sleep issue - i'm finally losing my patience!

[almostmom]

Ahh, the coveted advice of the baby bargains crew! I feel like I need it now more than ever.

My son is almost 6 months old, and he's been a good sleeper most of his life. The problem now is GETTING him to sleep, as he's just decided to stop taking his pacifier. Basically, I wanted him to get rid of it around this time anyway, but he can't get to sleep without it! He's usually tired around 7:30, but if he doesn't fall asleep when I feed him, he cries when we put him in his crib, or lies there wide awake, then cries. If he doesn't go to sleep then, he's awake until around 9:00 with us when my husband usually then puts him in a stoller and walks him around the house until he goes to sleep (our house isn't very big, he strolls him around a center "island" - if I tried it I'd crash at every tight corner!)! I feel like he needs to now learn to go to sleep on his own, but I feel so helpless! How can he learn this? I feel like I have no tools in my pocket...

Once he goes to sleep, he either wakes up once to feed, or sleeps until the morning. So he can put himself back to sleep, but it's the getting there that's the problem. Naps are also becoming an issue because of the lack of pacifier help these days...

I'm looking for advice from all of you experienced moms our there! I thought my patience was never-ending, but last night I was really ready to scream or cry when he fell asleep nursing, and then woke up crying when I put him in bed for the 3rd time.

Thanks!!!!

[cchavez]

Does he have a routine at bedtime?? Bath, books and music??? That seems to help. Maybe you can introduce a lovey now? A routine helps for naps too sometimes,,,,,, but my son is a terrible napper. hth

[almostmom]

Not really a routine. He eats some food at 6:30, then we try and play quietly. sometimes he has an evening bath, which does make him go down easier, but he's still fed to sleep. he has a stuffed animal that i think is a good size and all for him. maybe i'll encourage it? and i'll try reading him a story, as he does love that during the day. Do you read to him in his crib?

thanks--

[papal]

Do you think he might need to 'upgrade' from an infant pacifier?? Just a thought because i saw pacifiers for different stages (infant, 6 months etc...) at the Target yesterday.

[almostmom]

The new pacifier is worth a try. He has the 3-6 month ones now. But really, I'd rather he got rid of it! Though he only uses it for sleep... i'm heading to BRU after work today - maybe I'll pick up some bigger ones to try. Thanks.

[cchavez]

Diego doesn't get a bath everynite. But our routine is: dim lites w/ soft music playing, change into pj's, we sit on glider while either I or DH reads him a book, then he gets his bottle and we put him in bed. Lights out and the music plays for 30 minutes. Usually he is asleep w/in 10-15 minutes but lately it has been 30 minutes. Anyway, as soon as we sit on the glider, we give him his lovey which we introduced at around 6 months. Also for about the first 5 months of his life I had to rock him until he got drowsy and then I put him in his crib....drowsy but awake. We hardly ever let him CIO to fall asleep at bed time I think we did it once or twice but he only cried for about 5 minutes. We did have to let him CIO for naps but to this day he still is a difficult napper......hth