Cuddling 7 month old to sleep every time

[katy14]

Looking for some sleep advice from anyone who's been through this before. Until a few months ago my dd was pretty good at going to sleep, both at bedtime and naps. She'd pretty much sleep anywhere, light or dark, noisy or quiet, but then we had a few bad nights with teething followed by her first nasty cold and I was up all night cuddling her to calm her and help her sleep. Since then it's become a habit and practically the only way she will sleep, or go back to sleep in the night is for me to cuddle her in her room in the dark and quiet. Whilst I love cuddles I am now sleep deprived and at the end if my tether. On top of the problems overnight if we're out and about in the day she'll rarely nap, not in a pushchair or the car. If we're at home and she's cuddled to sleep for her nap as at night she'll nap well. It's also worth noting that the slightest noise now wakes her too. We can't even use the upstairs loo when she's asleep without her waking, even if we don't flush. Might be worth noting that she sleeps with a dummy and has a comforter already. We take these out with us to try to encourage napping but it rarely works. Also worth pointing out that we tried controlled crying but dd got so upset after the first 15 mins that it took two hours to calm her down. was distressing for all of us so don't think that's for us. Has anyone been through anything similar before? Did you find a solution or am I just going to have to wait for her to grow out of it thanks in advance x

Co sleep. Saved my life.

Thanks tee but not overly keen on the idea of co-sleeping. I can be a bit of a worrier at the best of times so doubt I'd get any sleep at all with dd's little snuffles and worrying about her rolling out of bed, squishing her, etc etc. Glad it worked well for you though. Anyone else have any solutions to share? thanks x

My DS (2) was exactly the same at 6/7 months, I remember it as being quite hellish, especially in the evening. Try not to worry about how you are getting her to sleep right now, it really is just a phase and won't last forever. Try to get some sleep however you can, whether that means cuddling her to sleep, walking her around in a sling, co-sleeping etc.

I used to lie down and hold my DS very close, he would cry and wriggle but eventually he'd always go to sleep. It was a sort of controlled crying but I was always there with him and I didn't interact with him, just held him. In the short term it didn't improve my evenings, but long term it helped him to start learning to settle himself to sleep, which he now does with no problems. Co-sleeping is much easier when they are a bit bigger as well, then you don't worry quite so much.
Good luck!

It's what babies need, lots of loving close contact with mum/dad. It's not really a problem unless you turn it into one.

Honestly, it is tough. But the best advice I ever got was just to go with the flow. Try & catch up on sleep in the day. Research co-sleeping, it is just as safe as cot sleeping if done properly.

Have you tried white noise to help baby sleep longer & block out other noises?

You could try the baby whisperer pick up put down method so you cuddle to calm but not to sleep iyswim? There's a BW forum with age appropriate advice. It really worked well for dd when she was that age and she has been a good settler and sleeper ever since.

I have to admit, its not popular advice - but co-sleeping does make life easier at the start when your at your wits end (its also quite nice, but we're not supposed to admit that)

I did it with both of mine. To be honest I didnt no what else to do. Yes, it was hard to break the routine eventually (particularly with the 1st) but at the time there didnt seem to be any other options

This sleep shade for the pushchair worked for us!

Thanks everyone. Will definitely try some of those ideas. Fingers crossed we see some improvement

I read the good sleep guide for you and your baby by Angela Henderson. It helped loads. Like you I couldn't handle cc, but did manage to end up with a good self soother in the end.

Please don't worry. I wasted a lot if energy worrying about breastfeeding my daughter to sleep. Do whatever works for you now and then, when she seems a bit easier to settle maybe try again.

In the end, we just started reading her a story after her breastfeed and cuddle rather than before when she was about 9 months. She was a bit indignant for a few days and then all was well. I had worried about it for months beforehand. Enjoy the cuddles

Aw, babies need such a lot of attention don't they? I have a theory that babies 7/8/9 months are suddenly much more needy. This happened with my first and is currently happening with my second. It's when their brains are computing movement/crawling I reckon. The best thing I took from the No Cry book was have a little blanket for sleep association - it won't magically work overnight BUT will eventually work a treat. DS was the worst napper/sleeper ever but by 14 months was literally taking himself off to bed with his blanket.

I'd set up a bed next to her cot so the nights are easier. Cuddle to sleep for naps. Snooze shade and walk by a busy road for day naps.

Also try white noise for her room to cover any noises.