Hi everyone. I've just joined this board, and I'm quite happy that perhaps my questions may finally have answers. This is going to be a long read, so I warn you now, lol. I just picked up Tracy's book The baby whisperer, it got recommended to me by a friend. So far, it's very interesting, but I don't know where to start and which issue to adress first, lol. I'll give you some background on my little guy and I hope I can get any imput.
My son Scotland will be 7 months on October 2. He's a big boy, already weighing 21lbs and is about 29". He has never had a set routine, except the last 2-3 months or so I've been giving him a bedtime routine of bath and then breastfed to sleep. He has never slept through the night except for twice where he slept for 8 hours straight. He get's up usually around 10am ( i know it's late, but I am NOT a morning person) and usually goes to bed around 8-9pm. My husband works late, so the only time I really get to see him is later at night, so we usually sleep a little later. Scotland is a good eater, he started on baby food about 2 months ago and hasn't had any problems since. I'm still breastfeeding and giving him solids about twice a day. My main issue is that he goes to bed around 9, wakes up at about 12-1am, then every 1-3 hours until morning and insists on eating. His wakeups are usually pretty random, but it's usually within an hour or so each night. I've created a bad habit since day one. When he used to wake in the night I would automatically feed him back to sleep, so he's soooooo used to this. I don't think he's hungry at night, but it's become such a habit that he comes to expect it. He's still sleeping in our room in his crib because he wakes so often it's just easier for both of us. When he wakes at night, I usually let him fuss a few minutes before I pick him up, then I pull him into bed, feed him (he usually nurses from anywhere between 10-15 minutes) then I put him back in his crib, put the soother in his mouth and he's back to sleep. Ultimately, I really want to get him on a "routine" of waking the same time each morning and going to bed the same time. I like Tracy's "schedule" but I"m sorry to say, I cannot wake up at 7every morning, I would never see my husband if I did. SO i'd like to stretch it till atleast 8 but ideally 9am. I don't know where to start. I don't think he's eating enough during the day, so I want to start giving him more feeds, but do I address that first, or do I start getting him to sleep alone and without any props for naps (PU/PD) and hope that he learns to stay asleep at night if his days are a little longer....I'm lost and I need help desperately. He only naps twice a day for a max of 2 hours, but I don't think there's enough of a time stretch in between. I go to school a few days a week and I can't keep living like a zombie. Any advice on what has worked for anyone here? HELP ME PLEASE! LOL :cry:
