9mth old DS waking for a Chat every night around 2am for 2hrs - help me before I go mad.

[MyCatIsABiggerBastardThanYours]

DS has been a partial co-sleeper since birth (starts night off in cot, comes into our bed sometime between 11 and 12 after 1st feed).

About 3 weeks ago I decided that he probably doesn't need feeding 3 - 4 times a night (on solids - 3 meals a day, growing well) and that it was mostly habit and sucking to sleep. He can now go from about midnight to around 6 - 6.30am without a feed.

All well and good, however, this set off him waking at around 2am, when he would usually feed and then chatting to us for around 1.5 to 2hrs. We have ignored him, we have cuddled him, we have put him back in his cot (he is in bed with us by that stage), at which he screamed blue murder. If I let him suckle then he wakes again every 1.5hrs, fine for everyone else in the house, but really not good for me.

We are considering moving him to his own room as I am sure that we disturb him and that is part of the problem, but I really didn't want to do that til he was about a yr old.

Any suggestions on how we can stop this middle of the night chat? I am so tired I'm tearful (as is DH and 4yr old DD is getting crabby parents which isn't fair at all).

[MyCatIsABiggerBastardThanYours]

Also, meant to add, he has a 1.5 hr nap in the morning and had been having a 45 mins nap mid afternoon (been doing that routine from about 5 mths). Lately though (last week or so) he has been fighting his afternoon nap (he usually has the naps in his cot, although the pm one can sometimes be in the car).

He goes to bed around 6pm and usually falls asleep pretty quickly. He is FF during the day but BF at night. He is a happy little chap who is not grizzly or miserable unless teething (which I don't think he is at the moment).

I really hope someone can give me some tactics to help with this. My eyes look like someones poked them with a stick!

[MyCatIsABiggerBastardThanYours]

bump

[seventypercentcocoa]

My DS has been very similar really, DD is 3 in March and it's hard work when you've been up half the night. I have had 2 better nights this week, all the rest have been with DS awake for 1.5 to 2.5 hrs, crying when put in cot.

The better nights I had were when I bathed him before bed - don't usually. And when I gave him calpol/nurofen in the night - he is teething and suffering with it.

Other than that, it seems pot luck and I am hoping he grows out of it very soon. My DS eats like a horse and is BF, also trying to reduce the comfort feeding in the night with limited success (he's 11mo)

[MyCatIsABiggerBastardThanYours]

Thanks for the response seventypercentcocoa. I did try him with calpol when he was teething and it did help but I don't think he's teething now (he just chats away when he's awake, not crying).

At least we know we're not alone. You'd think I would know better tbh. DD was a nightmare and I swore I would be more sensibly with DS, but no, I've trained him successfully to suckle to sleep in the wee small hours and drive me insane with sleep deprivation!

[doesn't learn emoticon]

[mdavza]

HI there, it's tough, hey! I followed a few suggestions form Baby whisperer, and it's working for us, but you probably know best what to do with lo - not what you want to hear, I know! I just want to say about the naps, at around this time they do start dropping a nap, down to one a day, and apparently this can cause havoc with their night sleep. There's a great thread on the Baby Whisperer website with mums going through this transition (look under 'naps' and 2-1 transition) I'm hoping mine won't wake tonight for a chatfest! x