Sleep (part 2)

This is the second post from when Jack was six months old.  It was really the time when his sleep was at its most challenging and I wasn't sure how I would survive.  

Jack is now just over six months old, and much of the time, I am still obsessed with sleep.

Here's an update on our situation.

The Positives

Sometimes it's hard for me to focus on these (especially when I'm tired) but they are there.  Jack will now nap in the car, in his stroller, and (miraculously) in a swing.  Maybe even bigger is that out of the last 3 nights, twice I have been able to put Jack to sleep in his crib and have a blissful 45 minutes to myself.  Then he's back in my arms.  Now we just have to deal with that damn first 45 minute sleep cycle... 

He usually has three naps a day (two longer and one shorter).  Each one comes after he has been awake and playing for about 2 hours.  He is a champ about bedtime.  He has a routine we follow every night, and he gets it, so there's almost no fussing or crying at all (but that took time).  His nights usually go from 7 pm to 7 am (give or take) but he still wakes up ever 2 or 3 hours to nurse or just be soothed back to sleep (about 5 minutes each time).

Areas for Growth

At first, I was going to call this "The Negatives", but that doesn't really help anyone feel good, so I renamed it with wording from my report-card writing days.  The biggest one is that sometimes I have a hard time not second guessing myself.  When I'm my most tired and unhappy, I start to feel like I've created this problem, and could have had a baby who slept perfectly if I hadn't screwed it up.  Truth is, Jack is who he is.  He came this way, and I've done the best I can to figure him out as we go.

He's still sleeping in my bed every night, though I would like that to change sooner rather than later.  He has also been going through a phase (off and on) for the last month where he has nights (often many of them in a row) where he is wide awake in the middle of the night and wants to play.  Not cool, small boy.  In the last week or so, I've found a way to deal with him that helps me stay calm and not get frustrated [I can't remember what my method was, but I think this was when I decided just to get up and watch tv with him in the middle of the night until he was sleepy instead of spending and hour and a half actively trying to get him back to sleep when he was WIDE awake].  Jahn is also an amazing support when I've reached the end of my rope.  

The last two months have been hard,