I knew the first step had to be to get him to sleep without nursing himself to sleep. The first night this was a total failure. The second night was going the same way until Doug took over and introduced the Daddy method. This involved putting Ian down on his stomach, then patting his back with one hand while pulling his legs back when needed to keep them straight -- this prevents him from getting up into a crawling then standing position. Doug had a lot of success with this, getting Ian back to sleep in a few minutes each time he woke up through the night. Until about 4am, when he woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep. That was the first night. We were hoping last night would be an improvement, but it was worse. Instead of going to bed in a few minutes when he woke up, it took much longer. I took Ian to the doctor's this morning to confirm that he didn't have an ear infection. Tonight he had Motrin for any teething pain. He went to bed easily at 7:30, but woke up an hour later and needed 45 minutes of help to get to sleep again. Hopefully it won't take too many more nights for him to learn to get himself to sleep more easily. In the meantime, it's torturous for all of us.
During the days, Ian is a perfectly happy and eager-to-explore boy (this includes naptimes at daycare, when he goes to sleep with no trouble). He can speed around now in a crawl, and loves to pull up and cruise on things. He seems to have an increasing interest in trying to stand unsupported. He is practicing "Dada" constantly.
Here he is in a contemplative moment during a recent bath in the sink:
2 comments:
Any idea how long he sleeps at day care? But, then, when Greg takes care of him he doesn't seem to sleep much, even though on those days Ian doesn't get his driving to and from day care naps.
I suppose if you put toys in his crib so that he has something to play with he would just drop them out on to the floor. Obviously he needs a game boy, or the current equivalent, to occupy himself.
Have you thought about moving him to his own room? That way when he wakes up and no one is there to entertain him/pat him/hold him/rock him, he will eventually go back to sleep (most likely not without crying and pitching a fit to get you to do what he wants). I'm not apposed to two nights of crying if it means the following nights are sleeping. After awhile I think he would develop a new habit - sleeping or self soothing. Does he have some toys/board books in his crib so he can amuse himself? Sleep item (animal, blanket, etc)?
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