OK, I keep reading that they all sleep through eventually, but exactly when is eventually?

[mawbroon]

DS is 2.10yo. Please tell me that "eventually" will be soon......

well the good news is that DD finally slept through at 2.5 yrs...

The bad news is that lastest 1.5 and hasn't slept through very often for the last 6 months.....

But the good news is that yours will be soo much better and sleep through happily ever after....

well dd2 didn't sleep though until she was 2.9

and now she has night terros which I find horrific

dd2 was 5 (and 4 years later still wakes me up frequently).

We have had a totally mixed bag with sleeping so far.

I did controlled crying when he was around 8 months. It worked, but we had to do it again after the slightest upset in routine, or illness or whatever, and each successive time, it became harder and harder for me to hear him so distressed.

We are still breatfeeding, and since I moved him out of his cot, he gets breastfed to sleep in his bed. Otherwise, he will just get up and fanny about until all hours of the evening. He then wakes several times in the night. Easiest way is to feed him to sleep and this often results in co sleeping until the morning as I am so tired that I fall asleep too.

I had a glimmer of hope the other week when he slept from 8pm until 5am two nights in the row. It felt better than winning the lottery!

we are also at the stage where even a 10 min sleep in the daytime means there is zero chance of him going to sleep at his normal 7pm bedtime.

eventually is when they're about 14 and you have to physically pull them out of bed in the morning to wake them up

That is my fear Overmydeadbody.

I used to look youthful, but am now just grey and baggy of face.

So he's nearly three then yes?

I think that is old enough to start falling asleep off the breast and maybe cutting out on night feeds?

MY ds is 5 now, he rarely sleeps through the night without getting up at least once for the loo, but by about 3.6 he could get up without actually having to wake me as well, so I could sleep through even if he wasn't!

I was just like you, bfing to sleep, co-sleeping etc, then I slowly trained him to fall asleep on his own. It might take a few weeks of hell with little sleep, but it is so worth it eventually.

Ha ha, very funny overmydeadbody.

We have had all sorts of weaning attempts and they have been absolutely horrendous. I know he is able to settle himself, he did it in his cot when he was younger, but just refuses to now that he's in a bed and is able to get out.

It's not really the getting to sleep that is the problem, it's the staying asleep!

So how did you do it then?

I did the whole lying with him in bed (well first I read him loads of stories till he was really tired) then staying in bed with him till he was asleep. Then slowly getting up and leaving before he was completely asleep, then eventually just reading the story, kissing him goodnight and leaving the room. This was the trickiest part. He would just get out. So I did the rapid return thing, putting back in bed, no eye contact, until he eventually fell asleep. To be honest I would often just get into bed with him to get him back to sleep.

In the middle of the night, I'd just get into bed with him and lie there until he fell asleep (often falling asleep myself).

I've tried the rapid return thing. It was awful. DS thought it was a game at first and then got really really upset. I then finn it so hard not to breastfeed him when he is distressed like that.

Do you reckon that the bedtime feed has to go as part and parcel of stopping night feeds?

No sleeping through until 3.5yrs in our house I'm afraid!

I don't think you should do the rapid return thing if it is distressing him. Just leave it and try again when he's a bit older.

Eventually you're going to have to train ihm to fall asleep on his own though. Good luck, you have my sympathies, it is a tough phase.

I am so torn between just co sleeping/night feeding until he is able to do it by himself, and actually doing something about it!

I feel a bit selfish for actually wanting some sleep for myself!

the thing it maw, he's not going to just suddenly be able to di it by yourself, you need to train him and teach him how to, you just need to pick a time when ypou tihnk he will be ready to learn and not get hysterical about it.