10 month old sleep habits changing

[mama2one]

Can anyone suggest how to get my ten month old back to sleeping soundly at nap time without a fuss. For last few weeks he has cried as soon as going into the cot at naptime and stands as soon as I leave the room. I try controlled crying where I leave him for 5 mins, return rub his back briefly and leave, then 10 mins the same, 15 and so on. Its taking over an hour and its relentless. I feel like we are going backwards as he was such a good sleeper for so long.

some babies are beft left to just cry.

ds i did controlled crying, and would go back every couple of mins.

dd, this seemed to get her more worked up, she's best to just get on with it. i check her once to make sure she hasn't injured herself or need a new nappy. then i leave her to cry. is she hasn't given up in 10-15 minutes then she's not ready for a nap, or needs more milk.

Is standing in his cot a new skill? Babies do have to learn to sit and then lie down again othwise they are just stuck! When you go back in to lie him down, make sure you do it as though he were doing it himself, i.e. sit then lie rather than picking him up in the air and plonking him back down! I didn't know this and went through real trouble with my daughter, we tried this and once she got the hang of it she started to settle again. We went in every 5 minutes though to lie her back down, knew she had learnt when she lay down as I walked back in!

Now she doesn't bother standing up at all, as if once it was no longer new she didn't need to. She is also a baby who is just better left (once she got the sitting down thing cracked) as she gets more worked up if I'm there.

Good luck, I hate the sleeping battles, it is so hard to hear them cry.

A number of things could be happening - separation anxiety may be kicking in, teething etc. But I recommend just leaving as well - ds2 went through exactly this at about 10 months for about 2-3 weeks. I tried cc, gradual withdrawal, everything, but the only thing that worked was to kiss him goodnight and then leave him. First night he cried for about 15 mins, second night for about 2, 3rd night, straight to sleep. It may not work for you, but it might be worth a try. Good luck!

i second (or third? ) just leaving. i posted the exact same problem in the sleep section last week, as my 9mo DD pops right back up as soon as i put her down. i thought this meant she didn;t need a nap and would get her back up but she'd just get grouchier and grouchier

as i read this post she was crying, but is now asleep.

left her at 4.15, by 4.28 she'd gone off. controlled crying would just work her up further

however, this only works if you're sure a nap is really needed - i only do this once i'm totally sure it's not something else.

anyway, it's been working for 5 days now - beforehand i was at my wits end, as there are few things worse than days without naps

good luck

thanks for all the advice. We are going to try the leaving method. With a few days of cc and no joy i think this is worth a try. I will post how it all goes.