9month old DS2 not sleeping more than 2hrs at a time - please help

[fledtoscotland]

title says it all really.

i've posted this in the behaviour/development section as well

basically DS2 is 9months old. he's never been a great sleeper, always wanting to be in the thick of things and fearing he is going to miss out on the action.

his day starts somewhere between 5am and 6am, I try to get him to nap around 9.30am but he only sleeps for 40mins or so. Lunch is about 12o'clock and he naps again in the afternoon for another 30-40mins. The bedtime routine is fairly fixed because I also have DS1(20months) so for my own sanity his bedtime is military precision. Bath at 6.15pm, story and into bed and asleep by 7pm.

DS2 goes to sleep at 7pm very easily. Is still BFed so has feed, into own cot and he sleeps until about 9.30pm, is inconsolable unless breastfed again. once he feeds for about 5-10mins, he sleeps til about midnight. Feed again, sleep til about 3am, feed again, wake for the day. Each time he wakes, he wants to play for a bit as well feed.

the lack of unbroken sleep is killing me and my DH. We co-slept until about 6months when DS2 went into his own room. He will sleep in his cot but just wont stay asleep and doesn't know how to settle himself once he is awake.

We have tried the gradual withdrawal but he just sits in his cot screaming until he's picked up and fed (just picking up wont settle him), tried CC for one night which ended up with me crying as much as him. most nights he ends up in our bed at 3am cos i'm so knackered being up with him, at least if he's in our bed i'm lying down. DH is totally fed up with less than 5hrs sleep then having to leave the house at 7.30am for work.

has anyone any suggestions about how we can get him to sleep for longer and/or settle himself back to sleep.

TIA

Hello. Not the most popular method but my LO was waking up still at 6.5 months and I had to go back to work so I did a version of CC. I just went in every 2 minutes but didn't pick him up, just shushed him, rubbed his stomach and then left. The first night he cried for 45 minutes, the second for about 20 minutes and the 3rd he grumbled and then went back to sleep. CC is HARD on both baby and mother but if you are going to do it you need to perserve more than one night to actually see the benefits.

The other option, which you almost do already is co-sleep with DS2, put him in his cot at 7pm but then bring him in with you when you go to bed.

Apparently if they sleep more during the day they are suppose to sleep better at night, so is it possible to lengthen his naps or squeeze another nap in?

Anyway, not a sleep expert just some suggestions. Hope you get some sleep soon!

My DD was the same - she woke for boob every 2 hours for the first year. We co-slept and eventually she slept longer until she was sleeping through at about 17 months, just in time for my DS to be born! Hang in there - if it means co-sleeping and feeding him to sleep each time, then do it! Better than him screaming in his cot, surely?
It won't last forever...even if it feels a bit like it at the moment..

Just to add some sympathy. My 5mo dd is currently refusing to sleep in her own bed at all - will fall asleep when fed and cuddled, but wakes like magic as soon as she is laid down. I am co-sleeping with her and BF on demand all night - not comfortable but as you say, at least lying down. DH is banished to the spare room, and takes her for an hour at 6 each morning so I can get a bare minimum of sleep. It doesn't feel like a good arrangement, but all we can do is hope that this will pass!

Good luck and I hope you get some sleep soon