10MO 2to1 OT NWs

[Straffles]

We're just starting with the 2 to 1 transition and DS is waking more at night and in the mornings, largely from being OT.

I always wait a bit, listen to his cry, and eventually go in and bf, then put back in cot and he usually ss quickly after a brief cry/yell.

Before we started on 2 to 1, he only usually woke once a night.

I'm wondering if I may be going in too early. I would say he is mantra crying but he is a very noisy protester and as his cries get louder, I tend to go in. My thinking is that I don't want him to become fully awake and get a worse night's sleep, especially since he's already OT. And I also will get back to bed more quickly.

So, I don't really want to change this while we're going through the 2 to 1. But do you think I should wait longer to see if he'll self settle or should I just wait until we're finished and happily on one nap before I address the bf to sleep issue?

Thank you

[becj86]

Are you BFing to sleep at every waking? Is he self settling at all at night? How would he go if you went in, gave him a cuddle or a pat as reassurance - would he SS then but without the BF?

Is his sleep environment changing from when he goes down for the night to when he wakes - is it darker so he can't see he's in the same place? Is white noise playing only for a short time while he falls asleep?

Any signs of separation anxiety in the day?

When in the night is he waking?

[Straffles]

Thanks Bec

In answer to your questions:

sleep environment is pretty consistent
no obvious signs of SA
he wakes different times every night really, but if OT, there'll be NW before 11ish too
yes I bf most times unless it's a brief NW and it's just obvious he'll go back to sleep by himself
last night I waited 7 mins until it sounded like there was no chance he'd self settle and would instead just wake up more and more and just get less sleep if you see what I mean

[Straffles]

Sorry Bec, I missed one question:

If I go in and touch Benji, pat or shh or anything, he just becomes upset He has always been best at self settling with no one in the room. We used to sit by him and hold him and it would just take him far longer to settle. That was a while ago now. But sometimes I try to calm him and it results in him waking and crying...

[becj86]

Sounds like he's trying to settle if he's getting more upset when you go in.

How's he behaving when he wakes and you know he needs a BF to get back to sleep?

[Straffles]

Hey Bec

Not sure I understand your last question?


Yes, I think he's trying to settle too, but don't know how long to wait to be honest. Middle of the night etc. etc....

[becj86]

What's he doing at those longer wakings when you go in and BF rather than the short ones when you know he'll go back to sleep?

With L, letting him settle when he was trying to was the best thing we did - practise makes perfect and he was soon settling really fast with just one or two yells.