We have never had a set bedtime, when she gets tired, we put on our pj's, get a fresh diaper and breastfeed. She has recently stopped sleeping at the breast and will pop off first then go to sleep. Just in the past couple of weeks when I go to lay her in her crib she wakes up and screams. She does not cry herself to sleep, only gets louder and more irritated the longer I let her go, very hard sobbing, big tears, snot, red head/face, the works. I occasionally bring her to bed with us but this is not conveient and not a habit I want to start. She also seems to want to play instead of sleep. After she has her bedtime "boob" she will sit up and start playing peek-a-boo with the blankets and pillows instead of laying down, she gets mad and freaks out when I make her lay back down. She has started keeping herself awake until she literally passes out from exhaustion. None of us are getting to sleep on time anymore, it has been taking an hour or two or longer to get her in bed at night.
2006-06-20 21:38:04 · 9 answers · asked by purpledevilfish 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
If you get her ready for bed at the same time every night using the same routine she will get used to it. It will be hard the first few nights. You will have to let her scream and have her temper tantrum. It wil only get her more tired if she screams. She will get used to a routine, what ever the routnine is. You are the parent. You tell her when it is time for bed. By a year you should have her ready to go to bed on her own every night. Good luck.
2006-06-20 21:46:00 · answer #1 · answered by daddyspanksalot 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Babies at all ages LOVE schedules and routines. I would suggest an evening routine. You'll find that even though it takes more time out of your evening, it'll wind up taking less time to get her to sleep. Start out with a quiet book in a quiet room- NO TV. Then bathe her but speak to her in a normal voice- no rowdy voices or loud noises. Use a calming lotion, I like J&J lavender. Get her ready for bed. Smile and talk to her but very quietly. Lights should be dim for the nightime boob. Set her down after however you normally do but do not talk to her. When she sits up and plays, do what you have been, lay her down and leave. Continue to do this, going into the room at longer and longer periods of time. It's okay if she cries. Again, if you say anything... it should be in a quiet voice. . . "it's time for sleepies now sweetie...now you need to lay down." And continue. Boy I'm getting tired just talking about it. Good luck!
2006-06-21 07:35:21 · answer #2 · answered by Dani Bo 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If she's still taking two naps during the day, it might be time to drop down to one. We never had a set bedtime either, although 9pm seemed to be about when we ended up getting there. Once we dropped the naps for the most part, it dropped back to 8pm. Sometimes she still doesn't sleep until 9, but she's ready for bed by 8.
2006-06-27 10:09:18 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Babies have no sense of time. Try not to let her have too much of a nap at daytime. You need a routine. Babies love routine. That is their way of telling time. Get yourself a set bedtime for her. Start with a soothing bath at a particular time of night. Maybe when the news starts, she will associate that theme tune to bath time. After that, a nice bottle of warm milk and a cuddle. Then off to bed with maybe a bedtime story. It won't matter if it's the same story every night, your baby might just find it soothing to go to sleep to the sound of your voice. Good Luck!
2006-06-21 05:27:18 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know what to tell you. I guess I got blessed with good children. Anytime they didn't want to sleep I would leave them in their beds, and they would finally fall asleep. I didn't have to mess with them all night. And now that they are older, I still don't. When I say bed time I mean bed time. By the time either one of my children were the age of your daughter, I was the boss and they knew it. Old School raising still comes in handy.
2006-06-21 04:44:27 · answer #5 · answered by Lynda C 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
shorter naps during the day and let her play outside a few hours each day.also taking her for a ride in the family car will make her sleep due to the familiar smells and contentment of the car as it glides down the road will make her drowsy.
2006-06-21 04:47:45 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You might want to try carrying her facing your chest and slowly coax her to sleep. My daughter is 7 months old and i used to have the same problems as you do too. Then i carried her facing my chest and slowly coax her by patting her gently on her butt and talking or singing to her. She stopped wailing for a while and got to sleep....I would suggest that you try that one or two hours before bedtime and in that way you could adjust it accordingly ,so far so good on my side .Hope it helps :)
2006-06-21 04:46:07 · answer #7 · answered by DPO 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When she wakes up and wants to play, let her. Some children do not require as much nap time as others, and will sleep better at night without it.
2006-06-21 04:43:55 · answer #8 · answered by webfly2000 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
try setting a bed time (like 8pm) and don't let them in your bed! have you tried bottles with breast milk? let her have her last meal with a bottle in her crib so she can get use to the idea that is where her bed is.
2006-06-21 04:46:06 · answer #9 · answered by montanamom 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