baby goes beserk when put to do

[buttercup]

My ds is ten months old and goes absolutely crazy when I put him down to sleep during the day. Nights can be pretty bad too but generally its the day-time which is awful. I've done almost everything I can think of. I've been really consistent and have been putting him to bed and leaving him for a few months now. I only put him down when he seems really tired. But he is still going beserk - crying and screaming for about half an hour. Then he has such an unrelaxed sleep he usually wakes up 30 mins later crying in a kind of panic. Any advice???

do you put him down at the same time every day ? Is it possible he's getting over tired, you say you only put him down when he seems really tired. I know with my DD she gets 'past it' if I don't act quickly. I know what times she gets tired every day and although she doesn't always seem tired I always put her down then and she sleeps. As soon as she rubs her eyes or yawns it means she's ready and if I leave it till she's really tired and ratty she normally doesn't go down too well as well as not sleeping for very long because she's over tired.

no - more or less the same time yes. but often he falls asleep in the buggy when I go out and I just leave him in there when I get home to have a good rest. Its his favourite place to sleep!! I'd be quite happy to carry on doing that but he starts at nursery next week three days a week and there wont be anyone there to push him about in a buggy. Does anyone else have an experience of their baby going completely apeshit/frenzied when put to sleep???

My ds is nine months and does the same - always has done. Most of the time I try to take him for a morning and afternoon stroll in the buggy and let him nap in that. At night time we have found that if we put him to bed, after a routine wind-down time, then read to him, ignoring the screaming and thrashing, he calms down in a short while and then falls asleep. When we began this he took about 10 mins to stop screaming but now it can be as little as 30 seconds.
I was also worried when he started nursery at 6 months (2 days a week) but the staff there all have their own way of dealing with tired babies and they've seen it all before! He always seems to have 2 naps a day at nursery and they've never complained about his screaming etc. Can you spend time at the nursery with your ds for the first couple of times just to see how he handles it and how the staff handle him. I did this and it really put my mind at rest to see how the different babies needed different handling and how the staff rose to the challenge. Good luck!

Sorry - nothing to add, just love this thread title!

My only comment would be that he seems to be TOO tired when you put him down... and that is far more difficult for him to settle. It is also more difficult for a baby to sleep well when they are exhausted. The trick is to start putting him to bed BEFORE he is toot ired.
IMO at least.
Good luck

Tinker - I cant begin to imagine what I meant when I wrote the title. I realised what I'd written when it was too late!!

Bluebear - what comforting words, just to know someone else goes through the same thing. Is it a personality thing do you think? My little one seems to despair at being left on his own - he absolutely cant stand it. It seems to be getting worse rather than better. Though nights are not so bad as day i have to say.

Buttercup - to my knowledge (most) nurseries don't let babies cry. They pick them up and comfort them immediately. That has been my experience so you will not have a distressed baby. Also do not panick if he sleeps less or more at nursery it is a different environment and he will adjust. My DD only sleeps 2 x 10 minutes and she was 6 months old when she started !! I always worry that this isn't enough for such a small child but the staff tells me she is really happy and smiling all day. I have been known to pick her up much earlier to see what was happening and yes she was playing (basically eating a rattle!) and "singing"...
I do hope you find that the nursery staff is attentive to your concerns. But as others have said... they see this sort of thing a lot and are use to dealing with it.

I always put mine down exactly two hours after he wakes up (it's a Gina thing, I think) and he's always tired then. I give him a dummy and if he's still resisting, I put him in his pushchair, with the back slightly raised so he can see me, and put it next to my desk, then I roll him gently back and forth using my foot on the wheel of the pushchair, while I type away. Can use method in the afternoon but the time of his pm nap is much more erratic , so usually he falls asleep in his pushchair when we're out for a walk.

Hi!!!

I have the same problem. My DD id very difficult with her naps too. She's 6 months old now. I always put her to sleep at 9 am and 12 am and sometimes at about 4pm. First she screams for about 45 min then falls asleep and wakes up about 30 min later. Sometimes she gets so tired and falls asleep while feeding. To add to the sleep problem is that she's teething now, so she is pretty awful at night too. She won't fall asleep in her pushchair anymore.

Lilia - my DD is like yours at nursery (according to staff she is too interested and doesn't want to sleep)... but not at home. I put her down, she NEVER cries... but her room is very dark and she knows it's sleep time. Does your baby sleep in the dark ?

Buttercup - is your baby's room dark as well ?

No, we've got a black out blind, but it doesn't make the room dark.

Buttercup, I would agree with pupuce - my dd started at nursery this week, at home she always sleeps pretty much per Gina. I put her in her cot and as long as she has not gone "past it" then she goes straight off. I have exactly the same problem though as tillysmummy with her tolerance, if she is not put down when she is just thinking about a nap, then she gets a second wind, kids you into thinking she is not tired after all, and then loses the plot as tiredness really set in. I was quite worried about it with the nursery, but they were really really helpful. They try to put her down at the times I have said she sleeps, and basically keep an ear out for her. I told them to leave her if she is just making a noise, but if she is crying I have told them to give it only a couple of minutes and then go to her. Whatever they are doing is obviously just right, already dd starts kicking and smiling as we walk in to the baby room in the morning!! ( I also arrived an hour earlier today to pick her up, and found dd sitting happily playing and babbling) However, she is obviously finding the new noises a bit disturbing, so whilst she seems to go off to sleep ok, she only naps for a short time. Today was day 4 in nursery and already there was a great improvement, she had had four short naps instead of 2 long ones, and so I think eventually she will settle in to her own pattern to deal with the noise and excitement of nursery, and I am just keeping my fingers crossed that we can follow the "usual" routine at home...

I had the same worries when my ds began nursery as I had him in a lovely routine that suited us both but the first week when I read his "diary" I saw that it was all to pot.

However, we find that he sticks to our routine at home and finds other ways (not usually the same way two days running) at nursery to have naps etc. He usually ends up having a little bit less on nursery days, but keeping him awake till bedtime isn't usually a problem as being with us at home for a couple of hours is a change of scenery and excitement!

I have the same problem with my little boy. I now just let him sleep with or on me. Not very practical as I have 2 older children, but he sleeps better and then goes down at night.

My other children are fine about it as long as we are all together.

To be honest I have found that all my children has this problem.

Just to echo Zoe's message - my two sons as babies and young toddlers had away from home sleep routines that were different to their home sleep routines. The different routines existed side by side. I put this down to the change of company and environment. I think it's a really good thing as well - it encourages your baby to be adaptable.

I used to give babysitters and childminders a rough list of the times they ate and slept during the day. However, I made it clear I was very happy for them to veer off the list, and they frequently did. I was more concerned that a carer responded to my baby appropriately at the time, rather than sticking to a routine just because it worked for me.

buttercup - the only advice I can offer is to echo what pupuce has said, and that is put you baby to bed before he gets too tired.

Tigermoth - Charlie is with a childminder 2 days a week, and I agree that he has his routine with her and it makes him happy, and ours with us. - Just as long as he sleeps at night I am now not so bothered!.