She actually will fall asleep with him sometimes, provided she has a full belly already LOL. Every once in a while (rare but it does happen) she'll even let me rock her to sleep without nursing.:D How you lay yours down awake is how I started her going down awake back when she did. I just tried it one day and it worked! But now she is mobile so that throws a wrench into things and I can't do it like I did before..:glare: LOL they'd love that!!!:D

We did something similar with "yeller baby" I mentioned earlier. I figured out that she was eating so much at night that she wasn't really willing to nurse very much during the day. So Daddy would hold her at night when she woke to help her stop nursing at night (so she'd actually eat during the day when she was supposed to!). Unfortunately he is no longer in the Army and we see him much less. (Ironic, huh?:glare:) His job is way more stressful now, and he's gotten cranky in his old age.:lol::lol::lol: So I'm not sure how well the Daddy Method would work for us. I do like it the best because like you said, they might be fussing but they aren't fussing ALONE. I've done similar things with my other kids (but it was me, not my husband, and it was during the day), but they were much older, like 18 months. Did you have trouble with your dd growing dependent on your husband to fall asleep? I can foresee that being a problem here. I'm still trying to break my 5yo of Daddy snuggle time before bed LOL. When he's not here for bedtime (at least once a week) it can be a very sad time.;)

Since we have a fan on high literally right next to her bed, I doubt that we're waking each other up. I hear ya. Yeah, I'm wondering if this is a bad age. I really should have done this BEFORE she could pull up.:glare: Of course, she went to sleep on her own a couple months ago too so.... She does both - nurses when she wakes up and right before she goes down, since she is awake for so long at a time now. I'm a HUGE proponent of the feed/wake/sleep cycle.:D (But then when they move to only 2 naps I tend to do feed/wake/feed/sleep just so they don't go a long time between nursings.)

I think that is the plan. I recently discovered that the crib and the pack & play should fit in the same spot. Yay! Hopefully she won't pull what my 2nd best sleeper did...when she was an infant her crib was in our room (no space), and she would wake up at night and yell at us from across the room. Not fuss...yell. LOLOL. She got moved to the dining room at night.:lol:

Oh she is on a sleep schedule already for the most part. Schedules are my life since I have so many kids.:lol: I'm curious how your boys have been handling her shrieking at night (didn't you say they all share a room?). That has been part of the issue here. It is not uncommon for one of my olders to say the next day, "What on EARTH was the baby's problem last night???????" We have huge box fans in everyone's rooms to drown out the noise, but she still wakes them up. I've tried that sort of thing with other kids, and I'd like to think it worked...I'm not sure if it did or if it just took so long that they naturally got older and grew out of it. I like the *idea* of it for sure though! Logistics are tough. Currently her crib is in her sisters' room. Prior to all this cosleeping nonsense she had been sleeping in the pack & play in our room while we waited for her to start sleeping better (oh, the irony). I've been told by people (who of course know better than I do;) ) that that is why she has sleep trouble - I hear her and get her too quickly. I have a box fan on high in my room to drown out noise (and so we don't wake her up). My main reason for having her in with us though is so she doesn't wake up her sisters. My 5yo is HIGH MAINTENANCE when it comes to sleeping (I think we've finally gotten her to quit climbing into bed with us!), so I DO NOT want her to be woken up at night! Then of course there is the time issue. I don't have the time to devote to hours during the day getting her to go to sleep in her crib or at night dealing with her. I have absolutely zero "margin" in my life. (But that's probably another post for another time.;) ) BUT I'm guessing that is one reason why we are here now...since I am stretched so thin I took the easier but worse path. So I may have to just suck it up, figure out what to do with the other kids' school for a week (again...I'm so TIRED of their school getting interrupted because of baby issues), and deal with her. Sigh.

