5 month old will not settle for Dad

[Aintnoway]

First time poster, here - hope I’m in the right place!

Our little boy is generally pretty well behaved (for 5 months old!). He’s smiley, alert and enjoys his toys. He lets my husband do everything with him but Jeckyl turns into Hyde as soon as he gets sleepy. He wails, he cries, he screams like he’s being tortured. Dad is trying his very best by staying calm & trying new techniques but nothing works and he now feels a bit rejected (I think).

Is there anything we can do to help baby at least warm up up the idea of relaxing into snooze time with his Dad? We’re close to breaking point here and with only a few weeks left til the cot & nursery overtakes the bedside crib…!

All advice welcome.

Thanks in advance!!!

No advice apart from - yes. Happened to us, poor Dad is still not the favourite with lil boy almost 4 years old. If you breastfeed, your little one has just figured out that there is nothing to be gotten with Dad! Try and reassure Dad that he is doing nothing wrong? They develop personality so quickly- and preferences and and and. For us, we just divided up bed time, the naps etc were all me, as I was on mat leave and Dad wasn't. You'll find a way- and by the way, this phase might be over in a week. Things change so fast!

Yes agree with @StrawberryFields2023

Our DD (now 16 mo) is breastfed too and only I'd say in the last 2/3 months is happy with Dad. She started nursery at 12 mo and i think that helped. I think it just takes time. I think he too, felt a bit rejected and I'm sure it's tough but you'll come up with your own routine and balance 😊

Just wanted to chime in with a more positive experience as the other posters all suggest that this will last for years, but I had the exact same issue a couple of months ago and baby has now grown out of it at 6 months.

Dad had been doing bedtime routine every day with no issues, then at around 4 months he started wailing the second it was time to sleep. As soon as I took over, he would be out like a light and it was really hard for my husband to deal with.

I think me being there was a bit of a sleep association for him, so we tried my husband wearing my dressing gown and things like that with some success.

The thing which I think really helped is that we went on holiday a few weeks ago. Dad was around all the time, I think baby then got more comfortable with him in general, was happy to nap with him during the day, which then lead to an easier bedtime. I don't know if that is an option for you? If not, maybe Dad taking the lead with naps at weekends (or whenever he is not working) might help. If you are breastfeeding can you express a bottle for Dad to feed him at bedtime?

My son sometimes still has meltdowns, usually when he is overtired, where he will only settle for me, but these are much rarer now. I know it is really difficult for both of you to deal with, but it will be easier if you can get it sorted now while he is still little rather than years down the line!