Indulge me please, am I getting closer to the sleep holy grail??

[happytree]

Hello,
bit of history, DS was a fantastic sleeper up until 9 months. Slept right through the night a good 10-12 hours!
Then it all stopped, teething colds etc. since then (he is now 15mo) he has woken up about 4/5 times a night and the last few weeks since my DH has moved away for work it's been even more 8 or 9 times!!
I'm also pregnant at the moment and so very tired but also thinking about how we really need to get DS sleep and routine sorted asap.
Anyhow, I've been trying controlled crying as up until recently falling asleep wasn't really the problem as we have a bath, bottle and he's gone on my knee (I know, I know) but now that's not working either.
But tonight BREAK THROUGH!! I left him for 3 lots of 10 mins and for the first time ever he fell asleep without me in the room. I am so so pleased.
Soooo, do you now think that as we crack the going to sleep on own in room initially, he will begin to put himself back to sleep in the middle of the night?? Will I have to do controlled crying through the night?
All thoughts welcome.

Well i've never done cc and am a firm believer in feeding to sleep or whatever. Ds's sleep got tons better around 15m (there is a developmental spurt then) of his own accord...but it got worse first!

Is there any chance your ds could be hungry? Ds used to take me by the hand to the fridge during his night wakings and demolish cheese on toast! This despite tea, snacks and bf. It was just a phase. Don't worry to much about making habits...they grow out of it all so just do what you need to get sleep (like you i'm pg so sleep is precious)

we had a sort of similar situation with DS. He was great until about 14 months then teeth, colds, going to the CM caused him to wake up for about 6 months. We tried everything, feeding, cuddles, staying in there until he slept etc but nothing stopped him waking up. About three weeks before DD was due we decided we HAD to sort it so one night, after making sure there was nothing actually wrong we said "night night" and left him. He cried (really loud and heartbreaking) for 11 minutes and that was pretty much it. The next night he woke and cried for two minutes and then not at all. Since then he has slept through including when DD is shrieking like a banshee right next door to him. We only wish we had done it months sooner. It does sound like you are making progress but it is hard to listen to them. Timing it helps as it helps you see the progress and tp realise it is not as long as it seems.

Our son had some extended teething at 9m and got into the habit of waking in the night and crying very loudly for a long time, unless I went and took him into the spare room with me.

After a month of this we decided it needed knocking on the head so did what I guess is a form of controlled crying though the book didn't call it that. Basically settled him each time but left him for increasingly long periods. It took 3 nights (1 and 3 being the worst with almost 2 hours of crying on and off) but on the 4th night he only cried out in his sleep and after that he was back to sleeping through.

Unfortunately at 27m he's now decided to wake at 4.30/5am each morning, so I've come to the conclusion there is no Holy Grail

Never be smug about any kind of sleep holy grail. Your child will sense your smugness and will BRING YOU DOWN.

There will always be something that will screw up your hard work to get them into "good habits" - travel abroad, a night in a different bed, a cold/other illness, night terrors, heat, clocks going back/forward, change of bedding, you bloody name it.

I have given up thinking too hard about my DD's sleep patterns. Only thing I am consistent about is that when I go in, I tell her that everything is fine and that it's time to go to sleep. I lay her down, and I walk out. Making night time boring is key. She may be a bit of a crap sleeper but she does know that night time is for SLEEPING.

rubitue there is also a nine month sleep regression which might have made it worse. It doesn't affect all babies, normally lasts a few weeks.

Well update,
He only woke up once last night!!! I have never been so happy at 4am before. I went him, moved him round as he'd got himself into a funny position and he went straight back to sleep. I had to wake him at 6.30am to get ready!
So, I have done the same thing again tonight. It took about 30mins of crying, with me going in every 10 mins and lying him back down and telling him it was sleep time.
I think you are right when you say there is no holy grail, I'm just so very delighted to to be getting more than half an hours sleep at a time!