Sitting up in cot

[PebbleTTC]

Hi is sitting up in cot a phase? Would you recommend putting them down on back each time or just leave him go down on his own?

We are in the same position, DD has just mastered sitting up from lying down and oh she loves to do it in the cot! Hopefully someone has e magic answer - I'm dreading crawling and standing now!!

It was a phase for us - lasted about 2 weeks max. At first we kept going in to lie DD down but I realised if I didn't she would conk out a bit quicker. I went in if she got upset but usually she was just sitting up playing with her blanket! If she fell asleep in an awkward position I'd go in and rearrange her once she was asleep. Crawling followed pretty quickly and now we're onto pulling up . She is yet to sleep as peacefully as she used to, now she can wriggle all around her cot!

Its now you need to consider the cot mattress height. It wont be long before a sitting up baby can lean over the side of the cot if the mattress is in the highest setting and so fall out.

At this age I has the cot next to my bed, third side of the cot back on (rather than bedside cot) but the drop-side down. This meant I could lean over the low barrier to settle baby to sleep in the cot, as needed.

Their are two circles of thought at this stage. One is to allow baby to learn to lie him/her self down and settle to sleep alone. The other is to teach baby that sleep time is a time to be still, quiet and relax - not a time for sitting up (or in time standing up).

If you have already lowered the cot mattress (so baby is safe) and if baby will go to sleep on his/her own after being put into the cot awake, then definitely go for the first option. The aim is to say nan night, give baby a kiss, place in cot and leave without any fuss. Baby can then settle to sleep how he/she wants independently.

I was still staying close-by my youngest at this age though. I would lie on my bed as baby was in the cot next to me going to sleep. So I encouraged baby to be still at sleep time. It meant a nan night, a kiss, into the cot and me placing a firm hand on baby's chest to encourage her to be still and quiet at sleep time.

Thanks FATEdestiny!

This is the first stage of the others to come. .standing, crawling etc...I spent as much time as I could teaching my little one to lie from sitting, then sit, and lie from standing during play times. I had a lot of drawbacks of my DS's ability to self settle as soon as he reached a new milestones. It is a phase, as far as it goes for my. LO..and yes, definitely lower the cot. To my shock my DS learnt to stand from sitting whilst he was trying to get to sleep ( not that he could have been trying very hard) and luckily I caught him in the act. Things can get dangerous. Eventually they will just associate lying down with sleeping. It almost shocks me now that my DS will never stand up/ sit up in his cot. He will only do that if he is upset for some reason and wants to get my attention.

Good luck x