What to do now that she is standing in crib and won't sleep....

[kristaree23]

My 6 month old dd has always been hard to get to sleep for naps or at nighttime.  She is very distracted and hard to put down.  In the last 2 days, she has learned how to stand in her crib and won't go to sleep!  The 4 hour EASY has worked in the past, but now she immediately stands and starts screaming when we put her down.  Help!

[KathrynK]

hi there

with regard to the standing in the crib, I think the usual advice is to help her practice getting down again constantly during her A time, so she gets the hang of it quickly and can then do it herself at sleep time.
with regard to her being hard to get to sleep, do you want to post your usual routine (including wind- down ritual) so we can have a look and see if we can make any suggestions to help you?

[kristaree23]

Here is our schedule:

6:30-7 am wake up
11 eat
11:20-1 play
1-nap
3-play
5-nap
6-bath; quite play

Most of the time she doesn't sleep the whole 2 hours.  Usually about 1.5, but it is inconsistant.  As for the wind down routine, we really don't have one. 
7-7:30 - bed

[KathrynK]

hi again
when you posted your schedule it looks like she goes from 7am till 1pm without a nap- is that right? Or is there a morning nap? If you could clarify that would be great and then we can try to help xxx

[kristaree23]

So sorry.  She does go down for a nap at 9 am.

[KathrynK]

hi again
I think she might be ready for some more A time. By your current routine it looks like she has usually 2 hours A time between 2hr naps. The shortening of her naps to 1.5 hrs is completely normal at this age, and means she needs less daytime sleep and more A time- she is growing up!
at 6 months our routine looked something like this:
7am wake
9.15am nap 1.5 hrs
10.45am wake
1.15pm nap 1.5 hrs
2.45pm wake
5pm nap 30 mins
7pm bed & sleep
I know it's not that much different from yours but you'd be amazed how much difference an extra 15 mins can make at this age! I would suggest extending her A times slightly, say perhaps 15 mins but watch her to make sure she doesn't get overtired.
Also you could implement a wind down routine, so she learns when it's nap time and gets herself ready to go off to sleep more easily. This could involve things like sitting and having a story for 10 mins, or having some lullabies in he darkened room, or even just a stroll around the garden. Something quiet with little physical activity. And do it before each and every nap so she learns what it means. I started to do this with dd when she was about this age and wih I had done it sooner as it made it much easier for her to go to sleep.
hope this helps