Sleep regression since learning to walk.

[sha160528]

My DD has taken her first independent steps in the last few days and is quite enjoying this.

Previously I’d put her in her cot and give her, her dummy and she’d go to sleep but since learning to walk it’s like she’s flipped a switch and doesn’t want to go to sleep at bed time.

It breaks my heart to watch her cry like that. I go in and offer her reassurance but when I leave again she cries. She wants me to take her out of the cot and put her on the floor so she can walk.

I don’t want to form any habits I can’t sustain in the long term (I’m on my own) such as patting/rocking etc.

Does it make it worse if I keep going in the room? Do I let her ride it out? Not sure what to do 😔 she’d previously fall asleep so well independently

Thanks

Oh god, I feel for you. My DS was the same but for every milestone- practising pulling up on his cot bars into the small hours, waddling up and down his bed when he started walking…I think their little brains know that the skill is really important and compel them to keep going, even when they’re knackered 😣 no advice I’m afraid, we just rode it out (while being firm that, no, I’m not going to pace the room with you holding my thumbs so that you can work on your walking because it’s SLEEP TIME) and it always passed as soon as he’d become good at the new skill.

I wouldn’t leave her to cry for too long, but I’d keep your visits very brief and low-key. I just made sympathetic noises if he was upset and repeated that it’s bedtime, time to sleep, plenty of time for walking tomorrow. He did get the message once he understood that I really wasn’t going to get him up to potter around, although he did continue to practise in his cot, just minus the yelling to get up.

It’s really tiring, I do hope it passes for you soon 😟 now she can walk, maybe try getting her to walk as much as possible while you’re out and about when you would previously have used a buggy, with the buggy there as backup, so that she can get it out of her system and knacker herself out?