Apologizing in advance for the length...
A bit of background:
My angel/textbook son STTN from 8 wks til 14 weeks then he developed severe eczema. He would wake up scratching horribly, so I would nurse him back to sleep as it was the only thing that worked. At 6 mo we switched to hypoallergenic formula and he got 90% better. So from 6-9 mo he has been bottle fed and still sucked himself to sleep. Honestly, I did not see a problem with this, because nap and bedtimes were quick and easy, and he slept well. Only complaint was he woke around 2am for a bottle, and woke up btwn 5:30 and 6 am. He was not eating solids from 7-9 months because he seemed to be allergic to everything, but at 9 mo we decided to reintroduce solids, and he did fine. So once he was eating more in the day, I figured he did not need to get up in the night due to hunger, and I also discovered I was pregnant, which explained why I was so exhausted and the middle of the night feeding was just not working for me anymore. So I found BW and decided to try it to get him STTN, since his eczema is so much better and I didn't need to worry about him scratching himself bloody anymore.
So now: In the last 10 days weeks we started EASY and he adapted well to the routine and after a week of PD began STTN. Instead of changing everything at once, I was still giving him a bottle with water for naps, and he would suck for a few minutes, then spit it out, I would pop him in the crib and he would fall asleep for 1hr 15 min, his usual nap length. 5 days ago, I decided the STTN was going great and it was time to tackle naps. I watch for sleepy signs (tougher to spot now that he never wants to slow down and stop playing), we go to his room, close curtains, put on lullaby, read books in nursing chair, and when he seems calm, put him in crib. He then pops up, cries hysterically, won't be soothed with words, rubbing, picking up, etc. He does best when I leave the room, but then can mantra cry for 45 min to an hour and still not sleep. He has put himself to sleep with the mantra cry, but most often after a long time he just gets upset and starts the real cry. After I go in, it's all over. He hysterical cries again, I try to PD he screams and screams. A few times he stopped screaming and started laughing at PD, thought it was a game. Basically he gets himself so upset that there really is no way he's going to calm down from this and fall asleep peacefully. And the times he has finally fallen asleep on his own he sleeps for 30-45 min, wakes crying and will not succumb to another round of PD, so I get him up after the nap period is over. So while I am so proud of him for STTN and going down for the night without sucking, naps have now become impossible. What do I do?
Our EASY (when allowing to have bottle of water to suck to sleep for nap):
e- 7:00 wake, bottle
a- 7:15-8:30 play
e- 8:30 solids
a- 9-10 play
s- 10-11:15
e- 11:15 wake, bottle
a- 11:30-12:30 play
e- 12:30 solids
a- 1-2:45 play
s- 2:45-3:45
e- 3:45 bottle
a- 4-5:30 play
e- 5:30 solids
a- 6 play a bit, start bath/bed routine
6:30 bottle (not in nursing chair, do not let him fall asleep) pop in crib by 6:45 asleep within seconds/minutes.
Since not letting him have water for naps, I am trying to stay on EASY schedule, but it definitely gets messed up because napping is so screwed up.
Should I just let him suck the water before naps? I am so tempted because it works, and he sleeps!!! This no napping is horrible for all of us! I do not want to revert to bad habits, but I just wonder what the deal is, since he responded so well to PD for nights.
