My 10-month old Augustino has always been an independent baby. He enjoys solo play time, exploring on his own, feeding himself, etc. This had also been true about his sleep.

We've never allowed him to sleep on our bed. When he was little, he slept on a bassinet in our room, but outgrew it in only 2 months. Since then, he's slept in his crib. He's slept through the night since he was 2 weeks old, only getting up for a bottle around 4am. About 2 months ago, we slowly weaned him off the 4am bottle, so now he gets water if he wakes up in the night for a clean diaper. This usually happens about 2-3x a week. Normally, I give him water while we change the diaper, rock and get one song, and he's back out like a light.

Then, the past 10 days have happened. He's been up between 4 and 5am EVERY MORNING. He gets a diaper, water, and I rock him while we sing our song. Then, three second I start to out him down, he starts to cry. And not fussing, or unhappy cries. Bloody. Murder. Screams. The second I pick him up, he's perfectly happy again. We rock, I sing a song, and he starts drifting off. And again, the second I start putting him down, his whole world collapses. Eventually, it's tears (me, not him), and after about an hour, he ends up in our bed. I lay down with him, and he out like a light in about 4 minutes.

I know co-sleeping is a thing, and it works for a lot of parents but it isn't an option for us. My fiance and I have struggled really hard to have it not be parts of our lives. He works unpredictable hours, often crawling into bed at 6 or 7 am, and does college full time. He needs to rest because he has such a large load on his shoulders. Personally, I'm disabled, and a) need to rest to combat the severe fatigue that comes with my disease and medications, and b) can't hold him for long periods of time without my arms going numb. The severe pain holding him in bed has caused this week has affected my work, my stress levels, and my ability to take care of him at other parts of the day.

Any other moms having a similar issue, or have gone through a similar issue? Is this separation anxiety? How did you guys work through it and get kiddo back in his crib and out of your bed?

My little broccoli monster ❤️❤️❤️