Baby just won’t go to sleep!

[EeeyMacarena]

Hi all. DD will be one in a few days and is usually a good sleeper. Usually. Normally she’ll be in bed by 7/7:30pm and will sleep until 6:30/7am, but recently she’s been flatly refusing to go to sleep until ridiculous o’clock! Last night it was 1am, the night before it was 11:30pm, and on Friday night/Saturday morning she didn’t go to sleep until 2am! She’s normally up for the day at 6am! If we try and put her down any earlier she’ll just cry and scream until we pick her back up, or will fall asleep in our arms but then wake up and cry the second her head hits the cot mattress.

I’m a student who often has early lectures and my partner works full time, so we’re both exhausted! I admit that I’ve gotten quite frustrated on a few occasions and have had to put her down in her cot and let her cry as I could feel myself getting really cross

She’s still a very happy, smiley girl in the day (even with no sleep!) and I feel awful for getting cross with her, but sometimes I could cry with frustration and exhaustion on particularly bad nights! I just don’t know why she’s decided she doesn’t like sleep any more. I’ve tried Calpol and anbesol in case it’s her teeth and that SOMETIMES works, sometimes doesn’t.

She has just started walking and is definitely growing, could that explain it?

Thank you

What’s her overall routine like?

Daytime naps tend to vary. Most of the time she will either have two shorter naps (one at around 10am and one at around 2pm ish) or one longer two hour nap at 12ish, but sometimes she doesn’t sleep at all in the day. I’ll try and get her to sleep if I see her yawning or rubbing her eyes ect, but sometimes she will just thrash around in my arms and scream until I put her down and let her play

She eats very well, 3 meals a day and snacks along with 2/3 bottles. She never wants a feed at night or during her wakeups, if I try and feed her she’ll push the bottle away and cry. So I know it’s not hunger that’s keeping her awake!

How is she normally going to sleep? Once they get so mobile like this they really fight being held or constrained so holding and rocking can get harder and take longer and longer each night.
If possible you could put her in her cot, also for naps, and soothe her in there but try and let her fall asleep on her own. If she is standing up but not crying, just leave her to it, it’s a developmental impulse and the more you lie her down, the more she will pop back up!

@GenevaMaybe She normally needs to be rocked to sleep. She will self settle if she wakes up in the night (normally...) but she can’t seem to self settle to sleep for bedtime. She’s probably fallen asleep on her own a handful of times. I have tried laying her in her cot and rubbing her back and shushing her but she just thrashed around and screams until I pick her up.

That’s your issue, the walking impulse really interrupts rocking or holding to sleep. I would use it as an opportunity to sleep train in a gentle consistent way.

How would I go about doing that? Like I’ve said I’ve already tried laying her down in her cot awake and shushing/patting her and just screams and screams until I pick her up. I’m really reluctant to do cry it out, although if this continues much longer I may consider it!

I would not do cry it out. I would put her down and walk straight out, not try and pat her as some babies hate patting (and she sounds like one of them).
After 2 mins by the timer on my phone I would go back in and say shhh it’s sleepy time now and see if she would let me pat her or stroke her in the cot.
If not I would walk back out and reset the timer. And repeat until she is asleep.
You are patting to calm, not to sleep. As soon as she calms, you walk back out.

@GenevaMaybe, tried this tonight and after two re-settlings she’s now been quiet for 10 minutes! I don’t know if she’s actually asleep, but I haven’t heard a peep over the monitor! Thank you!

V welcome hope it lasts. Just do the same every night and nap til she gets the hang of it!

We had to do the going back every 2 minutes suggested above with our 16 month old and it worked beautifully. Now we can put her down, say night night, leave the room and she settles herself to sleep. This has been happening consistently for well over a month. This is the same child that I was sometimes rocking in the pram for up to 2 hours before she’d settle! Hopefully it continues to work for you too!!