Bedtime, Eating, & Sleep Update

Hudson is now 15 months old and bedtime and sleep are still a struggle each and every day. It literally takes me an hour each night to put him to sleep, and you can bet that I have tried everything possible to make this go faster, but there is no rushing that little guy. I have tried earlier bedtime, later bedtime, a bath, lotion massage, holding him tight, deep breathing, singing, pretending I am asleep, etc. and no go each time. Now Todd can get him to go to sleep in about 15 minutes, I seriously have no idea how he does it, now of course I have asked and he has told me...but it has not worked for me. I think because Todd is very naturally calm it helps make Hudson calm...and because I seem to be more high strung, Hudson just seems to get hyper...like I have given him a bottle full of sugar, which I can assure you that I have not! 

(On the bright side Hudson starting at 12 months old, has started to have a nap anywhere between 1-3 hours each day...now that I think about it, maybe the common denominator for not sleeping has been me! because he started napping as soon as I went back to work!)

I mostly feel bad for Loralai since she seems to get the short end of the deal, either I put her to bed first and Hudson crawls around, tries to eat everything, cries because he wants to leave the room, etc. all while I try and read a book or chat with her a few minutes; OR I put Hudson to bed which takes me an hour, and then I go in and sometimes she is asleep already, or she feels like she gets the short end of the deal because I spend 20 minutes with her, and Hudson got an hour...

Now I choose to co-sleep, I did with Loralai all the way up until she was 4, and I have chosen to do the same with Hudson. Some people may think that this is the problem, but Loralai was an excellent sleeper when I put her to bed...just goes to show how children can be so different even though being raised the same. 

Hudson is also just starting to eat regular food, up until about a week a go, he had very little interest in picking up food and eating it, or basically eating any food that had more texture than a puree. So I have kept him on formula because I wanted to make sure that he was getting all the nutrients that he required to grow and thrive. I did introduce homogenized milk, and he took to it great as well, but he still receives formula. I may over the course of the next few weeks start weening him off of formula, but that will all be depended on how well he continues to eat food. 

Each and every night he still wakes up between 1-3am to drink a bottle, although frustrating as it is to me being woken up by a toddler at 15 months old that still does not sleep through the night, it is more important to me that he receives enough nutrients, so if that means waking up in the middle of the night to feed him a bottle, then that is what I will have to do. Again, I have tried to feed him more food at dinner, but he will not eat more than he wants.  On the different spectrum, Loralai started took very well to eating regular food, and I switched her from formula to homogenized milk on her first birthday and never looked back...interesting how completely different they are. 

I am also an advocate for not forcing, so I will continue to take his lead when it comes to bottles, and eating. I do not want to inadvertently create any unhealthy habits because I forced. He will be ready when he is ready...it is not like he will start school and be drinking formula and eating purees! I will tell myself that on the days when I get frustrated...because it is the truth!