That's actually how it started out. I'd put her in bed and she'd drift off to nighty-night land (OK during the day it was nappy-nap land LOL). She'd just lie there looking at the window. So lovely. I have NO clue how we got where we are now. I actually don't "wait" for her to fall asleep - she usually just passes out while she's nursing (if it's time to sleep). So are you suggesting to not let her fall asleep nursing?:confused:

I started to type out this incredibly long and (more than likely) unnecessary post about my baby and her sorry sleep habits. I'll spare the gory details unless anyone asks about them. The current situation: baby is 10.5 months old. She cosleeps only because I know if I get up with her I'll just pass out in the chair while I nurse her. I do NOT WANT to cosleep...I don't think it creates any better of a "bond," and in our case it HURTS our "bond," so I want to get her OUT of my bed. She wakes multiple times even while in my bed. It has now gotten to the point where she will not nap in her own bed, she certainly won't sleep in there at night. The last few days she barely will sleep with my husband in bed either. Basically it has gotten to where my life revolves around trying to get her to nap or sleep at night. I have 7 other children and a husband who is gone from 7 am to 8:30ish pm. I homeschool 6 of the children and have a home business. I CAN. NOT. allow her sleep "needs" take priority over everything else I have to do. Sure, they weigh in, but they no longer can overshadow everything in our home. I got 4 hours of broken sleep last night. Sadly that is the norm. Something has to change. While I am not a fan of cosleeping (it has always been a disaster with our family...this kid is not the first to have sleep problems due to cosleeping...she's just the worst and I have the least time to deal with it), I'm not a fan of crying it out either. But I have no idea what else to do. I've read Pantley (that book was an absolute JOKE), Ferber, Weissbluth, Babywise, Baby Whisperer, and Sears (at least enough to throw his book in the trash since it was completely unrealistic...and that was back when I only had ONE!). I have prayed for wisdom. I have listened to my instincts. Of course, my "instincts" are what led us here, I'm afraid. And I don't know where to go from here. She USED to go down for naps well. She USED to sleep all night as a newborn. She now flips out if I lay her in bed, even if she is already asleep. The moment she hits the bed she freaks. The only way I can get her to nap (and she HAS to nap) is in her swing. Anyway...anyone else here have a recovering cosleepaholic? How did you help your little one break the addiction? My 7th baby was a fantastic night sleeper...but he didn't nurse (got breastmilk form a bottle). So the all-night milk buffet wasn't available. That makes weaning #8 so appealing, but I can't bear to do that either (I fully intend to nurse until she's at least 2). Suggestions?

:iagree: I'll spare you the annoying details behind our current home purchase, but the overly brief story is that I finally agreed to this house because it was relatively inexpensive (so we could get a 15-year mortgage) and we had some money left over from the sale of our previous home that we could use to make the changes. So we bought it. Then my husband's transmission died.:glare: Then we discovered that he work hours for his new job were not nearly at all what we thought they were going to be, so he had no time. :glare: We could afford for HIM to do the work (and he does have the skills), but not hire it out.:glare: We have been here 4.5 years and have done SOME (new windows, new stove, new dishwasher, new roof, currently painting the exterior, new bathtub and tile in a bathroom, new smaller things like light fixtures, ceiling fans, etc.). But we have a TON left to do before it will be what we'd like it to be (new kitchen cabinets, all new flooring because the carpets are disgusting, paint the interior, redo all 3 bathrooms and finish the 4th in the basement, new landscaping). I actually took some "before" photos before we moved in, because I was so excited about what all we were going to do with it.:glare: Never again. (Now, if we had the money to hire out OR if my husband weren't gone from the house 7 am - 8:30 pm everyday, it might be a different story.)

Holding her may be an option. She is nearly walking, so I'm not comfortable having her on the bed alone. I'm also not comfortable having her on the floor because of my mother's dog.:tongue_smilie: I may sit down and figure out what sort of plans I have for while I'm there...maybe I can time some car travels so they coincide with her usual nap times??? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I bring my stroller that holds my car seat (which really is the plan because I REALLY would prefer to use the car seat on the plane for safety reasons), I can lay her down in the stroller to nap. DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OK! Pack & Play problem solved! Off to e-mail my mom LOL! Oof. $39 is still expensive to me for a 2-day trip, BUT I also know that I am INCREDIBLY (ridiculously so) cheap.:lol:

