Crib transfer after first night waking is ROUGH
I’m not really sure what’s going on with my six month old’s sleep, other than it kinda sucking. He wakes up anywhere from 6-12 times a night.
I want to start by saying that cosleeping hasn’t really worked out for us. I really wanted it to, but it results in no one getting quality sleep. He only comes into bed with us if he wakes at 5-6am and I’m trying to make it til 7am.
At bedtime, I transfer him into his crib (still in our bedroom) fully asleep. This works beautifully and his first stretch is anywhere from 1.5-3 hours.
Once he wakes up for the first time, he immediately falls asleep in my arms once I pick him up. I rock him for 10-15 minutes to make sure he’s in a deep sleep again before laying him back in his crib. I lay him back down, he briefly stirs to rub his eyes and head and then rolls to his side or belly. He will then start crying immediately or sleep 2-3 minutes before crying again. I pick him up again and we repeat the cycle for an hour and a half until he stays asleep once I lay him down. Last night this took about 8 attempts before it finally worked (and for him to only sleep 45 minutes before waking again lol).
I’ve tried rocking him for different lengths of time to make sure I’m putting him down during the “right” time in his sleep cycle. Putting him down at the start of the night and after any subsequent waking in the night is almost always fine. It’s just this first wake up that’s so difficult, and it’s really starting to wear on me since I’m already so sleep deprived.
Any tips? Leaving him to cry is obviously off the table, and I think having him sleep in his crib is the best option for us. I’m willing to try almost anything though at this point.