Some quick advice about 1 year old suddenly won't sleep in cot

[chloejessmeg]

DD has been a good sleeper since I stopped BF at about 8 months. She would have 1-3 naps per day, both a minimum of an hour or so long, often more and a minimum of 12 hours at night, again often longer. This was all, as long as we were at home and she had her cot. Always a bit difficult when we go anywhere as has always hated a travel cot etc.

Suddenly, since just after new year, she has started screaming every time I put her in her cot. At the time, I thought it was where she had been so out of routine over xmas and new year, but all it is doing is getting worse. Some days are ok, others like today are a nightmare. She still hasn't had a nap at all today after waking up at 9am. She is SO tired and about half hour ago, was drifting off to sleep on the sofa watching tv, but she would litterally close her eyes for a min and then wake up. So I tried her upstairs again but screamed the place down. Doesn't help that she can climb out of her cot, so I am constantly worried that she isn't in her bed and upstairs isn't childproof yet.

Don't really know what to do. Her bedtime is 7pm so I don't want her to end up having a nap at 5pm or something, but at the same time, there is no way she will last till 7pm with no nap.

Any ideaS?

And she hasn't eaten any lunch because she is so tired

Could it be seperation anxiety? DD went through a phase like this when seemingly fine in the day with me or DH leaving the room/house or when she was at nursery, and I was told by someone that sometimes seperation anxiety might only present or be worse at night time when they are completely alone?

Does she have a nightlight? or a small lamp? If not, perhaps this might help?

Or, maybe she is teething? DD again used to be fine in the day and not appear to suffer discomfort or pain, but at night she would be in much more pain.

can you go out for a walk or a drive?
mine stopped having naps in the cot at about that age

Sorry - I misread it. You mean daytime naps I was too hasty in my post!

I agree with compo about going for a drive or walk. DD started to drop naps and I refused to allow it!!! I kept them going until 2.5

We went for a walk and she just wouldn't sleep but it was the sunlight that kept waking her. Got home, parked her just inside the door and ran to go to the loo etc. She will usually only stay in the buggy when it is not moving for a min without crying but when I came back it was all quiet, so left her and she is now asleep in it. Have had to sneak blankets off her but seems to be sleeping fine. Right, now to get the whole weekends worth of housework done in this short time till she wakes up!

Although now I am in a position where, she would usually have had her 2nd nap by now, so hard to know how long to let her sleep for so that it doesn't keep her up tonight? Argh, its so frustrating!

Really hope she isn't dropping naps altogether. Am completely fine with her just having the one nap instead of 2, but DD2 is due in april and was relying on nap time for some sanity and breastfeeding time! TBH I think she is far too tired not to nap, these last few hours have been a nightmare and she is so overtired now. If needbe, I would rather her sleep less at night (she often will sleep 7pm-9am or later) And still have that time in the day.

See now it is happening again. Yes the walk solved it very short term but now she won't go to bed! Bedtime is usually 7pm. She has had her bath, milk etc and just doesn't want to stay in her cot. I have tried sitting by her and comforting her while she is in her cot but this only works while she is drinking her milk. As soon as she finishes it she is up and wants to come out. When I lie her down she just screams.

Trouble is, everytime it goes quiet, I am wondering if she has got out of her bed, but don't want to risk disturbing her if she is drifting off!

She is back down stairs watching TV which I really don't want. I am starving ad want my dinner. Don't like DD watching this much telly either but she is too tired for much else. Going to give her some Calpol for the teething and see how we go.

Right she has just had some Medised instead of the calpol. She has been really rubbing her ears and cheeks so I think her back teeth are hurting. My dinner is in the oven and trying to decide between trying to put her down again and hope I can get down for dinner or just doing my dinner, and hoping she will let me eat it while she watches in the night garden!

She won't even cuddle me, which is unusal for her. We have just got a rocking nursing chair for when this baby is due and have tried giving her cuddles in it while INTG is on but nope, she just wants to sit by herself watching ITNG. And as soon as I go in her room she is crying now because she knows where she is going

It sounds really difficult at the moment. So sorry that you're both having a tough time of it.