Yeah, unfortunately I'm not able to get away sooner because of my husband's job. I'm flying out the morning of the reunion. A friend of mine from high school lives near me now, and they had offered to let me ride with them, but they are leaving a couple days ahead (since it's about a 15-hour drive). Can't do that. :( :confused: I would only have the stroller and my carry-on with me in the terminal...nothing more than when I'm normally bee-bopping around town with the baby. Am I misunderstanding/not realizing something? The car seat is the main issue...we fly there so seldom that it would be kind of dumb for my mom to buy a car seat. (This trip is an extremely rare occurrence...the last time I flew there was 6 years ago.) Borrowing one is sort of nerve-racking since I don't know my mom's friends and whether they have a clue about car seats.:blush: What did you do about naps when you didn't have someplace for the baby to sleep?

Yes, ours does.:001_smile: Mine can TOTALLY hold down the fort, especially when everyone is sleeping. But suffice to say, my husband will not be willing to take me to the airport at oh-dark-thirty so I can go to this. I'm stunned he's even letting me go. He's even talking about it (usually he's in denial whenever I've done something like this) and asked me if I could get together with his parents so they can see the baby. I figure I need to not rock the boat by asking him to take me to the airport too.;) Finding the cart is the issue.;) I've asked my mom to see if some of her friends might have one; she's checking around. Ours is a major airport - it's actually a hub. But I've never seen a cart LOL. Running in and back out is definitely an option - one I hadn't considered! I'm fully intending to use the car seat if there is one available. That is why I'm gate-checking it. If the flight is full I'll check it. If it is not I will try to get an empty seat next to me to put her car seat in. We live about 30-45 minutes from the airport. Getting back from baggage claim to my vehicle is another issue, not just getting there. :001_huh:Wow, I've never considered them breaking things! Yikes! I haven't quite figured out what all I'll need to bring, but you're right - I might be able to get away with just one carry-on as my suitcase. I'm used to traveling with 8 kids, so just 1 is throwing me for a loop a bit.:lol: I might ask my mom if she might borrow a car seat from someone, but that's always sort of scary. I DIDN'T KNOW THIS! THANK YOU! (I'm flying Southwest...that's not your airline, is it?;) ) This is very good to know (and very enlightening:001_huh:). Yes, this is the plan. Yeah, that's what the TSA site said. Yes, definitely. The site said to simply present all my "exempt" items (milk, ice packs) for inspection when I get to the checkpoint, so that is the plan...just gonna lay it all out there LOL. The people behind me are gonna be SO thrilled.:lol:

Yes, I've already looked up the regulations regarding frozen breastmilk and the ice packs to keep it cold, and I'll be printing off the pages from the TSA website to show any potentially ignorant TSA person.:glare: (I have to bring it with me because my mom will be babysitting my dd during my reunion.) Getting to or through the airport isn't a problem...getting from the vehicle to the check-in desk (and from baggage claim to the vehicle) is the problem. Basically I need 3 arms.:lol: My husband does, and he says he doesn't think there is anything. I've flown out of there several times, and I've picked him up a few times, and I've never noticed anything either. That's a possibility...of course then that would bring up, "Why can't your husband help you?":tongue_smilie:

Medical insurance, retirement, and an amount to go into our HSA are automatically deducted from dh's paycheck. Here is the rest of the breakdown: Giving: 11% Clothing: 2% Debt payments (student loans & one credit card): 9% Food (groceries and eating out): 14% Mortgage: 17% Other housing expenses (furniture, repairs, etc.): 3% Personal stuff (toiletries, homeschooling, gifts, miscellaneous, etc.): 17% Recreation: 1% Transportation (car payments, gasoline, car repairs, registration): 14% Utilities: 7% Savings: 5%

At night that's what will happen since that's what we do normally (as much as I hate it:glare: ). But naps and stuff will be tricky. It's a slightly possible option though. Transporting the baby isn't so much the issue as much as transporting the pack & play and the car seat. Oh, so you're saying to check the car seat as baggage? It's an infant seat. That was my first question for my hubby, and he doesn't think there are. I don't remember seeing any either, but I've never been paying attention or LOOKING for one either.

