Please help!!!! My baby just doesn't want to go to sleep!!!

[Blippy]

I have a 17week old baby and she just doesn't want to settle in her cot. She just fights it for ages and then relaxes in your arms but not in the cot. It takes hours of 'pick up put down' technique to get her to relax. She then wakes up every few hours and will not go back down again. She used to go till 3am have a feed and go back down till 6:30am. But that was in her basket. She is now in her cot and own room. Ahh - I spent about 6hours up with her the other night!!!! Please help!!!!!!!!!!

Swaddle? Warm bath pre-bed? White noise? Bring her back to your room?

try a dummy?

put one of your nighties, worn, in with her, she'll smell you?

wrap her up to make her feel secure

my kids hate sleeping and the oldest is 13..............not what you want to hear...............

It's an age and developmental thing, rather than not being in a moses basket, I would say.

But it does seem that she wants to be close to you. Could you bear to co-sleep?

Thank you. She does have baths. Will try the nightie idea. Have done swaddling but she likes her arms free!!! She seems to go down easier at the start of the night but by 2am its just awful!!! She just won't go back down. I haven't tried leaving her to cry so when I do for a bit she just goes crazy and really hot!!! Should i be leaving her to get herself to sleep or should you stay with her?????

I have co-slept a bit as she was really bad with her jabs but i just freaked out I would roll on her!!! I think your right about the developmental thing as it's literally been since she was 3 and half months old!

If so does it last long? Do you just ride it out or is this it?!?! The probl also is I'm breast feeding and in the night I'm so tired now I don't keep track of how long and how soon in between feeds!!!!

Well, they're all different, so it's impossible to know how long it will go on for, but both of mine changed their sleep habits very dramatically at 3.5-4 months.

People have different views on what to do but, for me, I don't think you can 'train' them to sleep until they're at least 6 months. In the meantime, do whatever it takes. It's all faded a bit in my memory now (which is the good news!) but I think I used to put them in their cot to start with and try again after feeding. If they wouldn't go, I had them in the bed with me. No pillows, duvet only up to my waist and wearing dressing gown, kicked DH out, baby in sleeping bag.

Not everyone wants to do this, but hopefully someone who found another way will be along to tell you soon!

Are you exclusively breast feeding? Just a thought perhaps a formula feed before bedtime or in the night might help? X