Help with heavy 4m old who likes being carried to sleep!

[TippetyTapWriter]

Hi all, hope you have some wisdom/miracle tips for me.

My ds is 4 months and since birth the only way we've found to get him to sleep is to carry him and walk around (cradle hold, lengthways if you see what I mean. He doesn't like being help upright on my shoulder). He's bottle fed due to health problems at the start, so feeding to sleep etc has never worked. He also won't take a dummy. Just pulls a disgusted face and chews on it, pokes at it with tongue and either spits or pulls it out.

Problem is he's so heavy! Nearly 8kg and the size of a six month old at least. It takes a good 10-20 mins of walking around with him before he's asleep enough to be put down and stay asleep. And half the time he fights sleep as well, crying and wriggling. And he definitely will not let us sit down with him - has to be walking, walking, walking! Also wont sleep in bouncy chair. Will nap in pram but only after 40mins of pushing it.

We follow a rough routine of feed, play, sleep every 2-3hrs (he has a bottle every 2.5hrs and is tired after 1.5hrs awake). He sleeps well at night thank god, normally about 8.30-6am with one or two feeds. So I know I am lucky on that score!

But, ouch, my back and arms are killing me from carrying him around. He's too young for any cry it out methods, surely? But how else can I get him to sleep? If I put him down "drowsy but awake" as all the books say he will be crying after two minutes, no matter how much "shush, pat" I try!

Thanks in advance ...

Could you improvise a loose sling arrangement that just took the weight a little? I'll try to find a picture. Cradle hold isn't usually advisable but for these purposes I can't see a risk.

Get a good carrier/wrap, strap him on and have a wander.

A good carrier will last for years. I comfortably carried DS in an (old style) Ergo till he was 4+.

Like this.

Sling? Tbh I just put up with carrying my DS until he was 11 months and then he grew out of wanting to be walked to sleep. But you could try to gradually stand stop the walking, I was too tired to try and stop and it seems like distant memory now if that makes you feel better (ds is 2!)

You could try put down and pick up. Put down drowsy but awake, when he begins (BEGINS!! No CIO here) to whimper/ cry pick him up, cuddle, get him drowsy, put down again.

Repeat x 20 (or however many times are necessary).

The first time, there are many, many pick up and put downs. Then the next sleep time there are fewer and so on until he will go down to sleep as a matter of course.

The only thing is you have to be psyched up for this, as if you end up rocking to sleep in the end, even if it's after pick up #576, it won't help. You have to keep picking up and putting down until he goes to sleep in the crib.

I did it with mine and it worked well.

Thanks everyone. 11 months, yikes! I have a carrier (beco Gemini). Don't find it that comfy as all the weight seems to be on my back and section incision. He will fall asleep in it after 15 mins or so but wakes up if I take him out so would have to keep him in it for whole nap. Tried it yesterday though and discovered that because I have my hands free I can get some work done on my phone as I wander about the house, or at least read a book!

Might discuss pick up, put down with dh as think we'd have to try it together on a weekend first.

Thanks again.