13 month old suddenly screaming when put down

[fufulina]

Hi - my 13 month old DD has started screaming (we call it the tortured cry because it sounds as though she is in terrible pain) when we put her down for some sleeps. It's not consistent but Monday afternoon she did it and we needed to stay with her before she went to sleep, then Tuesday night it took an hour for her to go to sleep and I needed to be with her (very unusual for her) and last night she woke at 2.30am screaming and I needed to be stroking her again for her to go to sleep and then she woke up happy at normal time. And both naps on Tuesday were fine.

She seems incredibly distressed and is trying to sit up while she's crying, and she's sleeping with her legs pulled up to her chest.

Could it be tummy-ache? Has anyone else's baby done something similar?

[teaandcakeplease]

Seems strange that sometimes she does it and sometimes not.

Do you always use the same methods for soothing/ putting to bed/sleep, a kind of fixed way of doing it each time for consistency? Maybe that may help if it's not related to her being poorly of course, maybe?

Does her routine need adjusting again on amount of naps and lengths in the day? They change so often, every time I think I've got it sorted they change again I find

It's so difficult to tell sometimes when they throw you a curve ball like this. Maybe some other MN will have a better idea. Don't be afraid to "bump" your message if no one else gets back to you.

[fufulina]

Thanks so much teaandcake - it happened again yesterday at her afternoon nap (not her morning one...?) and then I had to stay with her so she'd go to sleep and then I ended up in the bed next to her in her room for the night as she woke up at 10.30 screaming. So unlike her - she's been pretty consistently sleeping through from 7 til 5.30/6 for about 4/5 months. But she get very worked up very quickly and ends up shaking and just shouting/screaming.

Yes - I always do the same bedtime routine - and normally she just has a bath, feed and bed and no rocking or anything like that - just straight in, she rolls over and goes to sleep. Naps - I don't give her a feed, she just goes into her grobag and into the cot.

I vacillated wildly yesterday thinking maybe teeth (I can see her top 2 incisors coming through - she already has 4 molars), or she's eating too much fruit (grasping at straws??) and my new theory is separation anxiety. I went back to work at the end of November - so wondered if it was a delayed reaction to that? She's with a childminder 4 days a week (childminder only has DD and her DS - they are the same age), and things there are great, but maybe she's clocked that this is life now?

Also - I'm 12 weeks pregnant and wondered if my milk is drying up and she's hungry???

Any other thoughts from anyone?

[NobbyD]

Hi fufulina, I have had a similar experience at that exact age.

When my ds hit 1 he started being really hard to put to sleep. Whereas we always had that part sussed (he never slept through the night but putting him down to bed was never an issue) he just suddenly started screaming. He'd be sleepy, put him down and then he'd just start crying, stand up and scream. It would take nearly an hour of settling before he'd go to sleep.

I can say that it just stopped one day and I'm not really sure what it was. Possibly teeth, possibly seperation anxiety. There was also the theory that as he was learning to walk at that point, his mind went into overdrive - he lays down but his brain says "get up and learn to walk!".

I would just say stick with it for a while, its prob a mixture of things and a phase. It may well take up to a month of you staying with her while she falls asleep for a while but she will do it.

Its natures way of keeping us on our toes!

Congrats on baby no2 btw

hth.

[teaandcakeplease]

Your milk supply can be affected when very tired, if you're pregnant AND working you need to get plenty of rest (somehow).

She maybe testing the boundaries - as I like to call it. Sometimes they do need to be gently sleep trained again if they regress into bad habits. It maybe related to you returning to work and sometimes being with you and sometimes with the carer. In my opinion always give her teething gel as putting her down and make sure she has a clean nappy and of course is tired, then you can be sure it's not any of those. Be consistent on whatever approach you choose and she'll soon grow out of this.

Make sure she eats plenty in the day and drinks plenty as well and doesn't nap too much in the day and generally has a good routine as well and then you can be sure you're covering all the bases. Ask your childminder what method she uses to settle them for sleep too, in case theirs is very different as well?

My son who is almost 13 months wakes at 7am naps at 10.30am and then again at 2 or 3pm and then stays awake until 7pm. However there will come a point when he will go down to one nap at lunchtime and I will change his routine when it's clear he needs to have his naps adjusted again.

HTH?