Help! My daughter won't sleep anymore!?

Question

I have a 7-month baby girl who used to sleep beautifully at night. Lately, however, she will go to sleep around 7 or 8 and wake back up at 11 thinking it is time to play! She's been crawling for a while and just a week ago learned how to pull herself up into a standing position...so she does this in her crib (or in our bed!). I try to pat her and make her go to sleep, but she just tries to turn it into a game. I'll give her a bottle as a last resort and she will sleep for another couple of hours, and then wake up again thinking it is time for her to play! She doesn't cry when she wakes up...she simply romps around. What am I supposed to do!? I am getting really frustrated and I don't like being frustrated with my daughter. What can I do to help this situation?

She doesn't nap well, either! When we lay her down for a nap she usually sleeps maybe 20 minutes, no longer than 45. And she'll only nap two times a day.

Answer 1

hi!
belive me i have the same problem!
i too have a baby-girl who is 7month old but she crys at night and does not sleep. the reason is her gums are hardening! and they want more play! its good Ur daughter does not cry at middle of the night. mine does. so my wife gives her a hot body bath at 9 and does some oil massage(lavender) then a bottle of milk.
this is helping us these days and she and are having time for each other!

try this if its hard to give her bath alone then tell Ur husband to help. this is fun and i love to help my wife.
my daughter's birth date is unique its on 06/06/06. i love her more than i love anything in life!

Answer 2

Shes curious and thats normal. If shes waking up at night, dont get up with her. Let her sit up for awhile. Make sure the room is kinda dark. Maybe have a night light in there. After awhile she'll see that you wont get up and more than likely she'll go back to bed on her own. Maybe lay her down one time a day for a nap. Keep her awake as much as possible before you let her take her nap, that way she'll sleep a bit longer. Dont ever let her sleep in bed with you. It'll cause you problems later when she'll need to be in a bed herself.

Answer 3

Maybe try getting her to bed at a later time or don't give her any naps. She's just full of energy. I wish my brother was that way at 7 months! I would just let her play in her crib at night, and she will eventually fall back asleep, and hopefully be down for the rest of the night. Worked for my niece. Good luck!

Answer 4

Try cutting back on her afternoon nap. Instead of letting her sleep until she wakes up start waking her up after an hour and a half then after an hour if that doesn't help. Start building a structure around when it's time to get up and when it's time to nap or go to bed. Good luck.

Answer 5

When kids learn a new skill, particularly pulling themselves into a sitting or standing position it can cause them not to sleep. I know it is frustrating, but there isn't much to be done. I tried swaddling my 9 month old when he was learning to walk, it helped a little. The problem is their little brains just go into overdrive, and you know how hard it is to sleep when your mind is churning.

Also she is probably burning a lot more calories right now. Feeding a hungry baby is not a bad thing, only in North America and maybe England do we think so.

It isn't a battle of "Control them lest they control you" it is about setting reasonable boundaries, they have to flex rather than break or break you or your child and to allow your children to learn to control themselves and grow into adults.

Just try to nap with her, or when dad has her and get through this phase.

"Our first obstacle to overcome was our professional past. We were educated in the sixties and seventies, so we were victims of the prevailing parenting mindset of the times -- fear of spoiling. We entered parenthood believing it was mandatory to control our children, lest they control us. And there was that horrible fear of being manipulated. Were we losing control? Was Hayden manipulating us? We consulted books, a useless exercise. No baby book contained a chapter on Hayden. And the mostly male authors were either beyond childrearing age or seemed far removed from the trenches of everyday baby tending. Yet here we were, two experienced adults, whose lives were being taken over by a ten-pound infant.

A child psychologist friend who was visiting us commented on Hayden's cry: "My her cry is impressive. She doesn't cry in an angry, demanding way but in an expectant way, as if she knew she would be heard."

Hayden caused us to reevaluate our job description as parents. We had always thought an effective parent needed to be in constant control. Then we realized that mindset was self-defeating. It assumes that there is an adversarial relationship between parent and child: the baby is "out to get you," so you better get her first. Hayden made us realize our role was not to control her. It was to manage her, and to help her learn to control herself.

