Ideas please!!!!

[CheekyGirl]

Ds will be one year on xmas day. He has always been a dreadful sleeper, suffering from colic and reflux until he was around 5/6 months. He has always slept in our bed and been bf whenever he wakes.

I feel mean, but I really want to stop this now. I'm happy to continue bf, but not the co-sleeping. No-one gets any rest, and he takes so long to be rocked to sleep that dd age 4 has to amuse herself on her own for ages at naptime and bedtime. It's not fair on her.

My parents have offered to have dd for a few days after xmas so we can try and sort out ds.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to go about it? I want to do it as gently as possible, bearing in mind that he has been used to being rocked to sleep and co-sleeping for a year. He has a dummy too, and I don't really want to have to get rid of that too, but could it create more problems? He's pretty good at finding the dummy with his eyes shut and shoving it back in!!!

TIA!!

i will probably be hung at dawn for saying this but dont get rid of the dummy just yet. Moving into a cot is going to be a change so get that sorted first and then think about the dummy later. I found the "pick up, put down" routine worked wonders. It literally says what it does on the tin Put them into a cot/bed and everytime they cry pick them up until they are settled and put them straight back down. Be warned though the first few nights you can be picking them up fifty or more times, but they will get used to it and will click that no matter what they do you arent going to give in and will soon settle in their own bed its hard at first but believe me it works and is soo worth it!!! Btw what a fab birthday good luck xx

Not going to hang anyone at dawn about dummies - dd is 14 months and still has about 6 in her cot - but it does mean that she settles herself and goes back to sleep if she wakes in the night. Agree that you should only make the change from co-sleeping to the cot to start with.
Pick up put down worked with dd and yes it can be hard for the first few nights something does click with them and it just works from then on. Good luck!!

cg,have good sleepers (fortunately!) but my nephews aren't and in retrospect,my sister says that she should have tackled it all earlier like you are now doing.

Any method should work as long as you are consistent and committed.

Good luck!

That sounds good, carlyxmas. I'll probably end up with a bad back though as ds is about 26lbs!!

Has anyone had any experience of this with an older baby?

Thanks moondog and bellie, our posts must have crossed!! I feel really reassured!! Thanks!

I did a form of CC when DS was 13 months. He was in his cot all night but BF when he woke (1-2 times) and BF before his nap.

I started with naps first as figured I would have more resolve then than in the middle of the night. Instead of BF, we sat in his room with low lights, read a story, then settled him in cot and told him it was nap time.

He cried a bit at first. I decided I would do 2mins, then 5 mins etc. had to go back in just once each time (after 2 mins) for 3-4 days, then he started to settle on his own with no crying or fuss.

This really improved his nighttime waking too, but he was still mostly waking at 5.30 for feed and then going back to sleep. So I planned to do the same, only for longer intervals. Five mins, then 10 mins, etc.

For 5 nights he cried (whingey, not full on) for about 5 mins, I left him, he went back off. Has never done it since, is now brilliant sleeper, 7.30-8 most nights, plus 2 hour nap.

He has a comfort cloth which he sucks (yuk!) so I would definitely not abandon the dummy at this stage.

Good luck, HTH.