Hi! I just read Tracy's book and am new to this website. A little background on our sleep issues first: I'm a first time mom, husband works from 7am-8:30pm 7 days a week on most weeks during football season (he's a coach at the university). So, dad's not here to help out much. My mother died a couple of years ago, so she's not around to help. All other family members are either very hands-off, or not in the same state as we are. Just moved to a new city, so haven't made close friends yet.
When we first had pete, i was all about the attachment parenting. I did the on-demand feeding, and we co-slept for the first 6 weeks of his life. By that time i was ready to pull out my hair and throw either him or his dad against the wall!! So, i put him on a feeding schedule, and 5 days later he was sleeping 5 hour stretches (prior to that, we were lucky to get a 2 hour stretch, and that would only be on my chest -- was never able to put him down). At 6 weeks, we moved him into his bassinet, and that was a big transition. At around 2.5 months, i started trying to get him to take naps somewhere other than my chest -- his bassinet or crib, and that too was a big transition. At 3 months, we moved him into his crib in his own room (not a big transition) for naps and bedtime. Since then, he's been eating well, and sleeping well.
Hoewver, the issue that i would like to fix at this point is this: Before his naps or bedtime, i've got to rock him in a recliner for anywhere from 2 mins to 30 mins (bedtime is usually 30 mins) until he falls asleep on my chest. Then i gently put him down in his crib and leave the room. If i try to put him down before he's really asleep, he wakes fully up, and wants to play -- he doesn't cry, but wants to play, and won't nap. I saw in tracy's book she said to pick him up and soothe him when he cries, and then put him back down once he's soothed, and do this over and over until he sleeps. However, pete doesn't cry, he just plays. Maybe if i let it go for 20 mins he'd start to cry, but if i did that over and over, after 3 tries, it would be time to eat again! I have actually tried just leaving him, figuring that he would go to sleep eventually, but after 10 mins, he's still scooting around in his crib, talking to himself or sucking on his blanket.
Last question is: he sleeps fairly well at night -- goes down around 8:30-9pm, i'll go in and dreamfeed him at around 10-10:30, and then i dont' feed him again until at least 6am. However, he usually wakes up at 5am, and plays in his crib. I'll only go in if it's after 6am, or if he starts to cry, however i'd like to figure out a way to get him to sleep longer. Everything i read says that a 5-6 month old should be able to sleep 10 hours at night. With his waking up at 5am, that means that i'm listening to him through the baby monitor for an hour, thus not really sleeping. Hence, i'm getting 6 hours of sleep every night (which isn't bad, but it's not great, especially every night). I know i'd be a lot better off if i could get 7-8 hours of sleep in one stretch.
thanks for your help.
amy