MY 5.5M OLD LAUGHS AT ME!! - HELP!!!

[ShaysMummy]

My 5 and a half month old has become a nightmare to put to bed. He goes off lovely then when I go to put him in his cot, not sound asleep, but nearly there, his eyes are as big as saucers and he starts laughing at me. I end up either sitting up there for ages trying to get him off or I bring him back downstairs until he starts grizzling again. To add insult to injury, he wakes about 5 times in the night to feed!! He can put away about 20 ounces during the night! Switching to water doesn't help, he will guzzle 20 of that! What do I do? I'm expecting my second and I'm absolutely knackered and due back to work next week!

don't sit with him! leave him in there.
if he grizzles just go back in and settle him.

If he is just laughing at you, why don't you leave him to it? He obviously isn't upset. There is no need to bring him downstairs if he is happy to lie in his cot.

yes, leave him to it, if he's happy, its the perfect opportunity to get him settling himself

re the feeding, try tanking him up a bit more in the day

I do leave him some days, when I feel up to climbing the stairs 50 odd times a night, but where does he get the energy from? He is up with us now, not even flagging! He goes on forever. Does anyone else have a bubba like this?

Do you go up when he just grizzles or do you wait until he cries?

when my ds was small he would stay up all night without seeming tired, but if left on his own for 20 minutes in his cot, would sleep 12 hours. He still won't sleep if there is anyone else in the room, he has been like that since birth!

20 oz of milk each night?

honest, a bit of being firm now will save you hours of sleeplessness later. take it from someone who didn't....and is paying for it now

but the reason he keeps grizzling is because he knows you sometimes get him up again!

so stick with it... consistency is the key i think.

I try not to go in at the first sound. I wait till he is crying. The health visitor tells me if I dont respond he will think he has been abandoned and once the adrenalin kicks in babies can go on crying for hours. I had a really bad experience with jaundice when he was born. He was so bad I was not even allowed to touch him, I had to watch him scream. HV thinks thats why I cant bear to hear him crying.

no, don't leave him to really cry. just wait until it is beginning to be crying rather than just grizzling. go in and settle him and then leave...

unfortuantely it is something you have to keep doing night after night though, so he gets used to it!

what time do you normally put him down?

He was going down between 7.30/8.00, depending on how tired he was. His teething seems to have stepped up a gear and now he is a nightmare. Teeth not thru yet...

it's difficult when ythey're teething isn;t it? you never really know if they're up because they're in pain or just because they want you to get them up! iyswim?

I'm new! What does iyswim mean?
The going to bed routine is in tatters since M in L suggested letting him stay up till he really is tired. Now he stays up with me but still gets up at the same time!!

sorry... it's short for "if you see what i mean?"