pssst: I'm still giving Stuart a bottle at night, with singing and rocking. Every time we go to change the routine, he's either sick or we're traveling or whatever. So here we are, 26 months, and still on the bottle - but only at night, only in my arms, and yeah, I do think it's the same as nursing to sleep *in this context*. We've started telling him about the bottle fairy (and the paci fairy) that comes to take the bottles from big boys so they can be given to new babies who need them, and leaves a prize behind. This seems to be the more popular way to deal with kids who are using bottles (or pacis) and are old enough to really pitch a fit when it's taken away.
Also, and you KNOW this, you are NOT a bad mama - you just have a very troubling situation. Babies can pick up on our stress, which stresses them out, and then there's developmental leaps, teething, allergies, separation anxiety, even night terrors - lots of things to throw them off their sleep patterns.
How old is Gus again? I wonder if you might try just one nap, instead of two? Just a thought... also, I definitely endorse the idea of moving up bedtime by 20/30 minutes (maybe 2 times even), to see if that helps. We find that if we get him down by 9, we're golden, after that and it's a bit of a crap shoot. Also, we can't let him sleep past 5 anymore, where before he could nap till 6 or later and still be mostly fine. It's always a period of adjustment with that one!
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Date: 2008-08-22 03:53 am (UTC)Also, and you KNOW this, you are NOT a bad mama - you just have a very troubling situation. Babies can pick up on our stress, which stresses them out, and then there's developmental leaps, teething, allergies, separation anxiety, even night terrors - lots of things to throw them off their sleep patterns.
How old is Gus again? I wonder if you might try just one nap, instead of two? Just a thought... also, I definitely endorse the idea of moving up bedtime by 20/30 minutes (maybe 2 times even), to see if that helps. We find that if we get him down by 9, we're golden, after that and it's a bit of a crap shoot. Also, we can't let him sleep past 5 anymore, where before he could nap till 6 or later and still be mostly fine. It's always a period of adjustment with that one!
Good luck mama!