I don’t know how to get my son to sleep
Just wanted to vent about my 6mo old son. I love him, he’s the best thing to happen to me. His smile brightens my day, brings me such joy and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him. That being said this guy fucking hates his crib. We’ve attempted to sleep train him for weeks and he hated it. Did not work. He wakes every few hours. I just flipped roles with mom. I’m fortunate to being to spend a month with him and I’m now the SAHD for a couple weeks. Mom needs to get up in the morning and I want her to sleep.
Problem #1: Because he’s so tall, and is trying to stand in his crib, we have it on the lowest setting. It’s just more distance for him to have a startle reflex when he’s drowsy. Soon as he hits the mattress, he’s livid. Crying for 30-45 mins straight if we don’t intervene.
Problem #2: I think he’s very intelligent and understands his environment. This is not a problem problem (long term) but I fear we’re doing harm psychologically because associates things so well. Example, getting ready for bed. We can do a bath, he’s happy but as soon as we put him in pajamas or sleep sack, it’s bloody murder. He has such negative emotions towards sleep and I don’t know how to break it. This has been going on for multiple weeks now. I fear he’s already started separation anxiety like he knows we’re about put him in his crib and leave him and that destroys him. Even when we put him in a play pen, he’ll sometimes start to break down because he’s confined and can’t see us for a minute. Like full tears, like he thinks we abandoned him when I’m in the kitchen 7ft away.
Problem 3: I don’t want to contact nap with him forever. I may have a big role to play in this as I rocked him to sleep when he was younger. He’s only gotten more affectionate in his naps, I can now feel him holding and embracing me, so I know he feels safe and secure. He prolly loves it but he’s got to learn how to sleep on his own. We tried the check in method, it only triggered him more every time he saw us/felt our presence. The cry it out method not my go to. It’s never fun, but there’s gotta be a limit, 30-40 mins is as long as I’ll go which seems excessive.
I’m sure people have gone through this and it might be something I have to deal with and it’ll phase out. But anything helps. Like any tricks to make sleeping in a crib fun. Or just getting your baby to self soothe better