Question for old hands:Has anybody sucessfully 'helped' their 18 month and older dc to sleep through(or for a bit longer!), fall asleep on their own etc? Advice please!

[daringdoris]

Sorry, this is a bit long.

Ok, my ds is 20 months old, and his sleeping is really getting me down. Like a poster earlier this week (gingernutlover?) and others, I regularly feel like running away, having an accident etc. Although I'm relieved to find I'm not alone feeling like this, I don't think this is a normal state of affairs. Nearly every day I wonder whether I should talk to my GP about possible depression.

I am somebody who is usually calm, collected and pretty laid-back, and I feel like I'm turning into a monster. The worst thing is, that my ds is also a calm and laid-back little boy, but I end up shouting at him, crying etc, which makes him cry(and makes me feel awful, of couse), and then I think I'm turning him into a monster...

Anyway, what I would really like is some concrete advice about his sleep . When I'm less tired I feel much better, so the answer is to get more sleep!

My ds sleeps on a matress on the floor in our room, he is bf to sleep and bf whenever he wakes in the night (which can be many, many times). At the moment I?m sleeping on a matress next to him, as it was getting too cold to be scooting in and out of bed, and anyway, I get more sleep this way(not great for my relationship though).

I would like him

1. to sleep for longer
2. to get back to sleep without bf
3. to sleep all night
4. to go to sleep on his own (ie fall asleep without bf)

not all at once, obviously! Even the first one seems impossible at the moment! But that seems like a fairly logical order to me.

He doesn't fall asleep for his nap either, so either I 'walk' him to sleep in a sling, or when he's with my MIL (I work 2 days a week) she pushes him in the pushchair. But he's starting nursery 2 days a week after Christmas and they're not going to do that are they? I suppose he just won't have a nap on those days. BUT I think I should deal with night-time first, shouldn't I?

So, parents who have sucessfully helped their toddlers to sleep for longer/on their own please post here! And others who are in the same situation!

Crying it out doesn't really appeal to me(although I have fantasised about it in the wee hours of the morning!) and in any case wouldn't be practical as he's on a matress on the floor.

Thankyou in advance.
xx
(off to read a wake to sleep thread somebody recommended - also, if this has already ben done to death, feel free to point me in the direction of old threads)

That's ok psycho, I was rambling too - hey, it's not very often I get to talk to anyone about this who knows where I'm coming from! So don't worry

I'm so glad I posted, I can't count the times(in the wee small hours, jiggling uo and down in the sling, pushing the push chair up and down...) that I formulated a post in my head, then I'd get to my pc and think, no, just search the archives, or go back to NCSS (again)but get nowhere. So I'm feeling really positive - now I just have to read all your posts again, and devise a PLAN...

How's it going doris?

I/we have just had 3 unbroken nights on the trot [so that's us due for some screaming tonight then huh?]

I really think he has weaned off the night feeds, BF continues happily around nursery and then more during the day at the weekends, and we're all getting lots more sleep. DS3 himself is much calmer and happier for having more sleep too I think...

Hi Wilf, nothing amazing to report yet, we're waiting for dp not to have to get up at 4am before we try anything properly. Am trying to be more aware of him bfing in the night though, and encouraging him to go back to sleep, and the last two nights he's only woken 2/3 times, which is pretty good for him (though probably just a coincidence!).