How to put your baby to sleep? she's teething, cranky, mobile... 8.5 months?

Question

I'm getting frustrated because everything I try doesn't work, she used to go to sleep at 9pm. after a change and a feeding. 2 books and a good night kiss.

now, since she learned how to stand up in her crib, and how to flip over, and on top of it all she is teething, she refuses to relax. I try everything. I'm just not sure what else to do.

Can you give me ideas.
Thanks

Answer 1

I'm not a big believer in crying it out - as a general rule I think it's just excessive and unnecessary to leave a baby crying alone for 15 minutes at a stretch, especially at this age, and when you know at least part of the problem is teething.

Everybody here as offered lots of tips - just a couple of additional comments --

9 p.m. may be too late. She actually may be overtired, and you would have better luck with an earlier bedtime. Alternatively, she may be napping too much during the day, and she genuinely is not tired at 9 p.m. If she is still taking three naps per day, it may be time to cut a nap, and then do an 8 p.m. bedtime. This to me sounds like a classic scenario where a baby has developed to a new stage and needs a new day-time sleep pattern to be able to sleep well at night.

How does she end up going to sleep? I'm sure eventually she must go to sleep - try to take a step back and examine what the routine is. Have you lapsed into a routine where you put her in her crib, she cries and won't go to sleep, and then eventually you pick her up and nurse her or something similar? You're never going to get her back to her prior routine unless you put an end to the new routine. You might find it helpful to have a few nights where you do something totally different, just to shake things up, like take her out for a drive at night and carry her into the house asleep (if she'll do that). Then you can try to institute a new bedtime routine.

If you've really gotten stuck, and if you do anything different she cries, you may have to tolerate some crying to get back to a good bedtime routine. However, my personal experience is that it's not necessary to do the whole hard-core cry-it-out approach, especially if your baby was recently sleeping well. There's no reason to leave the room (if you don't want to). You can stay in the room and talk/sing to her while she is crying in her crib. So, for instance, instead of picking her up when she starts fussing, explain to her that she is going to sleep in her bed (talking helps, even if it's more for your benefit than hers), and then just take a seat next to the crib. She'll cry, and you may decide to pick her up for quick hugs here and there if she's getting really hysterical, but eventually she will settle down (really), and you'll know she was crying because of the disruption to her routine, not because she felt lost and abandoned. It usually takes three nights and then she'll have forgotten the old habit. Oh, but definitely give Tylenol first - you don't want her crying through teething pain.

Good luck - but seriously, take a look at the naps and bedtime before you do anything else.

Answer 2

I had a daughter that never slept until she was about 4 years old. She just didnt want to miss anything. She was rolling, talking, screaming and just wanted to be awake at all times.

Tricks I used were... completely pitch black room, so she would get bored easily. I also would put her in bed, let her cry for 15 minutes and then go in and check on her, hug her, kiss her and say goodnite.. but not pick her up. That way she knew I was there and loved her but also knew that she wouldnt get her way every time she cried.

For teething there is really not a whole lot you can do. Ibuprofen, gum numbing creams, letting them chew on things during the day.. my personaly favorite was FlavorIce. They could chew on the package with the flavored icey stuff in it, and then if they managed to bite through it, It didnt matter because it was edible. I always worried about teething rings, etc.. who knows where that water comes from! yuck...

As for the sleeping..
Children are smart, they learn fast. If they cry and scream and you give in, you are creating a problem. Obviously changing diapers, feedings, ear aches, etc.. are things you need to cater to. However, if the child is changed, fed and has no medical issues... let them cry...

They learn to test boundries quick, so better to be aware.

Answer 3

Settling baby-

Feed / Play / Sleep is an important part of establishing a good routine. The 3 steps need to remain separate.
 Feeding is in your arms
 Down is where you play
 Sleeping is in a cot

When you see tired signs and you know that baby has already been fed, you should implement the settling techniques straight away.

Do not wait until your baby is already hungry, tired and grumpy, thus allowing them to fall asleep in your arms.

