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Hello and help!

My little 5.5 month old boy wants to be nursed to sleep and never did it for himself.. I usually enjoy nursing him but recently he started waking up after short sleep calling me to continue nursing and I dont like it at all.. Tipicly I guess..

Our bedtime routine is.. well.. nursing.. shamed to admit bat thats it. Usually we play, than take a bath which he enjoys very much, than put on his pj and nurse. And he falls asleep while nursing. Then I put him into his crib and he sleeps until 5-6am, sometimes even 7, wakes up hungry so I take him into my bed, nurse him and co-sleep till 8:30-9am. Tried to tell him a farrytales but he started crying every time so I let go. I know that he doesnt mind anything but nursing, because he sleeps the same night or day, with or without other things from our routine, even no matter light or sounds from around. I create a good sleep environment just because I think it should be like that when the baby sleeps, but it looks like he doesnt care. He just wants to nurse..

I didnt mind that until recently – he slept good at night and had a good naps during the day, so I didnt see that to be a problem. But now that is not the case. He doesnt know how to fall alleep by himself and is exosting me. I know thats gonna be a problem when he is older but dont know how to change it.

I read about schedules,  routines, and methods, but he allways cries if I try to nurse him just until sleepy and then put him down so I dont know how to try anything.. 

Tried to let him cry last night ant it turned out to to be a failure.. He cried for about 2,5h, didnt stop when I tried to soothe him without picking him up, went histerical.. when he turns on his stomack and screams there is no chance to fall alseep.. I went out letting him to cry comming back periodicly, petting him, but he was so sad I thought my heart will break.. Didnt want to give up cause that would mean he cried so long for nothing, but it seemed he will newer fall asleep alone.. Tried to give him pacifier, but he didnt want it, so at the end I helped him letting him to suck mu fingers and petting him but he wouldnt fall asleep like that if he wasnt so tired.. slept from 11pm to 6am, than wake up hungry, I took him to my bed, fed him and we slept together till 8:30. That was good but today he was so bad temperred, he didnt want to nap though I let him sleep while nursing (start with night sleep training and then do the naps, right?)

He usually never cries, he is very happy baby, so its breaking my heart i made him so unhappy without teaching him anything. Even worse, during the day he didnt want to sleep with my help either. He slept a little in my wrap when we were out (round 3pm) and was awake till 5pm, then I finally put him in my bed and nurse him to sleep – tilll 6pm. And that was all his napping for this whole day..

Tonight we did our routine – took a bath at 7pm, put on pj, nursed and I tried to put him down when he was on the edge. And he started to cry.  Cried 1.5 hour so I broke down and let him nurse to sleep.. He slept for about 20min and wake up crying for me to nurse him again.. urrrghhhhhh… let him cry again for a while, he turned on his stomack, went histerical.. I was too sorry again and took him in mu arms.. He fell asleep very soon, tired, without nursing, only with swinging.. 

I dont know should I continue thorchering my child like this.. Two days of agony and it seems that he learned nothing, it was me who put him to sleep this way or another. So Im wondering should I simply give up and keep nursing him and hope that he will learn to do it by himself some day, like all the rest of us grownups did, or to try something else.. Or continue the same next night but without helping him (I dont think I am able to do that, but I can try).. Huh…

Any suggestion will be helpfull

Yes, I read those posts, and all the other (on this subject) that I found.

I actually did something between- leaving my baby to cry for a wile than checking him out, soothing him and leaving, together with sitting on the chair by the crib while he cries.. and in the end put him to sleep without nursing but still with my help. 

Today I tried different approach – no tears, just sitting next to crib and petting him. he wasnt crying, he was so tired but didnt want to sleep, I didnt know what to do anymore. Tooked him out of the crib and rocked him to sleep. And than he woke. And all of that repeated again, and again. He has just fallen asleep couple of minuts ago, and here it is very late, its 11:40pm.

Its not working by now, but i guess i should be CONSISTENT, like you wrote, chose one metod and stick with it little longer. Ill try with no crying methods for a while, I dont like the sound of my precios child crying, and if it doest work ill try to do CIO, but this time properly.

Thank you for your help