It might be (though it could be so many things) that 9am is quite a late wake up - and probably a godsend for you! But it may be that your dd is getting more than enough sleep through the night for her age, and her body is trying to find a way to adjust with her naps and bedtime.

It's not unusual for babies your dd's age to drop their morning nap around this time. This can throw the rest of their natural schedules out a little so that they're overtired by the time they get to their regular bedtime.

You could try waking her up at 7am? And it may restore her morning nap, which is an extension of REM sleep.

Fingers crossed it all works out for you tomorrow.

She is so tired though, so don't think it is too much sleep? She is still awake and I don't know what else to do. I want to go to bed, but need to clean and tidy downstairs ready for childminding tomorrow. Everytime I put toys away, she is deciding she wants them out and can't really clean properly with her here anyway.

Believe it or not, that's how overtiredness shows itself . You must be exhausted too. Can you have some quiet time with her, with a book maybe?

She is in bed now, went not long after my last post. Thank god. But I know I am going to have the same trouble tomorrow

I am a bit confused bessuebighead - your first post I thought you were saying she sleeps too much so isn't tired but now you say overtired? Sorry I am too tired to think straight! Off to bed in a bit as nearly finished the housework and DH has just got home from work.

Just doing hallway and then I am done.

sorry for the confusion - last thing you need.

What i mean is, that she may need to wake up earlier to reestablish her bedtime at the other end of the day.

She may lose her nap in the morning, as it tends to happen at her age, but it's also possible, that if you wake her up two hours earlier that her original morning nap may return.

When i suggested that she may be overtired, i mean that she is so tired, that she's beyond going to sleep easily or willingly.

It sounds contradictory that less sleep in the morning may help her when she is already tired. But having less to begin with, may mean that she gets more throughout the rest of the day, iyswim?

Mind you, i'm no expert, i'm just going from a sleep book that helped me, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.

It could also help to make sure that she gets as much daylight as she can while she's awake, as will help reset her body clock.

www.amazon.co.uk/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Child/dp/0449004023

Hi there, is the issue perhaps the cot?

My ds (now almost 2) did this a little older than your DD, but from about the same age was odd about being in his cot. At14 months ish we were at our wits end so turned his cot into the bed, childproofed his room obviously ie took out all toys he could "eat" covered plugs etc and he has gone right back to his routine. I think he was asserting his need for space and hated confinement. As a tiny baby he hated being swaddled etc so I think its always been an issue.

On a recent trip away in a non childproofed house we tried to sleep him in a carry cot he screamed blue murder and had to come out as it was so distressing for him.

He also had 3 naps a day at that age and slept 14 hours a night. Took sides off cot, problem solved. He did eventually drop two naps but still sleeps 2 hours a day and 14-15 at night. Maybe worth a try.

Ps for the first couple of days he did play about before he would fall asleep but he fell asleep happy, not crying, sometimes on the floor lol but always finds his way back to bed no problem.

It may be the cot, not her routine thats the issue, as it was for my DS. Sorry if this is no help whatsoever.

Nelix - that does seem possible, definatly. She seems to want to go to sleep, but just not in her cot, which is unlike her. We have alread taken the bars off one side, but it is still pretty enclosed, she has a unit next to one bit to stop her getting out and then a bed guard on the other bit. Might still be a bit much? Only thing is, she moves SO much in her sleep that if she has nothing there then I think she would just keep falling off. She slept in my bed a few days ago with me and she was waking me up at least every hour because she was rolling right across the bed. lOL.

lol yes I know what you mean. We had a bed guard on my sons bed, leaving small gap at the end which he soon utilised. He tehn started climbing over the bed guard so it was safer to not have it on in the end. He rotates 360 in his sleep but after falling out his bed (its low anyway so not great harm) he stopped falling out and hasnt done since. You could fold some blankets next to her bed maybe?to soften the landing?....

She has gone to bed fine now for her nap so hoping things will get better BUT I left her with a bottle of milk which I don't like doing but am desperate!