9 months old what the heck has happened!!!

[Bungalowsrule]

DD is 9 months. So far she has been an amazing sleeper, 12, 13 hours no problem. She would self settle from drowsy in the day and would be fed to sleep at 7pm - no crying for any of it.

However......since the day she turned 9 months she has completely lost the ability to self settle and every nap and bedtime is now a huge struggle. In the day i am having to take her out for 2 walks to get her to nap or she refuses to sleep and screams the house down if i leave her in her cot, i cannot see how 'leaving her to get on with it' like everyone keeps advising me will help as she just gets hysterical.

She is on 3 meals a day and 3 bottles (ff) at her doing. She has been crawling for about 6 weeks and has 8 teeth so we know all about teething, its not that at the moment. She has just learnt to pull herself up to standing in the last 3 days so it maybe that as she is now rolling over and standing in the cot as soon as i put her down, then screeching like a banshee.

She is such a good, placid little thing and has been no trouble so please tell me this is a phase
I can get her to settle and fall asleep within about 5 minutes if i lay her down next to me on the bed and then transfer her to her cot asleep but the 2 people i told about that did 'the face' and made me think it was a bad idea.

Thanks

It is a phase. There are loads of threads on here about this exact same thing and most agree that 9 months is a funny old time. There is so much going on for babies developmentally that sleep becomes a casualty of this. There is also a lot of research about sleep development in children this age and it is a significant time for changes. It is also a major time for separation anxiety kicking in which may be what's going on here.

It sounds like you've implemented some really good practices up till now in helping her self-soothe etc so keep doing what you've always done but obviously don't let her get too upset. Have you tried settling techniques in her cot, e.g. shush pat or pick up/put down?

You'll probably find she just comes out of it by herself.

This is my post too! I posted about this a week or so ago as our nearly 10mth old is just the same, especially about daytime naps. I'm trying to just go with the flow and keep trying daytime naps in the cot but going out for lots of walks too to make sure she gets her naps.

Our little girl is settling ok at night (at the mo) but we have had a few random wakings in the middle of the night where she is so upset and just wants cuddles so think its seperation anxiety and major development (wanting to crawl around the cot in middle of night and tell Mummy all about it!)

Sorry no help but just wanted to say you're not alone! Hope someone pops up with some wisdom though...!

Jane

Another fellow sufferer here. DD is just 10 months old and the last week has been hell. She's been waking up every 40 mins-1 hour, fussing, kind of bfing but not really interested. I thought I was sleep deprived before but I am a walking zombie now!

I'll add my place to this list!! Just over 9 month old dd, previously a good sleeper now ends up all over the cot and gets stuck then shouts the house down, and just won't settle without cuddling for hours, here's to it passing soon!!

Just marking my place. My 9month old DD has never been a good sleeper, but just lately has been terrible, and extremely loud when she wakes in the night (every 40mins at the worst point last week). I've read that this is normal for all the reasons already mentioned. The only thing I've found that helps is making sure she gets good uninterrupted naptime in the day = happier baby. Otherwise she's stroppy and grizzly all day.

Re: co-sleeping. DD sleeps in her cot, unless she's really unsettled, or I'm really knackered, when she comes in with me. It's all about survival, so I say, if it works and you actually get some sleep, just do it.

Well i can see a lot of people are suffering so im certainly not alone and think that this is just a phase of development. Thanks everyone for posting.

Last night she screamed for an hour even with me in the room holding her and cuddling her so in the end i gave her a bottle and she settled, probably because she was exhausted. I wonder if its because she learnt to wave yesterday......
I just cant leave her when shes crying, i know some people can but it makes me cry too! Even my HV is telling me to leave her but im just going to do what ginfox says and see it as a survival time and do anything it takes to get her to sleep. Just wish DP was a tad more supportive but thats another issue.

Thanks

A very lovely child psychologist friend of mine said 'remember, anger is good. It is the thing that gives them the impetus to move onto the next thing, but you may see a previously placid and lovely child turning into a frustrated/ing monster. But the placidness and happiness is their underlying personality - everything else at the moment IS a phase.'

I remind myself of that when my DS (also 9 months) is throwing a tantrum and refusing to sleep...

sympathies!

My DS (8mo) is now at this point too. After weeks of sleeping through he is now waking and shouting the place down sporadically throughout the night. He pulls himself up on the cot bars and when I go in he just smiles and says 'hiya' - then if I lay him down he yells and gets staight back up again (at least onto his hands and knees). I have no idea what to do with him. He is a very happy baby during the day....just turns into the dark destroyer at night time. Ha.

I could have written your post OP as my DS is 10 months and with exactly the same problems - we also have identical feeding / eating schedule as yourselves.

Just want to say you're not alone . DS is gorgeous during the day, crawls, happy, chatty then along comes 7pm.....................MONSTER!!!!

9 month sleep regression.

We did do cc with DD at about 6 months and it took 3 days and it was horrible, but she slept like a dream after it, even after a few ill nights when she came in with us, she went back to self settling ok. I'm not ready to do this again yet, not whilst she has so much going on in her head and physically, as horrible as it is, i know (hope!) it's not forever!!

Well tonight i fed her to sleep without a problem, no crying no nothing and shes fast asleep now. We have had a busy day though....

My 9 month old is exactly the same, although he has a cold at the moment and won't sleep! Waking up every half an hour and he hasn't been to sleep yet this evening!
I am hoping 'this too shall pass'