HELP--DS refuses to go to sleep!

[HIU8]

DS, for the last month, will not put himself to bed. It has gotten so bad now that it takes 3 hours, a lot of crying and a bottle to get him to pass out and go to sleep. What do I do? Someone suggested the Ferber method. Others have told me it's harsh and I should use another method. DH and I need to do someting. DS screams at the top of his lungs and holds his breath. As soon as he is away from his room this stops. Also, he will put himself down for a nap, but never to go to bed at night. We used to let him get tired out in the jumperoo, but he really isn't interested in that anymore. DH and I don't get to spend any time at night together. We never get DS to sleep before 11 pm. This all started about a month ago when DS had an ear infection--which the doctor told us is completely cleared up now.

DH and I really want DS to learn how to put himself down. He doesn't do pacifyers--never liked them, so they don't work. Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks,
Heather
DS 11/27/04

[Aunt to sweet baby boy]

Does your ds sleep alot during the day? Is it possible that he is sleeping to much during the day and is not tired at night? Right now he is probably going through the attachment period where he does not want to be alone, same as my dn is going through. When he was sick did you spend more time with him or cuddle more? Maybe he needs a longer transition at night, bath, story, book, song etc.

My dn has been having a hard time sleeping so my sister has started a routine:

Between 7-7:30 she gives him a bath, rubs him with baby oil/lotion, gets him into his pjs, reads him a story and sings him a few songs while he is drinking the bottle in her arms. When dn has finished the bottle he is layed in his crib with his stuffed dog and kissed good night. He will often cry for 1-2 minutes before falling asleep, sometimes it will be 1/2 hour. He sometimes will wake up in the middle of the night and my sister lets him cio. It has gotten much better since she has let him cio. She used to go in and take him out, give him a bottle etc but he would just want to stay up longer and play. He then will wake up between 6-7 and drink a bottle and usually will go back to sleep for another hour to hour and a half.

You can pm me if you want more info.

HTH

[KrisM]

Is he teething?

Is he overtired? That's how DS acts when he hasn't had enough sleep during the daytime and we've kept him up too late.

No other suggestions. I hope you get this figured out!