Bedtime for my 10mth old has fallen apart!!

[mim04]

By 8 1/2 mths old, we though we had bedtime cracked :) DD2 would go in her cot & sleep with a bit of hand holding & some 'ssshhh'ing but would be asleep within 5 mins. Then came december with the arrival of more teeth, the ability to stand up & a bad cold all at the same time. She stopped going to sleep & began crying constantly :( As soon as we put her down, she'd sit up & then cry. It's now taking anywhere between 30 mins to 2 hours to get her to sleep at night & even then she may wake up 2 - 4 times 'for a cuddle'!! Needless to say, DD1's bedtime is getting later & later as she can't sleep with the crying going on. We tried leaving her but she just makes herself sick crying so hard. Any help & advice gratefully received :)

Can you cuddle her to sleep? It sounds like a sleep regression (DS had one around 9/10 months) and he needed more help getting to sleep. No point leaving him to get upset - it was quicker to give him what he needs. It will pass and when she feels more secure, she'll go back to normal. It's not a setback as such - it's just what babies do.

We're trying everything. If I try to cuddle her, she strokes my face, blows raspberry's & then practices every sound she's learnt so far! Then she fights to get out of the cuddle. The only thing that definitely works is if I put her in my bed & wrap myself around her but I'm worried that she'll get used to this. Don't get me wrong, I'll happily cuddle her, I love her to pieces, but some nights, due to shifts, I'm on my own & I also have another daugher who, on a bad night, can end up spending from 6.15pm until around 8pm all on her own downstairs(she's 9) I think it just feels a bit endless at the minute.

She won't get used to it - just do what works. Try normal bedtime (earlier too) and if she wont settle, do whatever works. After a bit of time - you'll notice that she'll be easier to settle. It's just a phase - her brain is going mad learning new things and she needs a bit more reassurance at the moment. DS (15 months) is like this. Sometimes he'll want cuddles. Then he'll stop - he'll push me away so I put him down, hands on him and just shhh then he falls asleep. Other times he'll want to go in the cot and be left alone.

Thanks for being the voice of sanity. I'll keep going with what works & just keep living for the day I can put her down & leave her. :)

Yes if you keep trying she'll get the hang of it again!