Tired cries are different to hunger cries. You will often notice your baby will be playing happily on the floor one minute and then for no apparent reason will start to yawn, grizzle, rub their eyes, or arch their back. These are classic tired signs.
Other signs are: not wanting to feed, not happy when picked up and not happy when put down

Time awake between sleeps is 1hr for newborn then time to settle. Allow 15min to settle.
Time awake for 3-6mths is 2-3hrs. (1hr to settle)
6-12mths is 4hrs (1 hour to settle)






Putting baby to sleep

Wrap your baby firmly but not tightly in a lightweight material
Place him in his cot on his side, facing away from you, and with his feet close to the end of the cot. This is to avoid any eye contact.
Make a note of the time: you’re going to give him 15 minutes to settle.
Place one hand on his shoulder and with the other hand pat his bottom. When the crying stops then stop the patting. The aim is to get him to fall asleep by himself not pat him off to sleep.
If the crying starts again, start patting.
If after 15 minutes he has not settled, pick him up give him a cuddle to settle him down (be careful not to rock him off to sleep) then turning him onto his other side begin the settling again for a further 15 minutes.

**You can settle for up to one hour, but after that you should offer a drink.

**Anything under one hour is considered a catnap and you should use the settling techniques to resettle without picking them up first.






Checklist

Hungry

Needs burp

Dummy

Some cuddles/attention

Wet nappy

Sore nappy rash/ teeth/ other ailment

Settling techniques

Play relaxation music

Bath

Take for walk

Take for drive

Answer 4

Try everything; is she hot? cold? hungry? Try something different as far as music, colors. Nothing too loud. Try making faces.
What worked for me was holding my sons and bouncing them up and down until they went to sleep, gently patting him on the back at the same time. (That's a lot of fun with 3 of them!)
Another thing that worked: going for a car ride.
Perhaps a swing, hammock, rocking chair, anything that will provide a rhythmic back and forth movement.

Answer 5

Have you tried baby orajel? That stuff can work wonders. Also, try turning on the vacuum cleaner, or taking her for a drive. The cold wet rag thing works too. One thing that might work is putting her in a stroller and going back and forth across the floor - for my niece, we tied a jump rope to it and pushed her out, then pulled her back with it- that can help alot if you're tired or it takes a while.

Answer 6

Feels like im reading my own story....My baby ditto..Well whats worked with me is to give him a warm bath right before bedtime and then rock him to sleep..but i do not get a break too long...3 in the morning he's standing again in his crib....Goodluck with yours..and if u do find something that really works..do let me know also..Thanks.

Answer 7

Tylenol. A bath with the Johnsons brand bedtime bath and a feeding. Rocking her to sleep in a rocking chair helps too.

Answer 8

I know the feeling! When my youngest was teething, it felt like I was up all night. What seemed to help was Johnson & Johnson's Lavendar bath wash right before bed. Then, when he went to bed, I gave him a small wet cold cloth to chew on for the teething. That really seemed to comfort him. Good luck!

Answer 9

baby massage
hold her while she's falling asleep
hold her often and comfort her (theres no such thing as holding them too much... you cant spoil them at this age and you can never spoil a child with love anyway)
let her know she can always count on you
does she use a pacifier? My son did breifly and when he was teething, I put the pacifier in the freezer to get it cold to help his gums.
I also gave him small bits of ice (like teeny bits of crushed ice so he wouldnt choke on it but it soothed his gums)
crackers and hard pretzels... to gnaw on help the teeth push through and the salt in them helps the gums too
lavender baby wash and lavender baby lotion (used in combo with the baby massage)
HUMAN CONTACT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING>>>>
SIt with her and rock her and hold her and love her
teething is painful and no one should have to be alone when they are hurting

Answer 10

I feed my daughter right before she goes to bed.She eats solids and I give her a warm bottle.But she never eats the whole bottle.Good luck.If you get too upset walk out of the room for a bit and check on her in 5 min.Don't get yourself all worked up.:O)