15 month baby screaming at bedtime

[kathrynv]

Hello, for the last 5 months or so my ds has been easy to put to bed. We'd have bath, stories, bottle then pop him in his cot and he'd roll over into sleep position. Then he got ill for a couple of weeks (just cold/cough type stuff) and he was up a lot during the night and we did whatever we could to make him comfy and get him back to sleep. Once he got well again we knew he'd have to get used to us not coming in every time he woke up and used the controlled crying technique (which we've used before with success) and he is now once again sleeping through for about 11 hours from 7 - 6. Thing is he's started really screaming at bedtime (and nap time). It doesn't last long - no more than 5 minutes but it's still upsetting all round. He also normally wakes up crying (he used to wake up babbling). I hear him stir once or twice during the night and he might give one little cry but then he settles himself back to sleep literally in about 20 seconds. He did get a new tooth last week and is still pretty dribbly. Any advice or experience of the same behaviour at this age?

could it be a bit of separation anxiety. my ds went through something similar for a few months. it was awful but i just stayed with him with my hand on him til he went to sleep. it doesn't work for them all though, some babies are worse if their parents are there as they want picking up and get hysterical. to be honest, 5 minutes of crying before bedtime in my opinion won't do him any harm at all. he is probably just going through a phase of finding his independance and fighting sleep a bit. my ds is just the same for naps at the moment but wierdly is fine at night (touch wood!). i think as long as he's not crying for long i'd leave him to it really, he probably is just winding down and crying is his way of doing this. he'll be fine. my ds usually wakes up crying/ whinging in the morning too, i think it's cos he wants me there immediately, he wants attention straight away!

That's reassuring, thanks. We tried staying with him when he goes to sleep but most of the time he wakes up when we leave the room so we're back at square one, and then he also wants the same help to go to sleep when he stirs during the night. Fingers crossed it's just one of those phases and he'll grow out of it soon.

I have no advice I'm afraid but just wanted to say that I could have written your post! DD2 is 14.5 months and is doing the screaming for 5 minutes at bedtime thing. Actually sometimes she doesn't stop and I go back in and rub her back for a bit but try and leave again before she's asleep so she knows I've gone. I am holding on to the hope that it's a phase, and for you too!

my ds was the same when we left he room too kathryn, i stayed til he was really really fast asleep, but even then if i creaked a floor board, he was up yelling again! the lengths we went to were ridicullous looking back, we even took our trousers off so our legs didn't russel as we walked away! i wish i'd have just left him to cry for 5 minutes but knowing my ds it would have been 5 hours!

My DD is nearly 16 months and I posted an almost identical question in the sleep forum a couple of weeks ago. Basically the replies i got said it was most likely teething and it would settle down. It did and after a week of her crying herself to sleep she now is back to her normal self and sleeping for 11 hours without a murmur. It will get better.

Thank you - it helps to know that he's not the only one who has suddenly started to do this and that he won't (hopefully) always be like it!