13 Month Old Sleeping Issue

I have a 20 month old who wakes up at 5 or 6 am and nurses and falls back to sleep. Even when he is half awake I put him back in his crib and he falls asleep until 830. Try putting him back in his crib. Ours did the same thing if I let him sleep with us- flailing around like a fish out of water. He didn't sleep as well in our bed and we slept horribly!

I have always co slept with my daughter and what we do now is we have her crib up against the bed and have taken the side rail down. That puts her mattress about 3 or 4 inches below mine. When she wants to nurse she comes into bed and nurses and then she rolls into her bed! SHe loves her own little space and that gives me more roon in our bed!

Hi S.,

Like anything else, this is a phase and he will go back to nursing to sleep and laying quietly after a while. I think he could be so happy to be in bed with you that he is reluctant to fall asleep because he thinks you might put him back in his lonely crib! :(

You could try and get a co-sleeper that attaches to your bed for him to go to sleep in, or you can just ride this out. He will get it eventually that this is the morning ritual, and he should just nurse and go back to sleep. :) All of us co-sleepers have gone through it. ;-)

Hi S. I guess your little fellow is not ready to go back to sleep(smile). It gets that way sometimes. My grandson occasionally goes it. He'll wake up in the wee hours in the morning and get in bed with his parents. He giggling and talking for a least two until he falls asleep. I know it hard if you work but be patient. My daughter turns on the television to the children programs(she has cable) and he'll sit in the bed and watch that. By the way he's 3 1/2 years.

Hi S.,

I don't have any answers for you (sorry), but my 18 month old sleeps with me and for a few months his game was to do head butts, particularly if he was not very tired, as the rest of us were trying to fall asleep. It's less now (now he just stands up, says "bye!" and walks out - that's how I know he's not sleepy enough!) And some nights when he wakes to nurse he doesn't fall asleep easily after, unltatching, then fussing to nurse again, several times before he falls asleep. I do get more sleep if I go to bed earlier.

Hello Mommy S., it is time to make a change! First of all, you need to change the nursing. Put it in a bottle. Second, start giving him his bottle in his bed. That way he will begin to understand that this is not playtime. It is going to be a change, but a welcomed one indeed!

My 2 1/2 year old dd is the same kind of sleeper (always has been). She just really prefers her own bed and her own space but sometimes she wants to be in bed with us. I just wait until she is almost asleep or sleeping and then move her back into her bed. I'm sure that would probably work for you too. I would jut try nursing him and then when he is settled move him back to his bed and you and he will both sleep better for the rest of the morning :)

Good luck!

Hi S.,

We also used to do some co-sleeping with our daughter, esp. in those wee hours of the morning. Once she moved to her own room, though, it didn't work as well (around 7 mos.). I would just nurse her in the glider in her room and then put her back in her crib. You could try this and see how it works... I would recommend checking out Elizabeth Pantley's No-Cry Sleep Solution for advice on transitioning away from co-sleeping (and also on gently tapering off those nighttime nursing sessions).

All the best,
R.

I hope that these resources might be helpful for you (just in case you haven't already seen them)...

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T071100.asp#T071119

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070900.asp

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T071100.asp#T071109

http://www.askdrsears.com/faq/sl3.asp

http://www.askdrsears.com/faq/sl1.asp

Best wishes for more sleep,
J.