Constant whingeing + No naps = One tired Mummy! 6 month old, advice needed!

[ClareMegan]

My 6 month old dd cries/winges constantly, and somedays doesn't nap at all. She really settled down at about 4 months, but appears to have now gone backwards! She doesn't seem content to play on her own (perhaps frustrated as she can't yet roll all the way? she's always getting stuck on her belly) but the main problem is lack of naps. Some days nothing seems to work - not even a breastfeed or a ride the car! She's just so wired and won't give in.

I'm just starting to wean, and am careful of the amount of caffiene/alcohol i drink etc.

I'm at the end of my teather, i am unsure where i'm going wrong - its getting to the point where i hate going out cos i'm tired of the looks i get from people when she's screaming. She's been demanding from day one but its getting silly now, i put all my energy into her and am getting so down as i seem to be failing. I just dont know what to do next!

Anyone else have this problem? I feel like i'm the only one!

lack of naps is the key - that is one tired baby.

Mine only lasted at most 2 hours awake at that stage - sometimes only an hour. If they got overtired they found it very difficult to sleep - things like white noise (eg the hoover or radio static) helped get them to sleep.

An overtired baby is not nice to deal with - you have my sympathy.

Could you try going out for a long walk every morning until she falls asleep in the pram/buggy - then leave her asleep in it when you get home? If you do this at the same time every day she should get used to sleeping at that time and hopefully you can soon get her back to having a nap in her cot at that time. You will probably also find that as she gets older you will need to move her nap to later in the morning and eventually into the afternoon as she will have a longer gap from waking in the morning until she gets tired again.

Mine was like that too, the ratbag. It's that difficult age before they can do stuff for themselves but when they're no longer tiny things that sleep all the time.
What worked for me at that age was a battery operated swings. They can go quite fast and a baby simply can't keep its eyes open. Might be worth a try if you haven't already. Otherwise try plenty of fresh air, wrapped up warm. It's no fun at all, but just remember it won't go on forever.

My ds is 6 and a half months and has been really difficult from 3 weeks old. He won't sleep in the day either unless I have him tied to me in a wrap sling. He will fall asleep if I go for a walk in the pram but wakes up as soon as it stops, and as I have a 22 month old dd, walks with prams don't really work as she doesn't yet walk very far on her own and I need the pushchair for her. I tried a swing which made no difference at all. He starts screaming as soon as I put him in the car and only stops when I take him out! Breastfeeding does work but once he's asleep as soon as I move he's awake. Sorry that sounds rather negative, but I so sympathise, it's incredibly frustrating isn't it?. I also keep having to tell myself that it won't last forever, but boy does it feel like it will sometimes!! So my piece of help for what it's worth is - have you tried her in a sling? It is incredible how quickly he will fall asleep when I put him in and thank god for it.

Cloudberry, its not just me!!! I've got a sling - it worked like a dream when i first got it but doesn't seem to do much now, i'll persevere with it though. Invested in a swing and she's fallen asleep in it ONCE!

Trouble is, it gets to the point where i assume nothing is going to work and end up on a heap on the floor crying myself lol I know its a vicious circle and she'd probably be much calmer if i was less stressed.

Ur right, there sometimes doesn't seem like an end is in sight

With my 6 month old, it's really important to get him down for a nap within 2/3 hours of him getting up in the morning. Go for a walk with the pram, and do this every morning.

At this age he might be cutting teeth, which would seriously upset him too.

My DD was terrible at napping when she was younger. After a long time I realsised that me trying to rock her to sleep or rub her head just kept her awake - as long as there was someone around to interact with she fought sleep. Problem was solved by putting her in crib in a room on her own and leaving her - not waiting over her to go to sleep. Going out for walks with the buggy also helped.

No you're not the only one!! I second laudaud. DD1 was dreadful at napping ... I got to the point where I was at my wits end probably around 5/6 months. I really worked at establishing a routine ... up for breakfast between 7-8 then back in bed for nap at 9ish. Up around 10ish then back in bed after lunch for big nap. It took a lot of hard work and me putting her in her bed and then sometimes sitting outside her room in tears listening to her cry. BUT it really paid off and she continued to have a regular afternoon nap until she was 3. So a few difficult weeks getting it all established gave me another 2.5 years of peace and quiet and a much happier baby.

How does she sleep at night Claremegan? What are her nappies like? I ask because my DD was like this, and it turned out to be because she is milk intolerant. As you are bf you can test this out by giving up dairy yourself for 2 weeks. Don't replace with soy initially though, as soy intolerance is also common in milk intolerant babies. Make sure that you don't give her any dairy products in her solids during this time too.