My 9 week old infant gets too cranky to fall asleep. What should i do?

Question

She'll seem sleepy so i will lay her in her crib but then she gets angry and crys. This has only been happening for a week or less. Normally before this she would sleep easily now lately it seems like she is fighting to stay awake like she thinks she is missing out on stuff when she is sleeping...

Answer 1

When my daughter was that young, I had no issues about rocking her until she was really asleep, then putting her in the crib. (Now that she's 4 1/2 months it doesn't work that way.) And in fact, you're probably exactly right- curious babies start having trouble getting to sleep because they don't want to miss anything. Now is the time to start really establishing a bedtime routine. A little rocking, a song, a story, with low lights and maybe soft music- do the same thing everytime you go to put her down and eventually she'll get the idea that when this happens, it's time to sleep.

And don't be afraid to let her fuss for a little while. If she starts crying, just give her a kiss and leave the room, closing the door. Check on her after 5 minutes or so. If she's still crying, come in, maybe rub her back, speak soothingly to her, then leave for another 5 minutes. At only two months, I wouldn't leave her cry very long, after ten minutes try going through the routine again, see if she gets the idea.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

I had the same problem with my 6 month old baby, I was getting so frustrated cause i knew she was tired but all she did was cry in her crib. I found my mistake was that she got into the routine that "mommy" would come to get her if she cried. What i did was I layed her in her crib, made sure she was comfortable and say night night, if she started to cry i wouldnt go get her, I would check the clock and give her 5 minutes to fall asleep. If she didn't fall asleep i would go check on her, make sure she was ok, and do it again.
It worked for me, i just tried this a month ago and only a couple of times that i really had to work at her going to sleep. If the baby is that tired she will cry herself to sleep in a matter of a few minutes. My daughter had colic from 2 weeks old until a month ago she cried for hrs everyday for 4-6 hrs straight, this techniques seemed to work the best, I keep nap times and bed times at the same time every day so she will get into the routine.

I can tell the diffence between a hungry cry, tired cry and a gas pain cry, once you get those cries down pat, you'll have no problem.

Hope that helped,
Good luck

Answer 3

I agree with Rebeca. Also, I have 2 kids & want to advise you Do Not get in the crib. Kids have to be able to fall asleep on their own. You will create bad habits & have to listen to hours of crying or screaming because they don't want to go to bed. Stay firm right away. Leave the room & let them be unless you think they are sick or there is a genuin problem. Everyone is getting sick or has allergies this time of year. If your baby is congested or has an infection sometimes ( like my daughter ) they don't feel the pain & pressure until you lay them down, or later at night. If you can put a chair & soft music in the room you can sit in the chair holding her & turn on the music. When she gets sleepy enough you can try to slip out of the room. If you find out she is sick or congested the Sudafed company & others make wall plug-in units @$10 that you can put a cartridge in. It works for my & my friends kids. There is no fuss or worry about vaporizors or putting anything on their skin like Vick's. I suggest trying that. Good luck, follow your instincts & pretty soon you will feel like a pro.

Answer 4

A nine week old baby is resisting sleep?
That's unusual.
I would say just put her down early, but nine weeks? she should still be passing out in the middle of play.
Make sure she has a bottle/breastfeed, burp her really well. Lay her in the swing. Do you have one? These are all things a nine week old baby can't resist. Don't let it get you all upset. babies really feed off of our energy. If she won't sleep right away, that's okay. Try again regularly until she does. Your persistence is far more capable than hers. LOL!

Answer 5

Don't wait until she's over tired, that will only increase the crankiness. Hold her, sing to her softly while rocking her, or try putting her hand or thumb to hermouth, that will usually confort them. You could also try turning off the lights, and putting some lullabys or soft music, but be sure to be there because if she feels lonely, she'll start crying again.

Answer 6

Try walking her in a darkened room without too much noise or other stimulation. Or rocking her.

I find that rocking and humming (no talking) in a darkened room quiets the baby down and helps to relax the baby so that he/she can get some sleep.

Not having music, noises, voices, etc. going on around the baby seems to help the 'trying not to miss' anything since there isn't anything to miss.

Answer 7

Make sure she's Fed, Burped and Dry before you try and lay her down. If she's still fussy, I migh try rocking her and talking to her in soothing tones, maybe lay her in the crib and rub her belly softly, then slowly try and exit the room.

Answer 8

Try laying her down to sleep when she first starts showing signs of sleepiness, not after she starts to get cranky. Maybe you're just waiting until she's overtired.

Answer 9

I agree with Rebecca, it sounds like she's getting overtired. Watch the clock to see how long she's staying up on average, and then try to move her nap time about 10-15 minutes earlier and see if that helps.

Answer 10

Has she been spitting up a lot? If so she could have acid reflux. My son did when he was really little and everytime we laid him down he would just scream. Try propping her up on a pillow slightly where her head is above her tummy. It helped my son tremendously! If that doesn't help talk to your pediatrician, there are things they can suggest that can help!