Self soothes initially but cries during the night

[Tarsaurus]

Bedtime - I can put my daughter down sleepy and after abit of whining she goes to sleep herself. First nap of the day is the same.

However she wakes up 2/3 times a night to check if I'm there and starts crying and will only fall asleep if I hold her. I then transfer her to her cot and she sometimes wakes up and cries until I pick her up again.
What do I do?? She used to be a good sleeper.

How old is she?

Sorry 7 months old

ok so presumably she’s going through weaning/teething/growth spurts. Unfortunately it all sounds pretty normal. I know that not much help but they go through so many changes in the first year, it can be disheartening when you think they’re settled and then it all goes tits up again!

You can just not pick her up. Go to her and soothe within the cot, but don't pick-up. It's not always easy though.

She absolutely goes crazy and starts sobbing hysterically if I don’t pick her up like she’s going to be sick. It’s so hard.
she still has 3 naps a day… not sure whether to move to 2?

You could certainly try moving to two naps. It's very much trial and error at this age.

Yes op I would definitely drop a nap ❤️

if I drop to 2 naps, do I drop to 3 bottles?

At 7 months she’s still having short light sleep cycles and it’s normal for her to need parenting back to sleep a few times a night. Self soothing in babies is a myth, children develop the ability to self soothe much older. Night waking is normal, and needing you to reassure her and help her back to sleep is also normal. Please don’t believe the ‘sleep consultants’ who claim babies should be sleeping 7-7 at this age, it’s nonsense. Humans are primates, a close contact species, and our babies need physical reassurance that they are safe, and that means being held and nursed and rocked.

She won’t always need you in the night, but for the next few months, she will, and it’s normal and ok. Keep responding to her and she will grow out of it when she’s ready

https://www.basisonline.org.uk/normal-sleep-development/

Ds use to wake it helped when I stopped offering milk in the night and when we got rid of dummy as it would fall out and wake him. We use to put a hand on his chest and gently Rock him to encourage him back to sleep without picking him up

Defo try dropping to 2 naps, excessive night waking can sometimes be caused by too much day sleep. But then if she’s teetering / growth spurt / developmental leap then you might just need to ride it out and do what you can to get through it. I wouldn’t worry about number of bottles at the moment, she’s still so tiny and it’s developmentally normal for to still need feeding through the night. Just don’t stress too much about a set routine..:

I found month 6-8 the hardest with both my babies and it was when they were waking the most at night. My 15 month old is also currently going through a huge developmental leap and waking more again. But we bedshare and I breastfeed so means I can maximise sleep by being there next to him when he wakes.

Is this your first?

I’d just cuddle her back to sleep and transfer her back. If that doesn’t work, co-sleep. I would co-sleep generally because I like sleep. Unfortunately, between 7-12 months was really tough with sleep. I would just get it anyway you can.