gums once a day so I know they're actually getting clean. @kabaczewski

mrsbacz · March 2016

Thank you ladies! I have the banana but wasn't sure if that was enough, I'll start with a washcloth too. Thanks again

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