12 month old will not sleep no matter what

[emmacatterall]

Hi there.  My lb turned one yesterday and for a few weeks we have been having terrible problems with napping.  He used to fall asleep being nursed at 9.30, after the school run, and then again between 1 and 2.30, depending on how long he had had in the morning.  However, several times over the past few weeks he has not fallen asleep despite regular nursings, car trips and pushchair walks.  Today, he finally fell asleep in the pushchair after being up for over 7 hours and it still took almost an hour of walking!

For the past 4 months we have had real issues with sleep anyway.  He has severe eczema and as a result I have resorted to nursing to sleep to prevent the scratching.  He also co-sleeps with me at night and wakes several times a night.

I don't want to do cry it out and have functioned on 3 hours sleep per night to avoid doing so.  However, I need some ideas on how to get him to have his naps.  I am sure it cannot be good for him to have only about 6 hours sleep per 24.

Can anybody suggest anything.
Thank you

[Truly Blessed]

Hello Honey,

Welcome to BW. Big (HUGS) to you, I'm sure you are at the end of your tether but these things can be put right. I am presuming that your Darling Son (DS) isn't an independent sleeper/any more in other words is able to self self and go to sleep alone. Bless his little heart suffering from Eczema, and it must be hard for you to watch him suffer  . Is it under control 

Tracey Hogg and all of us here at BW don't advocate Crying it out or controlled crying. It is proven to break trust between child and parent and isn't necessary at all to get results, so I am really pleased you haven't resorted to that  It would break your heart.

There are a few things to tackle Sweetheart but the first thing to do is to teach your precious little man how to go to sleep by himself again. This is an invaluable skill and will be key to helping him get into a routine and become a well rested happy little boy. And you need some more rest, the exhaustion is almost unbearable.

When my Son Sam started teething I resorted to feeding him to sleep which resulted in up to 6  NW a night and as soon as I put him down he was often waking straight up, I was at the end of my tether. babywhisperer.com was my saviour, so I know we can help you.

It will require commitment and determination, but once you have a plan it makes you feel so much better instantly 

I would recommend you buy the book 'The Baby Whisperer solves all your problems' if you haven't already got it  It will show you what BW is all about and also entails the different methods Tracey Hogg has to help LO's sleep.

I would recommend PU/PD training (without the pick up part as DS is older) This is a method where by you can stay with him while he is upset and it is a very gentle yet effective approach.

How much do you know about Tracey and her methods Hun 

Stick with us Hun and hang in there 

Vicki.x.

[emmacatterall]

Thank you for your reply Vicki.  You are correct in presuming that Ben is not an independent sleeper any more. 
We are beginning to get the eczema under control thank you.
I don't know much about Tracey and her methods but I have got the book on order. 
Last night, despite doing nothing differently, he actually slept from 8 until 5 but I suspect that was a one off!  However, today he has fought his nap as usual.  Hopefully the book will arrive in the next few days and I can start PUPD at the weekend.  I am also looking at the EASY schedules to see whether we can work to one of those around the school runs.

With the PUPD, will I be ok to use that for naps and when putting him to bed but then nurse him back off when he wakes initially until he gets better at independent sleeping?

Thanks again
Emma

[Truly Blessed]

Hi Emma,

With the PUPD, will I be ok to use that for naps and when putting him to bed but then nurse him back off when he wakes initially until he gets better at independent sleeping?

I'm afraid not Hun, because it sends mixed messages to DS and will only cause confusion, he won't understand why Mammy will feed him sometimes and not others and the upset would escalate.  However it is actually a good things because the more you do it over the first few days the quicker he will understand the new way. Also I couldn't believe how quickly Sam slept through the night so I'm sure you will be surprised too. It is best to start on a fresh day with the first and 2nd nap then BT. By the 2nd day he will already be well on the way  .

I will leave you to await your book, but if there is anything else I can help you with in the meantime just shout. You may find this thread interesting if you have the time to read it. It is mine when I did PU/PD with Sam. I'm hoping it will help you to feel eager to get started 

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=182328.msg2077780#msg2077780

Vicki.x.