Six month old suddenly won’t be put down

[SaveWaterDrinkGin]

Thought I could write the book on non-sleeping babies after I survived DD1 but DD2 has just pulled a new move on me.

She’s six months old next week. Generally has been a pretty good sleeper. Was waking two or three times between 7pm and 7am for a feed. I put her down drowsy but awake and she falls asleep in her snuzpod attached to our bed. Sometimes she wouldn’t even want a feed, I could just give her a little pat and she’d go back to sleep.

Last week or so she’s broken! She will not be put down. Falls asleep the second we pick her up but as soon as we put her in the cot she mscreams. Ended up cosleeping again just to get through the night.

There’s nothing obviously wrong with her and I’m not looking for a solution as such. I know baby sleep has it’s ups and downs and almost everything is a phase… this is a phase isn’t it?! She’s teething, starting solids and just learning to sit up. I also think there is a leap about now. Do I just ride this out until it passes?

My son did this about a month ago age 6-7months, it lasted a couple of weeks.
Also I realised the weather had changed and I wasn’t layering him enough for his naps, once I put him in his thicker sleep bag he went down easier. Think my warmth was too appealing! Might be worth a try especially as the temperature has dropped again recently

Thank you @Dashdotcom I did add a vest under her pj’s recently but I might also think about going up a sleeping bag tog. I’ll just try to stick with it as best I can and ride it out 😬

Hello, I just came on here to write a similar post! My 6 and a half month old has been the same the past week - would always self settle to sleep at bedtime & after night wake ups but now fussed for AGES. It is so painful. I have tried tweaking nap times, increasing food & milk, adding extra layers of clothes....nothing works... I can only think it if a development leap as he is rolling over now & has discovered he can make different noises! Good luck & hopefully others on here will have some good advice x

Always consider the possibility of an ear infection in these circumstances. Babies are prone to ear infections and because of their anatomy they are fine when sitting up, but in severe pain as soon as they lie down.

extra clingyness always coincides with early mobility by biological design, for evolutionary reasons

Don’t think it’s an ear infection. She’s absolutely fine and dandy sleeping flat on her back next to me in bed, less than a foot away from her own bloody crib 😂

We’re just going to ride it out I think. Give her the extra cuddles (she’s currently downstairs on my DH’s lap instead of in bed) and hope it passes. I know it’s a big developmental stage for them.

@Laura2211 virtual hand hold! It’s so hard isn’t it. My first baby was a dreadful sleeper and I really thought we had it cracked this time. False sense of security 🤣😭

This is still happening 😭 If anything it’s worse. Falls asleep the second we pick her up, screams her head off the second we put her down, unless it’s in our bed. What can we do?!

Haven't read all the replies so sorry if this is repetitive, but a couple of thoughts:

Is she growing out of the snuz pod? I don't just mean is she getting physically too big but she might be needing to be have more space.

When my son was 5 months we started having the same issue you describe. He'd fall asleep in our arms with no issue and we'd put him In the pod, then he would stir and realise he was in the pod and get unsettled.

We then put him in a travel cot in our room. It didn't solve all our problems but definitely helped. He went through a very clingy phase, not wanting to be put down to sleep etc.

Sleep training helped, but I would consider moving him out of the pod

@SaveWaterDrinkGin

This is still happening 😭 If anything it’s worse. Falls asleep the second we pick her up, screams her head off the second we put her down, unless it’s in our bed. What can we do?!

Is she overtired due to lack of daytime sleep?

Sleep deprivation in children often results in more restless sleep so it becomes a cycle whereby bad sleep becomes worse sleep, and so on.

What's her Day time routine?

@babybath this was my thought so last night we tried her in her cot (where she’d previously happily slept for daytime naps!) and she was exactly the same.

@FATEdestiny she sleeps pretty well in the day. I have an older child and we walk to school and back so baby has a couple of good pram naps a day plus a nap in between which used to be in her cot before she decided she hated it!

Well she’s been in the cot since 6.30pm. She’s been waking roughly every half an hour so we’ve just been going in, cuddling her and popping her back down.

I have to say I’m losing perspective on why we’re doing this. She’s so little and so tired I could just take her to my bed and we’d both be asleep.

I know someone has mentioned it already, but a specific symptom of middle ear infection is that it causes extremely painful pressure when lying down.
Even if there aren’t any other signs of an ear infection, it would be worth getting it checked - the fluid can build up and rupture the ear drum.