Is it worth trying to get DS to sleep through before solids?

[MrsWifty]

Oh wise sleepy women, please help me with the latest of my many sleep-related quandaries. DS is 15 weeks, and we co-sleep, but he has just recently started sleeping in his cot for the first part of the evening. He goes down drowsy from a feed, but with his eyes open and then falls asleep, usually after some rocking or just a hand on his tummy (I was tempted to hire a plane to sky-write that when it happened for the first time).

At the moment, I put him down at 8pm and then again at about 10.30pm when he wakes and I go to bed. However, for later feeds, of which there are many, I'm just too lazy tired to get up and risk 20 minutes or more getting him to sleep each time - if I'm still awake by that point. He's a big lad (10lb 14oz at birth), he's EBF and wakes at least every two hours. DH works away during the week, so I would be on my own for at least part of any mission to get the rest of the night sorted.

With this in mind, my question is, would trying to get him in the cot for the whole night significantly increase the chance of his sleeping through? Or would it be more sensible to wait another three months or so until he's properly on solids to increase the chances? I am craving even a three-hour stretch of sleep, but not at the expense of a stretch of seriously disrupted nights . . . yet.

[kellieb7]

My DD (also BF) completely changed when I put her in her cot and in her own room, we co-slept from birth as she would not be put down at all. However at about 18 weeks I just put her in her cot one night and she actually slept for 4 hours which she had never done when we slept together. DD now (at 27 weeks) sleeps from 19:30 (ish) until 5am so it has really worked for her and there wasn't any fuss or sleep training. HTH, I will keep my fingers crossed for you x

[dietcokeandwine]

I moved both mine into their own rooms and big cots at around the 16w mark. Mainly because they'd outgrown their moses baskets and the big cot literally would not fit into our (tiny) bedroom - but also because they had started to be disturbed by us at night.

Once moved into their own rooms, they were much more settled, I think it's around this age that their sleep cycles become much more defined and therefore they are more prone to being disturbed by other people in the room.

I'd say it was worth a try. You can always revert to your current situation if it doesn't seem to make any difference.

[MrsWifty]

Ooh, thanks, that's not something I'd really considered, but definitely worth trying. At the risk of jinxing it, he managed to sleep for two three-hour stretches last night, so maybe we're turning another corner, and moving the cot could get us home and dry :)

[matana]

For me, putting DS in his own room co-incided with starting him on solids at 6 months. When he was on 3 meals a day he ended up sleeping loads better and eventually began sleeping through at 7.5 months. I think the combination of his own room and eating solids is what did it. I have one helluva hungry little boy so he just wasn't ready to sleep through until he was getting enough food in the day and his tummy was big enough to fit it all in! He also knew he no longer had boobie on tap