Sitting up has sabotaged everything!

[peardroplets]

11 month Dd was a terrible sleeper and always bf to sleep. At nine months we had a great success in being able to put her in her cot drowsy next to the bed and then lie with her until she drifted off. This resulted in several nights when she went through til 5 am!! Bliss! I think it's true in her case they can resettle themselves if they wake up in the same place they fall asleep.

BUT ever since she learned to sit up, the second she is put in the cot she sits up. I try to lie her down but she sits back up like a jack in the box. Even if she is exhausted she wants to sit.

So I have given up and now bf to sleep again and transfer her in asleep and then cosleep when it all gets too much. The last few nights we've had terrible nights like we used to have - every hour or so

I just feel so down that I had a taste of good sleep and now we are back to square one. I thought it would be just a phase but it's been a month or so now and feeding to sleep seems more entrenched than ever. I honestly thought that by a year we'd have cracked it but obviously not!

please if anyone has any experience of this I'm desperate to hear your wise words!

Please don't worry OP, if feeding to sleep works then do it. Things change so quickly and you will not be feeding a 5/10/18 year old to sleep. I fed DS1 to sleep till we moved on to a story and a cuddle, he's 12 now and has never had any sleep issues. I'm now feeding DS2, 10 months to sleep. It's quick, easy and works. As soon as it doesn't work I'll do something else.

The hourly wake ups are awful. I've co slept with both of mine as I need a such sleep as possible. DS2 loves to sit up when I think he's almost asleep, he has a little tired wobble then lies back down. Very cute but frustrating when you just want to go to sleep!

My DD is nearly 11 months and we've just had (feel very nervous using past tense!!) a 6 week sleep regression.

It's really common at that age and is largely linked to the huge physical developments they are making (sitting, crawling, standing etc). As well as the separation anxiety kicking in big time.

DD went from a baby who would be put in her cot drowsy and quickly nod off for 12 hours of sleep, to one who had to be rocked and fed to sleep then transferred. Then she'd wake numerous times and the whole charade would start again.

Anyway, 6 weeks on and it's suddenly massively improved. She still needs to be asleep before I can transfer her but if she wakes slightly she settles herself and is sleeping right through again.

I'm really hoping that it's a similar thing for you and your DD is going through a temporary regression.

Thanks so much for replying. It really makes me feel better. I think you're right it's linked to all the developmental stuff going on. It's like life is too exciting to sleep for her.

Oh well I will just try to muddle through with the cosleeping. It was another terrible night last night but it seems a bit better now after a cup of tea and your reassuring words!

I would disagree a bit. You can persevere with settling them in the cot once the my can sit. I just lie on the floor and gently pull them back down (holding on to their sleeping bag near the neck area) by sticking my arm through the bars. I then do a little patting for 5-10 secs until they are calm. Repeat repeat repeat.

My ds wakes a fair bit and when he sees me come in to his room, he flops back down on the mattress from sitting! Would be quite cute if it wasn't 4am!

Standing is worse though. Although I still do the pull them down thing, bad mother that I am. Just a bit more carefully!

If it helps, my child responded well to a technique from a library book. The first time of springing up, you lay the child back down. After that, simply pat the mattress a little distance away and after a bit, the will follow down to your hand and lie down.

You say she sits up when you place her in the cot - what happens then? If she is not upset, can you simply leave her sitting and allow sleep to come? My child often used to literally 'fall' asleep when he learned to stand in his cot.

My DS did this, no amount of lying him back down helped, he ended up just screaming and crying. In the end I taught him how to lie down himself. we made it a "fun" game during the day (not near sleep time). Then when he sat up in the cot I would just pat he mattress and say "lie down" but only once or twice and then just let him lie down in his own time.

Thanks everyone. When it first started happening I kept trying to lay her down repeatedly but eventually she got upset and cried. If I leave her sitting up she won't settlw, she'll usually start crying if I do much as walk out the room at bedtime.

I have started doing what you did cakeandchocolate and she now understands lie down and generally will do it si I guess that is a start.

We had a better night last night so I'm feeling positive today!