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12 month old refusing to sleep in cot

3 replies

HelpMyBabySleepPlease · 31/01/2021 08:06

Hi

My 12 months old baby has been through a lot recently and her sleep has been really impacted. She started nursery a few weeks ago which is a huge deal for her as she's barely spent any time with anyone other than my husband and me. She picked up her first cold during her first week and I also suspect she is teething. This has meant that instead of self settling for naps and night sleep she has had to have a little extra help from me with either feeding or cuddles. That's fine, I didn't mind doing this. This week at nursery she has slept terribly and been really exhausted when we got home at 5. I've given her a quick dinner then tried an early night but she has taken ages to settle and been unsettled all night. On Friday she had her one year vaccinations and developed a fever and was generally really clingy and grumpy and that night I could not get her to sleep in the cot no matter what I tried. She battled sleep for hours and hours, and if I tried to put her down asleep she would wake and cry so much she was nearly sick. I ended up letting her sleep on me all night and barely got any rest myself. The same thing happened for naps yesterday and sleep last night. A massive battle which ended up with me giving up and letting her sleep on me again. I don't want this to become a habit. What can I do? She's obviously going through a lot at the moment so I'm happy to comfort her but I'm worried about causing new sleep dependencies. I have tried co sleeping but she just will not lie down and protests so much. Does anyone have any ideas please?

OP posts:
JiltedJohnsJulie · 31/01/2021 09:23

Sounds like she's feeling a bit poorly. I'd try daytime naps in the pushchair or car today and give her a dose of Calpol about an hour before bedtime.

If you suspect teething the Dentinox Gel is good. Try her with chunks of cucumber, an ice lolly, a frozen banana or a cool, clean wet flannel to chew on.

If you make the sheet in her cot smell of you that might help her to settle too. You could put them in your bed for the day.

HelpMyBabySleepPlease · 31/01/2021 14:20

Thanks @JiltedJohnsJulie, she's definitely under the weather so needing more comfort than normal. We've given her calpol before bed and the anbesol teething gel but it's made no difference. I'll try the sheet suggestion though. It takes ages for her to fall asleep in the car or pushchair, even when she's obviously very tired. Troube is she's so sleep deprived after the last few days that I think this itself is making it even harder for her to settle. I just really need her to sleep in her cot tonight as I'm exhausted and back at work tomorrow so can't hold her all night!

OP posts:
JiltedJohnsJulie · 31/01/2021 16:21

Sounds like you need an early night Thanks

If she's no better tomorrow it might be worth getting the GP to check her ears and throat just in case there's an infection causing the fever.

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