Wow, great ideas!!!!! I'll play around with my stroller and see if I can hook my suitcase onto the handles - hadn't thought of that! But I like your sky cap idea too! I will have to have a carseat on the other end. I'm allowed 2 bags, which are my suitcase and pack & play, so I will have to bring the stroller the car seat goes into, to check at the gate.

I'm staying with my mom. They don't have a pack & play, but maybe she could borrow one? That kind of gives me the heebie jeebies LOL, but maybe I can get over that. I REALLY like the idea to wear the baby and use the stroller to transport the P&P....:D Thanks! (and keep ideas coming!)

I was exactly like this with my 6th pregnancy. Started showing super early, my morning sickness kicked in 2 weeks earlier than usual, and if I remember correctly my pregnancy test came back as positive several days before my cycle was due to start. She is a singleton (but boy oh boy does she cause enough trouble to be two!!!!!).

(My question is probably not what you're thinking LOL!) In a couple weeks I'll be flying to attend my high school reunion. I'm taking my will-be 11mo. I'll have her stroller and car seat that I'll use to push through the airport, and I'll check those at the gate. I will also have a suitcase for the 2 of us and her pack & play that I will check as baggage (yay Southwest!). I've got all the logistics figured out EXCEPT how to get from my vehicle to the baggage check-in (and when I come home, from baggage pick-up to my vehicle). My stroller and suitcase have wheels, but the pack & play does not. My flight leaves at 6 am, so I'll have to be there at some crazy hour to check-in. Consequently I need to figure this out on my own so my husband doesn't have to bring me (I don't want to ask him since I'm pushing my luck going in the first place....). Suggestions on how I might be able to do this?:confused:

Me. Let's see...4 times. All were singletons.

I can see that! Or 2 middle names...I've always wondered which one people put as their middle initial LOL! We've never had trouble with doctors, insurance, etc. Anything "official" like that uses my son's first name. The only time it caused confusion was before he was old enough to realize that when they called his first name, they meant HIM. LOL

This actually is how we function for regularly occurring activities. For example, my oldest is involved in AWANA and Young Marines. (I've actually tried to encourage him to get involved in Taekwon-Do, but he has no interest. He has been involved in other sports as well, but they sort of fell flat.) My 14yo is in AWANA and Taekwon-Do. My 12yo just does AWANA, but she has been able to do things like cake decorating classes, etc. My littles just come along OR they stay home with any bigs who aren't involved. I'm most talking about "bigger" things...field trips, vacations, etc.:001_smile:

We call our oldest son by his middle name. He is a third, and we didn't really like any of the alternative names for what his first name is. (Truth be told, it's not a name I would have chosen ever, but the pressure was on for a third since my husband is a junior, and I had no backbone back then so there ya go.) It's not a problem at all. Probably the only thing that gets confusing is when he's supposed to initial something - he's not sure what to put. But that's also him...he's not very intuitive and often assumes the wrong things about a situation. So when he sees "initial here" he thinks he's supposed to put all 3 initials plus an III.:tongue_smilie: I DO regret naming him a third, however. He, my husband, and my father-in-law (who lives in another state!) are always getting things confused. My husband gets my fil's AARP mail. I'm sure it's going to be an issue whenever my son is an adult. In YOUR situation, I'd totally go with your regular Biblical first name and then call him by his middle name.:D

We have the kit from Timberdoodle, and my sons love it! It comes with a web cam. There are detailed instructions in the book on how to use it. Basically you set up your scene in front of your camera, click a button on the program on the computer, move your thing, click again, move your thing again, click again, etc. It's a great beginner kit!

LOL I totally missed the whole "hotel" part of your earlier post. I was imagining one of those water park places with my 2yo on a lounge chair, my 10mo in a stroller, with some teeny-bopper sitting with them while they "napped". Hence why I said it would so not fly.:lol::lol::lol:

I only have 1 that would nap at some place like that, and honestly I doubt she would actually nap. She'd just scream instead. What an interesting idea! Do you bring your regular microwave? Or do you have a small one that you bought just for camping? :lol: Nah. He'll thoroughly enjoy his weekend alone. Now THAT is an IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:lol::lol::lol: