Alert 7mo can’t self settle/irregular naps/poor sleep at night

[Theasmummy]

Hi, new to MN really looking for some help and advice before I go out of my mind. Have a lovely, smiley alert 7mo who for the past 6 weeks hasn?t been sleeping well. She learnt to roll and now prefers to sleep on her tummy. She could settle reasonably well on her back but now when I put her down she rolls onto her tummy and thinks its playtime! No matter how tired she?ll play in her cot. She rarely cries. I have resorted to cuddling her to sleep to ensure she actually sleeps but my back is suffering and can?t do it for much longer. This also doesn?t always work because she wakes when I put her down, or fights sleep (won?t close her eyes, no matter how tired!) and I eventually have to give up.

Her naps have become very irregular (4 hours in 2 blocks one day, 1 hour in 2 blocks another day and anything in between). She won?t settle til 9/10pm (bedtime routine leads up to a 7pm bedtime, yet she sleeps for 20 mins then is wide awake until 9/10pm). Good napping doesn?t seem to bring good sleep, and vice versa. Until a week or two ago, she?s sleep at least some nights for 12 hours with just a dream feed at 10.30pm and another wake-up for a feed.
I?m not willing to use CC or CIO but need to find another way to achieve sleep for her! All advice gratefully received thank you

If she's not crying, just keep popping her in her cot at the normal nap times, down the lights, and let her relax. Alternatively, take her for walks morning and afternoon and see if the motion does the trick. At 7mo she could be teething and that often messes things up.

First, she seems like a very happy little girl. Are you worried that she's not getting enough sleep? Maybe you're not getting what you need?
I think that if she's happy playing then she's not got the idea it's bedtime. Some children self settle by playing and chattering to themselves and perhaps you could see whether that happens or does she cry? Totally understand you not wanting to do CC, I didn't but I did have to accept that I'd be up in the night. If she suddenly stopped her nighttime routine a couple of weeks ago it might be a growth spurt.
Hope others come along with more advice but it doesn't seem to me that there's that much unexpected with her. Just wonder if you're happy with the changes she's made - they do that all the time don't they?!

I agree with the other posters about just leaving her in the cot at bedtime if she's not crying, she might drop off to sleep - or if not you can go in again and try to settle her.

I'm not one for fixed nap times, but I don't think I'd let a baby sleep more than 2 hours in one go if she's having two naps a day (unless ill), you could try waking her after a couple of hours if she's going for mega-naps and see if that helps improve her night sleep.

I know Cogito mentioned downing the lights - I always went the whole hog and had blackout blinds, even for naps.

I think some babies need to be taught the difference between sleeptime and playtime, so I did a 5/10-minute winding-down routine - maybe a gentle song or a story, a ritual "night night" to teddy, dolly, the dog, the cat, passing birds or whatever, quiet talking all the way to bed.

I still do this with my toddler grandson (as do his parents of course!) and it works well; he's always happy to go to bed as long as we make sure he's tired enough first - and if it's dark and quiet enough, it's easier for him to relax into sleep.

Thanks for your comments. I guess I have no idea what to do for the best. I thought chidren/babies benefitted from routine/consistency yet I'm struggling to acheive anything that works!
We have a blackout blind, and I always wind down before naps and bedtime routine. Definitely teething this week, but could that have caused problems for the last 5 or so weeks?
She's simply too alert to sleep unless I cuddle her and feel I need another way to calm her enough to sleep.

Is she definitely tired enough? What sort of cues does she give when she's needing a sleep?

If her room is dark, but you say she is still playing, what is she actually doing? Crawling around, or just chatting to herself? Is there possibly still enough light getting in to keep her awake? I had my babies' rooms completely dark. Is there much outside noise? I know some babies sleep through anything, but mine didn't.

What is her daytime routine like? Does she get out in the pram for walks and so on to tire her out? She isn't nodding off in the car or anything when you're out?

I'm no expert - just a mum of four and now granny - I know how exhausting it can be when they won't settle. It may well be just a stage - she'll be going through a lot of changes now, with teething, weaning and so on and it may be that she will just settle into a new routine in the next few weeks. I think you're probably more tired than she is.

Haha yes I think I probably am, although she was yawning a lot this morning and looked very bleary-eyed!
She rarely sleeps when I'm out - too much to look at! She will eventually sleep, but perhaps for only 40 mins max.
She plays in her cot, trying to crawl, rolling around etc. During the day I don't keep the window open so she's not disturbed. Its as dark as I can make it...
When shes tired she rubs her eyes and pulls her ears, but I'm wondering sometimes if shes just bored and a change of scenery would be better than bed.
So much change - its all trial and error! Thanks for your comments