7 month old fighting going to sleep at night

[2023baby]

Our baby is an absolute nightmare at bedtime.

*Must be rocked off to sleep with contact from parents.
*Cries if placed into their cot whilst awake
*It can take up to an hour each night to get baby to sleep, leaving us both so tired.
*Currently on 3 naps a day (either in pushchair or on parent, won’t go into cot), breastfeeding and weaning on food.

We’ve tried the cry it out method and it just made things worse if anything

Its coming to a point where I’m dreading bedtime each night as it’s such a battle.

Haven't a clue what to do next

Neither of your first two points sound terribly unusual to me - lots of babies at this age need support from their parent/s to get to sleep.

Fighting sleep for such a long time might mean your baby simply isn't ready for sleep yet. I would push bedtime later (maybe just by 15/20 mins initially) and see if that improves things. Bedtime may need to shift back just a little or perhaps by as much as an hour or so to fit when your baby is actually ready to go to sleep.

I'm finding this age tricky for naps- 3 seems too much, but 2 isn't enough. On days that he needs 3 naps, I've had to push bedtime forward a bit to make that last wake window long enough before night time sleep. I almost prefer 2 nap days because at least by bed time he's tired. But then you risk overtiredness. It's like a balancing act between undertired and overtired 😂
If he's sleeping through after initially being settled by rocking to sleep, I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's when they need rocking every time they stir at night when it becomes difficult!