like bringing down a wild animal at bedtime

[daddadoesnadda]

DD is nearly 13months old, each evening it takes about 30mins of her writhing around her cot, often seeming to cry into her mattress before she goes to sleep.

Is this common and when might she grow out of it?

Bedtime is 7pm and I don't think she is overtired. If she isn't tired enough she bounces round her cot before she moves onto the crying stage.

I always stay with her until she is asleep otherwise she gets distraught. During the writhing about stage it doesn't seem to mater if I just sit there or if I stroke, pat,shush, sing to her.

She really is like a little tiger that has been darted and won't give in, growling, and throwing herself about.

I'd be really grateful for any other tiger owners opinions!

x

I'm not sure how to resolve this but I think the staying with her until she is asleep is part of the problem.
I think you need to start moving further and further away each night until you can just put her into bed and not stay.
I used to stay with DS1 so bedtime would take me from 8-10 every night which was effectively my evening gone.

I can't remember what I did to sort it out as that was 5 yrs ago now but this will bump your message so someone more useful can add something anyway. :)

Thanks lotf

tell me about it! It's only the last 6weeks that I've even been able to put her in her cot. We've made huge progress by using Tizzie Hall's 'Save Our Sleep' so Im over the moon to have my evenings back.

Tonight was loads easier and Im thinking it might be due to a great 2hr nap she had after lunch. Perhaps she is overtired when she's doing her tiger impression!

Thanks again for the advice

I disagree with LOTF. My son was doing this and then I moved his bedtime to a half an hour early and I do stay with him. In fact, I hold him until he's completely asleep and then move him into his cot.

He's 15 months and since we made his bedtime earlier and started holding/rocking him to sleep he's usually asleep within 20 minutes. On rare nights it takes longer.

I do not believe in letting them self settle at this age. He's still a baby. He needs his mummy.

I recognise the writhing - DD is like this, it's like she can't stop moving until she finally drops off.

I would say stay with them while they drop off. I did this with DS when he needed it and he loves his bed now (4yrs). They are only small for a short time.

What are her naps like normally? Has she started walking?

My DS is nearly 1 and needs two naps a day. He turns into a little terror otherwise. Bedtimes are hard so if he's like that I put him to bed early.

He also gets so much more tired now he's started walking. He'll be on his feet pretty much all day so not a surprise really. Come 5 o'clock he's flipping out and has to be in bed and asleep by half 6. I BF him and he either passes out with exhaustion or I'll put him in the cot and step back so he knows I'm there and tell him firmly "it's sleep time". And it works sometimes! If he gets upset, I cuddle him to sleep.
There's a developmental leap around 13 months so things are hard for babies transitioning to toddlers! It's tiring and frustrating for them.

Tee Thanks that is great advice. I'm going to see what time she wakes from her nap today and bring bedtime forward if needed.

RSCG It's like they don't want to give into to sleep isn't it. I sometimes think she has to get rid of ever drop of energy before she can go to sleep.

Iggly We are at a transistion stage I think just starting to have one nap instead of two and took her first step last week. She is changing so much now and starting to understand so much more and getting more chatty. I'm still BFing her too and then we read a short book and into her cot with lots of 'It's time to go to sleep'

Despite oing to sleep like a dream last night she was awake loads in the night and endded up in bed with me, ho hum can't get everything right.

Agree totally that they are only little once and need this extra attension now.

thanks ladies