Bedtime

[Kheldarson]

Slightly silly, but...

Why, oh why, do the biggest fits come from bedtime?

I had him asleep.

I even moved him without a stir from us being in the rocking chair to him being in his crib.

I wrapped him in a blanket.

I left and came downstairs with nary a peep.

And now there's an absolute crisis from his bedroom apparently.

[anakhouri]

I feel you. Oh God, how I feel you.

My son has always been a shitty sleeper. He woke every 2 hours for the first 4 months of his life, and even when he progressed past two hours he never slept an entire night through- for 4 1/2 years. One or both of us would have to get up at least once a night to attend to nightmares, night terrors, sleepwalking, having to go potty or just plain not wanting to waste time sleeping. We threatened, we cajoled, we soothed, we let him sleep in our bed (BIG mistake). No dice.

A couple weeks ago I instituted a sleep chart (similar to the potty chart he had a couple years ago) where he got a sticker for every night he stayed in bed and left us the hell alone. OH MY GOD. Total turnaround. Turns out my kid is a sticker whore. He hasn't woken us in weeks. Of course, now that I finally sleep 8 hours uninterrupted, I am pregnant and have to get up to pee every 2 hours anyway. Oh well, someday...

I know it sucks, but you really have to get him used to sleeping alone while he's a baby. I think that was at least part of our problem, we always snuggled him to sleep as a baby so when he woke up alone he lost his shit.

[Kheldarson]

We did co-sleep for the first few months because we had no other space for him (we were trying to buy a house before he was born; it didn't quite work out like that). But after we moved, we transitioned him to his crib, and it worked beautifully. Slept through the night, everything.

It wasn't until February that we had issues. I think it's tied to him teething, probably growing, and learning how to stand up and move all at once >.<

Did I mention he's 8 months old now? >.<

So bedtime's an exercise in "how much can I fix and how much does he just have to figure it out" with a middle of the night "why oh why won't you just stay asleep so mommy can get some sleep after she gets off night shift before you wake up for the day".

[HYHYBT]

I know you have to try... but since I've *never* been able to settle down just because some clock says I'm supposed to, the baby has my sympathy too. I don't think anything worked on me as a baby, but the train helped from about as soon as I was able to get out of bed and go to the window. Somewhere along the way I did learn not to wake anyone else up, but from my point of view, the solution didn't come along until I was old enough to read real books and could do that between bedtime and whenever I felt like putting them down and going to sleep.

Hopefully your baby's progress will happen quicker than that!

[fireheart17]

We did co-sleep for the first few months because we had no other space for him (we were trying to buy a house before he was born; it didn't quite work out like that). But after we moved, we transitioned him to his crib, and it worked beautifully. Slept through the night, everything.

It wasn't until February that we had issues. I think it's tied to him teething, probably growing, and learning how to stand up and move all at once >.<

Did I mention he's 8 months old now? >.<

So bedtime's an exercise in "how much can I fix and how much does he just have to figure it out" with a middle of the night "why oh why won't you just stay asleep so mommy can get some sleep after she gets off night shift before you wake up for the day".

Do you guys use a sleepsack at all?

[Kheldarson]

Do you guys use a sleepsack at all?

With him bed sharing, it wasn't something I started. And he never really liked being swaddled. We have one his size that I put on him once (it was warm but I didn't have lightweight PJs yet) and he still crawled around and stood up in it.

He's going to be a terror growing up >.<

[NorthernZel]

I can't remember how Lil'Zel was when he was exactly as old as your son, but first of all I'd go with the good 'ole triple check: poop, thirst, hunger.

If your son is still on solely milk/formula, I'd take a look at that - many babies so to speak "peak" in milk/formula quantities at that age, so it can be an indication that perhaps they're ready for more solid foods. Over here it is common to introduce gruel (not the icky grey porridge stuff, more like thickened milk/formula with added grains) in a bottle as the last or second-to-last meal of the day, so baby is set and happy when it's time to get tucked in.
Once used to that, more "solid" meals (like oatmeal, porridge and stewed fruits/veggies) can be introduced slowly, one at the time.

Having said that, IANAD (nor do I play one on TV) so you might want to discuss this with your family doc or pedatrician before you do any changes to your son's diet.

[Kheldarson]

I can't remember how Lil'Zel was when he was exactly as old as your son, but first of all I'd go with the good 'ole triple check: poop, thirst, hunger.

That's what we check for the middle of the night wake up. Usually means he's in a clean diaper, and I'm breastfeeding him again.

If your son is still on solely milk/formula, I'd take a look at that - many babies so to speak "peak" in milk/formula quantities at that age, so it can be an indication that perhaps they're ready for more solid foods. Over here it is common to introduce gruel (not the icky grey porridge stuff, more like thickened milk/formula with added grains) in a bottle as the last or second-to-last meal of the day, so baby is set and happy when it's time to get tucked in.
Once used to that, more "solid" meals (like oatmeal, porridge and stewed fruits/veggies) can be introduced slowly, one at the time.

We've been working on solids for two months now. He's a hearty eater His last meal of the day is a breastfeeding, and generally a hour to two hours after his dinner meal, which is all solids.

Maybe I should try doing cereal before bedtime again. But he generally didn't take to that in the routine.

He also seems to get mad at the bottle at bedtime when it runs out. I'm usually not there for that, but I've been told he throws it.

[NorthernZel]

Maybe I should try doing cereal before bedtime again. But he generally didn't take to that in the routine.

He also seems to get mad at the bottle at bedtime when it runs out. I'm usually not there for that, but I've been told he throws it.

I'd recommend a small portion of cereal (perhaps oatmeal) + a bottle to go with that, at a start. Too much heavy food right before bedtime may give constipation. Otherwise, you could look in the stores for "thickened" baby formula and mix it with breast milk, or thicken the breast milk with a very small amount of carob flour (also known as locust bean flour).

[Kheldarson]

I'd recommend a small portion of cereal (perhaps oatmeal) + a bottle to go with that, at a start. Too much heavy food right before bedtime may give constipation. Otherwise, you could look in the stores for "thickened" baby formula and mix it with breast milk, or thicken the breast milk with a very small amount of carob flour (also known as locust bean flour).

I'll try that. I thought it might be overfeeding but I'll try it.