Stopped going down to sleep after a cold & teeth

[Daffodilly]

DD is 8 mths and mostly over the past several months has been pretty good about putting herself to sleep at bedtime and most daytime naps - if I catch her at the right time.

However, over the past 10 days it has all gone wrong. She had a bit of a cold and also her first two bottom teeth have come through. She was very hard to settle in this time and we had to rock/shhh/pat her to sleep.

The cold has gone but the trouble settling hasn't! I go through the same bedtime routine we've always had but she no longer seems able to put herself to sleep. She will cry like the world is ending as soon as I put her down and stops just fine when I pick her up again.

I don't know what to do to "re-train" her. I don't want to leave her crying as she just works herself into a frenzy. But I feel by keeping on rocking her to sleep we are just reinforcing the problem. Plus at 21lbs I simply can?t hold her and rock her to sleep for up to 30 mins several times a day!

Has anyone been through this ? any suggestions?

Daff

[stormy06]

yep my dd did exactly the same and i let her fall asleep on my knee and what a nightmare i was still doing it when she was 20 months old sometimes not gettin her to bed till after half ten so my advice is try the controlled crying route put her down when she starts to cry first time go in settle her then walk out next time leave her 5 mins 2 if u really cant bare it but gradually build it up it does work i did it with my first i was soft with my second it might take a week though but u dont want the same problems that i had so i would nip it in the bud now!!

[Daffodilly]

I guess that is my fear that we will set a pattern now that is hard to break.

Though last night she changed the rules of the game again. She went down OK and then woke at 10PM and was hard to settle - fine when I was holding her and could be rocked to sleep but just wouldn't stay asleep when put down.

In the end we caved and gave her Medised as she does definitely have teeth coming through. 20 mins later she went down fine and slept until this morning.

Thing is if her teeth were causing pain and stopping her sleeping wouldn't she keep crying when held? I don't want to give her medicine unnecessarily, but I also can't bear the idea of leaving her to cry when she is genuinely in pain. If only they could tell us what is wrong!!

[hotbot]

Ah daff,
same with us ,ours is nearly 9 mths,,,when dd is happy and well again , she will go back to her routine... she is just upset, unhappy and unwell and wants her mum, wouldnt you?
Theres nothing like a cuddle to make yuo feel better.
She wil go back to her routine dont worry, teething is really terrible have you tried other pain rleief apart from medised? perhaps some gel instead, or a/p powders

[Daffodilly]

Thanks for reassurances Hotbot.

I didn't use gel as I can't really see any redness and not sure which area is the problem. Good idea on the teething powders though - I hadn't thought of that (duh). I now have them on standby for tonight....

[reikizen]

I wouldn't worry about setting a pattern as she is only 8 months and things change all the time. Also, don't worry about 'caving in' with the painkillers. Every first time mum (me included) worries about this but now I just dose 'em up. Tonight I put a dose in dd2's bedtime bottle as her top teeth are really hurting her. Why struggle? No medals will be distributed in the morning and I take a painkiller if I'm in pain.