Bit of a musing on 7mo's sleep patterns.

[CherryChoc]

I just want to start by saying I'm very relaxed about this - I'm getting enough sleep, DS is getting enough sleep, I'm easy.

Basically, most nights since he was born, I have been letting him fall asleep whenever he was tired, and taking him up to bed when I went up (whether he was asleep or awake as by that point, as he'd usually go to sleep when we were cuddled up/he was feeding/it got dark, if I just put him in the bedside cot).

I don't have a problem with doing this, except for that it is quite nice, if I do put him up to bed earlier, to have the undisturbed time in the evenings. I look after DS all day and DP doesn't help even when he gets home so it is nice to have a break.

However, when I do this, he half wakes up about once every 1-2 hours, I feed him and he goes back to sleep. I don't honestly know if he wakes during the night for milk as we co-sleep and I either move him closer while half asleep myself or he helps himself. Should he not be able to sleep for longer than this by now? He does have naps sometimes which are 3 or 4 hours. And at 5 weeks old, he was sleeping 7 hours!

My Dd woke all through the night every night until I tried the Wake To Sleep technique at 19 months.

All babies are different, so it's difficult to say what is 'the norm'. I'm not sure there even is a norm...

For a lot of babies, if it's there, they'll have it. But some babies' sleep is seriously affected by development and nursing back to sleep is just the easiest way to get them back off for everyone to get as much sleep as possible. Many women find that after they night wean, their baby/toddler still wakes up multiple times, but then they've lost their quick and easy method to get their baby back to sleep. Basically, if it ain't broke, don't try and fix it. Also give your DP a big kick up the bum.

sounds like my 8mo cherrychoc, she sleeps pretty well at night (in our bed), but if i put her down in the evening she will wake fairly frequently, and by the time i get there she's a bit awake. feeding back doesn't tend to work for us though

i don't have any answers though, i'm hoping that over time she will just gradually settle back down/stay asleep, for longer periods of time without waking. or course begin this mythical self-settling of which they speak

like you though, i'm not too bothered, my idea of hell is spending evenings in a darkened room soothing an uncooperative baby so i am happier to have her in with us. am starting to put her on the bed for naps so hopefully she'll get the hang of it at some point.