Hi Wendy,
Thanks for the response!
DH works full time and I'm a SAHM, so I do my best to minimize his nighttime parenting during the week. I at least have the opportunity to nap during the week, although that prevents me from accomplishing anything around the house. But DH has to have his wits about him to drive to work and handle his job.
Taylor was a very colicky baby, who turned out to have a dairy allergy. When she was "colicky" (in pain from her allergy), the only way I could get her to sleep was by nursing. It became a habit, and it worked, so I never bothered to change it. It got to the point where she literally would only sleep for one sleep cycle and I had to nurse her back to sleep all night every night. Accidental parenting at it's finest! We implemented PU/PD in May. But I still nursed her down for naps and at bedtime.
A month ago, I phased out the pre-nap nursing without much trouble. Two weeks ago, I had to fully wean her because I started BCPs for our next IVF cycle. Since then, I've had to find more creative ways to get her to fall asleep. This week, I had been trying to get her to fall asleep more independently, but am now rethinking that. Initially, I thought she was just wanting more attention at night because she missed our nursing time together. But now that I know she's teething, I think I'll keep cuddling her whenever she needs it.
Once the tooth breaks through, I'll try to get her to fall asleep more independently. Until then, I'll do whatever it takes (within reason, of course) to keep her comfortable.
Today's good news is that I got her to take a 3-hour nap! That has only happened once before in her entire 21-month life! She woke up twice, but she was really crabby. So I just held her until she fell back to sleep (just a few minutes). The third time she awoke, she was happy, so I let her wake up and we had a nice lunch.
I'm a late-in-life Mum. Most of my friends are grandparents now, so I don't have many people to talk to about these things. I'm so glad these forums are here!
Cheri