Our job as parents was not to change Hayden into a behavioral clone of every other baby. It would have been wrong to try to change her. (How dull the world would be if all babies acted the same!) It was better to widen our expectations and accept her the way she was, not the way we wished she was. Our parental role was like that of a gardener: we couldn't change the color of the flower or the day when it would bloom, but we could pull the weeds and prune the plant so it blossomed more beautifully. Our role was to channel Hayden's behavior and nurture her special qualities so that instead of being a liability these temperament traits would later work to her advantage and serve her well. "
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/5/T050200.asp

Answer 6

Hi, You are facing a challenge 80% of parents go through. This is the age they are becoming independent and learning new skills. And now you need to remember that this is the time for parents to give the child a discipline which will stick with him or her for their life. I did this with my now 8 year old daughter and it worked. It is a long procedure but as parents we are the first teachers too for the baby.

Try these few things all or some as you feel. Remember there is no strict formula for babies. What works for my daughter may not work for your girl. But I am just providing you a general idea.

1. First thing is, make sure that she doesn't nap in the evening. Sometimes, mom's take advantage of this nap to relax. But in long run you will be more tired than relax.
2. Finish your evening cooking as early as possible or atleast keep things ready for cooking. Pay attention to your baby.
3. Take her out for walks. If not convenient, start playing with her or engage her in some sort of activity. Make sure no TV or reading.
4. Don't give her too much sugar towards evening. I am not saying don't give her atall. But some parents are tend to load the baby food or cerels or milk or porridge or other things with sugar. This will increase her carbo intake which in turn makes her too active. Give her fruits, biscuits or something. But no cakes or honey sucklings or candy.
5. If you have a evening bathing ritual, change it to 8.30. Feed your baby around 7 with light solids. 8.30 give her bath with nice hot water. Not boiling water but bit more hot than warm. Do it gently and let her relax. Babies love massages and baths if done in the right way.
6. After bath, take your time to wipe her and dress her into fresh night clothes. Keep night clothes separate. Babies are more visual than oral at this age. When she see the night clothes, she should know that it is time to go to bed.
7. Play soft music at home. If this is your second kid, you need to handle two and tune them to this routine.
8. Give her milk which is a little bit on the hotter side and again not burning or boiling.
9. Holder her in your arms and sit in a cosy corner. No rocking chair please. Baby may choke.
10. Switch off the bright lights in the room. You must have those little star lights.
11. If that is the time your hubby comes home, tell him not to make a grand entry. Be quite as much as possible. He can help you cook the dinner with the already prepared things on the counter.

Remember, it takes time. But make it a routine and when she gets used to the routine, as soon as you put her in bath she will start relaxing and getting ready to sleep.

Good luck!

Answer 7

You can't make her go to sleep. But try not to put her to bed until about 9 and when you put her to bed leave her there. If she wants to play that's fine, but you have to set a bed time and follow threw with it. It doesn't matter if she stays up and plays. When my little girl wouldn't go to sleep at night the doctor told me to put her in her bed and leave her. And not to go back into the room. My daughter cried and it was hard, but I am very thankful now because she goes to bed at 9 and knows that it's night night time. They will only do what you let them, and if she starts to cry it's okay. Crying wont hurt her, but letting her make the rules and deciding when it's night night time will hurt you.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

i had the same prob wit my elder daughter and i know it can b pretty irritating,wen nothing works out.what worked well for me was giving my daugher a warm bath around bedtime,dilute rice cereal n then wrapping her in a warm blanket...............try not to let her sleep at 8,keep her occupied for an hour,bathe her at 9 and around 10,off to bed..........if she wakes up in the nite,dont let her play,pick her up,wrapped in a blanked and walk a little.....try to sing her a song .mayb this will help.
all the best!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 10

ahhhh i know how to fix that! when she is all wired up let her play dont stop her! but when she gets tired let her fall to sleep for about five minutes and wake her up! act like its time to shower eat leave anything to make her stay awake! she will value good sleep! i used to get my son so good! he used to go to sleep on demand!