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Bedtime routine not really working any more - what to do?
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Anonymous
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For the past 7 months or so I have been giving DD (who is 10 months) a bath around 6 then nursing her to sleep. She usually falls asleep by 630. However, last night and tonight she has been wide awake after nursing, smiling, crawling around on the bed, trying to stand up, biting any part of me that she can, and not falling asleep until 745. She woke up at her usual time this morning.
Has anyone experienced anything similar? What did you do? Should I try pushing her bath and bedtime later? |
Anonymous
Do you co-sleep? DS (11 months) had a short stint when he would do the same after nursing--smile and talk to me. It was so cute. I put him into his crib anyway and he would go into his crib without argument and eventually fall asleep without a fuss. It sounds like you co-sleep (if she has room to crawl around) so I don't know you'd handle the safety aspect. But DS has been doing to sleep at 6:30 (and sleeping for 12 hours) since 6 months old so we're sticking with it! You're little one could also be coming up on some milestone and she's so excited she can't sleep. |
Anonymous
| Yes, we've had the same routine for the past six months (DD is 9 months), and occasionally, there's a blip. It could be a growth spurt, developmental change (you mentioned standing up), or anyone's guess. Who knows what's going on in those little bodies and brains. I wouldn't worry about it or break the routine at this point. In all likelihood, it will work out, and she'll return to normal. Sounds like you're handling it well, and she's not in distress, so I'd ride it out. |
Anonymous
| How long is her afternoon nap? |
oona.schmid@gmail.com
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This is so interesting. I could have written your post.
Starting one week ago, my DS (9 months today) seems like he gets a "second wind" mid-bedtime ritual. His eyes pop open, even if he had been rubbing his eyes and ears like mad just a few minutes earlier. He wants to crawl around the bedroom and touch everything, pull all his books off his bookcase, and stops all his sleepy cues. We've been letting him stretch out his "bedtime" because he's not tired and, if we put him into his crib, he howls in misery. But I'm really interested in what's going on in his cute little baby brain? Is he just excited at all the new stuff he's learning? He truly doesn't seem tired, because after 45 minutes of exploration and grins, peekaboo, and touching all his objects, he then goes back to his sleepy cues and we resume his ritual and he goes down... We're just choosing to ride it out. I personally toss and turn if I go to bed when I'm not tired, so I can't see the logic of trying to make him sleep when he's just plainly not going to sleep. |
Anonymous
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Interesting. DD will be 9 mos this week, and she's also exhibited this behavior, giving all the sleepy cues, clearly feeling exhausted, and then screaming bloody murder when we put her in the crib to sleep. Now that she can pull up, she'll kneel in the crib and rattle the bars like a prisoner. We have a video monitor, so it's crushing (and a little bit entertaining) to watch her.
Our theory is that she's so much more engaged with the world now that she's crawling, standing, babbling, etc. that she feels cheated when she's left alone in her room. We're not sure what she understands about what we do when we leave ("ooh, are they having fun without me downstairs?"), or whether she's just mad that we're gone. Going to sleep later doesn't result in a later wakeup time, unforch, so we're basically re-Ferberizing her. The first few nights, she carried on for a while, but the last few nights, she's put up 5 minutes of fuss or less, so she's re-learning how to put herself to sleep. Naptime has also become a real issue on weekends, though our daycare says she's napping OK there...anyone else having this problem during the day? |