Settling Baby at Night 🌜✨

[kerry14u]

So recently I was advised by my HV to move my 10 month old from her beside crib to her cot, in her own room. The HV also mentioned that when baby wakes at night to not lift her to settle.

My question is how do I settle and comfort her without lifting? Currently I'm just hovering over her cot and placing my hand on her tummy. She's waking around 3am every night and doesn't go back to sleep until 5am. During this time if I leave her room or even sit on the floor she squeals. I'm literally swaying on my feet by the time she goes back to sleep. My ML ends in a few weeks and I really don't know what to do.

It anyone has any advice or suggestions I would really appreciate it 🙏

Would it be easier if she was in your room / you cuddled her back to sleep? If so I’d do that. HVs give some batshit advice.

My first DD did this at 10 months and we did controlled timed crying (Jo Frost) out of desperation in the middle of the night (we had been shushing :/ rocking / patting / singing and nothing helped) then followed it through for all sleeps and naps. It took 2 days before she slept through and stopped waking for hours a night

We used a sleep consultant to get out 11 min to old to sleep through the night. He was waking every hour before that..! The sleep consultant advised using a sort of "bum patting" technique to settle for daytime naps, initially by having the baby on a mattress next to you, and then subsequently with the baby in the cot and me lying next to the cot with my hand through the bars. We have a separate sponge mattress for us to lie on. My son does occasionally wake in the night now (we think teething but not sure), but this seems to get him back to sleep reasonably quickly. I don't think there's any solution that is completely "no cry", so he does protest a bit. I found that at least if I was lying down next to the bed then that was some rest for me rather than standing up until he went back to sleep. Some nights I just sleep on the sponge mattress from the point he wakes to prevent disturbing him.

I think overall it's about teaching them to settle themselves without the need to lift them out of their cot. My son got it reasonably quickly (and he could be awake for hours like your baby too), now he's generally back to sleep in a couple of minutes. Of course if it is longer then I do pick him up and check he's ok, check nappy, give calpol etc. but that is maybe one time out of ten when he wakes up.

Good luck with it all! Sleep deprivation is awful. I'm back to work next month too and hoping my son doesn't decide to have a sleep regression then..!

Sorry that should say our 11 month old!

I would just do what is best for you , if that's keeping him in your room that's fine
HVs offer advice but every baby is different, so what works for you x