Ok Moms This Is a Hard One

my sister did the same thing, she would bring her son into bed when he would wake up at night and now he still gets into her bed and he is almost 10. I would stop this asap. It will be hard to break him of this but it has to be done. Try a night light, something to cuddle, or a warmer blanket. If that doesn't do it it will just take five or more days of sleepless nights. One thing to consider is how are his naps on those days? Good luck, any habit is hard to break.

It's an issue of expectation- and also- being comforted to sleep. He's used to waking up in the comfort of being close to you.

I suggest (frequently) that all mom's pick up the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child".... It has been my lifesaver!

Best luck!

He's probably teething. I'd let him sleep with you. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with co-sleeping. Can you imagine, being born and only in the world 8 months and being expected to sleep all by yourself? That would be so scary! He feels safe with you. Do what works - and it sounds like co-sleeping works....Mom is well rested as is baby!

Is the crib sheet rough or hot or soft cotton? Is there a crinkly or non-breathable plastic covering on the crib mattress? Does the mattress smell (sometimes they can smell things we can't and crib mattresses are one thing that do pick up or give off weird smells that are hard to get rid of)

Is the room comfortable or is his bed under the vent or where lights from outside can hit his bed (I remember one place where I'd get woken up from traffic lights hitting the side of the window and bouncing into my face even though the blinds were shut. Bought a roll of fabric and completely covered that window!) Are there noises in that room more than others (or less)?

Is he cold, is he ... ?? Put yourself in his shoes and consider the feels, smells, sensations, texture, sounds, movement, etc. If he sleeps fine other places, but not this one place.... there's something there. Moving the crib (even if into your room maybe???) might be a compromise. And a way of sorting out if it is proximity to you, the room or the crib itself that is a problem.

I began co-sleeping with my baby at around 3/4 months. He seems more comfortable and I can nurse him back to sleep if he wakes up. Lots of parents prefer to sleep with their children. I have known 4 co-sleeping children who had no trouble adjusting to their own beds when the time was right. The only downside is that you need a larger bed to accommodate everyone.

I second the no cry sleep solution....please dont let your baby cry it out:( There is a reason, teething, dark etc. They change all the time, and once you think you have it down, bam they switch:) hee hee
we co-sleep as well and are working slowly to get baby in crib....I feel it is whatever is best for the family and sleep is important:)

Here goes my guess.
a) he just doesn't like his crib, babies have weird likes or dislikes.
b) he is cold. During the day the house may warmer, your moms house is warmer and when he sleep with you guys he is warm too.
c)he is teething and he may have more disconfort at night.
Before d, question, what do you do when he wakes up? Do you feed him?
Perhaps d) is he is hungry
e) because is working! You do pick him up and bring him with you
Babies and grown ups wake up many times at night, as adults we just are use to and go back sleep, most time we don't even remember.
Babies don't know how to put them selfs to sleep, and if when he wakes up he is in crib he will want to know where are you

My daughter HATED her crib. I am a fan of co-sleeping. I breastfed, and co-sleeping made night time so much easier. At around 16 months I tried to put her in her crib, and it just did not work. I couldn't do the cry it out. It broke my heart, and I just could not do that to her. So I read The No-Cry Sleep Solution book, and it helped a lot! I got her in her crib, but by then we were getting old enough for a big girl bed. So we did the switch to a real bed and it went very smoothly. She now sleeps wonderful in her own bed. I still miss sleeping with her. It was such wonderful cuddle time! Some kids just don't like the crib. I think its cold and lonely in a crib for some babies. You have to do whats right for your family, but I don't see anything wrong with co-sleeping until your little one is ready to move to his own bed. It will come, and this time passes so fast. Why not enjoy the cuddle time while you can? Good luck!

My kids all did this at about that age. A night light did the trick for us.

Our baby just hated her crib. I mean if we picked her up and put her over it she would cry and scream. There was no other reason other then hating her crib. It started around 7 or 8 months and never got any better. I know part of it was my fault, but for reasons I could not control she slept in a bed with me frequently, and was used to that. The space, the warmth, the softness, having pillows and blankets. So, even though we hated it, we co-slept with her until she was 1 and transfered her to her own bed in her own room (and she loves it...not to mention so do we)! Good Luck.

Hm, thats interesting. If he sleeps on his own in his playpen or at your Mom's place, it can't be the co-sleeping thing (I don't think). My pediatrician advised us to spend a lot of time playing with the baby in his room/crib so that he gets used to his room as a safe place. That way, when its time for him to sleep alone in there, he's familiar with the space and it comforts him. So maybe try that for a couple of weeks if you're currently using his room only as a sleeping area and not spending quality playtime in there. Other than that the only thing I can think of is the crib mattress -- does it feel different than the one your Mom has?

I co-slept with my baby til he was 10 months old becasue I breastfed him and it was just easier if he was next to me. He also began sleeping through the night at 2 months. At 10 months old, I started to wean him and decided he should sleep in his room in his crib. I got some really good advice from a book that had a chart on how many minutes you wait before going in to check on the crying baby. It is hard to listen to your baby scream their lungs off, but after a week he/she will be sleeping through the night in their own bed. (also follow a bed time routine, like bath, book, milk, bed) The first night put baby in crib, reassure that everything is fine, you love them etc, and in 4 mins come back and check on them (this means open the door and reassure them again, not take them out) Increase the next interval by 2 mins. Every night increase the time by an extra 4 minutes. When we did this for our son, I made my man do it. I can't take my baby crying, so I went downstairs out of earshot while he cried himself to sleep. Now he is 17 months old and when I lay him in his crib, no crying at all. He sleeps from 930pm til 8 am without waking up.

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When he's at your mom's do you sleep in the same room? Is his room to quiet at night? too cold?

My guess is that it's the crib/room since he sleeps fine in other cribs. Specifically that it's the mattress (like your DH mentioned), and quite possibly that he's getting cold.

It's really important that INFANTS have a hard sleeping space, because they can smoosh their face into a soft mattress and suffocate. Once they're rolling and sitting well however... it's not a big concern.

I would try getting an eggcrate mattress pad and blanket. Also... try putting your "dirty" pillowcase on his pillow... to help with the smell. Since he's already sleeping with U2, why not try to simulate your bed as much as is reasonable?

Both of my kids did this once they got to 8 months. Same thing--they had been sleeping perfectly on their own throughout the night for months and then BAM! I went to the "books" and sure enough right at 8 months is a huge stage for separation anxiety! And if he's teething, that just adds to it.
With my daughter I started to make sure she was only drowsy after nursing at night, then I'd put her down. So, she wouldn't fall to sleep in my arms and then wake up without me. It took a bit, but it worked. We also did the cry it out thing a few times and that worked too.

Having said that, my son is a different story. More like your son. There is NO putting him down drowsy. He has to be completely passed out for at least 10/15 minutes before I can attempt to put him down and he'll stay down. He's 10 months now and it's getting better, but I'd say he wakes at least 2 times in the night (1:30am & 4:30am) and they are not times he should be nursing. But I admit I do it sometimes just to get him back to sleep. I have spent many nights sleeping on his bedroom floor with him, or letting him sleep in our bed where he'll sleep through the night. We've tried the cry it out thing with him and he does NOT give up. So, I'm at a loss with him, kind of in your situation. I just tell myself "this is a phase, he's still a baby."

Good luck!