cries as soon as wind down starts

[*Jo*]

i used to be able to put my LO into bed wide awake no probs and he would fall asleep by himself, even just this week it has been really good and i thought i had my angel baby back, however since about yesterday he just starts crying and fussing as soon as we start the wind down, if i stop it and take him away from his room he isnt as bad. I tried no wind down, only a little wind down, alot of wind down etc all these things didnt make a difference, as soon as i put him in his cot he just starts getting hysterical. I thought it might have been wind so i winded him, Pat/sh doesnt help at all, he cries the whole time i do it (even for 20 mins) i tried a gentle Pu/Pd, that didnt work, i even tried feeding him to sleep jsut so he wouldnt get overtired and even that didnt work!  The only thing that does is a Paci - hes never really needed it before and i NEVER need it at night but last night i was up 4-5 times replugging him (and reswaddling) Ive never been up that many times with him before at night. Thats usually the one garauntee to an awful day, taht he will sleep beautifully at night. Ive tried having him not swaddled, really tightly swaddled, sleep sack, one arm out, sleep on his side... nothing is working. I got so frustrated that today i actually yelled at him. i said "Oh just stop it!" because i was so sick of the crying and now i feel awful. i apologised to him and gave him cuddles and kisses but to get to that point is tough. i think im extra stressed out cos we are going overseas in a few days and if hes like this then it will just be a nightmare. I dont know what else to do. When i finally do get him to sleep he wakes at 45mins, i put the paci in and he sleeps for anohter hour and a half.. i dont get it, why the sudden need for it? or is it that im missing something else??

His A times are 1hour 25-30mins depending on how fussy he is

Hes 14 weeks old.

[mokey_cat]

We actually have just had the same problem with DD.  She would start crying as soon as we started swaddling and I would have to shhpat her right to sleep as she was so upset - then she would wake at 45 mins gggrrrrrrr.  But for us the problem was UT so once we increased A time, she has stopped crying during WD.  Do you go by his tired cues?  Is he easy to read?  I was mistaking boredom as being tired  .   

When my LO was UT, I could usually get her back to sleep when she woke early and she would then go on to sleep for 2 hours which really confused me as I though she would not sleep like that if she was UT.  Just an idea as I never though DD was UT until Alexa suggested it  .

As for the dummy, DD did not need it much but then I began to rely on it and she started waking for it during the night so we just got rid of it at 3.5 mo and she does sleep a LOT better without it. 

Laura
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[*Becky*]

Yes when my DS is UT he cries during the wind down BUT it is a small window for us as he is touchy and so can also cry if OT so difficult and we have not found the right A time but I think this is key to getting a good nap but also a baby falling asleep peacefully.
bx

[*Jo*]

hmmm i wonder if he is not ready for sleep yet.... He does seem tired though, really crotchety, i tried changng the scenery to see if that helped,  it did but only a little. At nearly 15 weeks how long should his A time generally be? I might try 1hour 35mins to see if that helps things, cant lose anything by it, whatever we are doing now isnt working.

Even at his bedtime last night he cried and fussed and wouldnt go to sleep, we had to shh/pat him to sleep and we NEVER have an issue for bedtime.. maybe hes just really unsettled at the moment?

[mokey_cat]

At 15 weeks, DD was managing 1hr30/1hr35 and although she would always wake I was able to resettle her at 45 mins so she would sleep a longer nap. 

She used to get really fussy and cranky when she was tired but at around the same age as your LO, her tired cues became very difficult to read.  Even if I changed scenery, she would be grumpy.  But if I gave her a dummy she would settle down and then be happier again so I came to realise that she was not actually tired.  Well she might have been slightly tired but not tired enough to take a long nap!!  We eventually began to increase A time around 4 months and she began taking longer naps on her own!!  And now it is definitely a case of getting the right A's.

If your LO has a short nap, how is he during his next A time?  If he seems happy, then the nap was an UT one.  That was the only way I could really figure it out!!  So when I got fed up and didnt try to extend a nap, she would have her normal A time after it then surprise me by taking a long nap!!

Is he teething?  Have you tried teething gel before naptime/bedtime just to see if it helps.  If he is fussing at bedtime when you normally don't have a problem, could it be caused by pain?

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[*Jo*]

could he be teething this young?? i cant see or feel anything with his teeth but it would make sense that he all of a sudden needs the paci if he is using it to ease his pain. He also chews on the teet of his bottle. ive just given him some Brauers Teething relief which is a natural medicine but i dont have any teething gel so will have to get some of that... how do i know if he is teething if i cant see or feel anything in his mouth??

[mokey_cat]

It does seem a bit early for teething but I know it can happen.  My LO seems to have really grumpy days and she bites on anything (even her own tongue!!) and that has been about a month with no sign of a tooth yet.  I'm sure its pretty sore for a while before they pop through.

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[debandbrian]

I am suddenly having the same thing - was doing great putting himself down for naps but a nightmare at bedtime. Last 2 nights he's put himself down for bedtime no problem (although the first night he lay in his crib wide awake for an hour..quiet, but awake??) but for the past 3 days he cries any time we go near his crib in the day time. Today he had a good 1st nap in the carseat (I am having guests tomorrow and HAD to go grocery shopping) but the rest of his naps have been 10 - 30 mins after numerous wind downs, pu/pd, rocking etc.  Now I've finally given up and have put him in the swing as I'm spent. I'm sure he'll be asleep in no time. 
What could this sudden change be?? In attempts to fix bedtime I've tried longer A times, shorter A times (that seemed to do it) and suddenly the beautiful 3 hr easy/put self to sleep is gone.

Deb

[*Jo*]

Well we figured it out, he is teething, it got really bad yesterday,  had to give him neurofen and teething rings, he chewed on them like there was no tomorrow and he would jsut cry for no reason. Im hoping today is better...

Deb, not sure what yours could be hun, hopefully someone on here can pop in and help you out

[mokey_cat]

Hi Deb.  Does your LO have reflux at all?  It sounds like reflux behavior.

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=654.0

If they have reflux, LOs prefer to their heads be slightly raised so sleep better in a carseat or swing for example.  My Lo was diagnosed with relfux at 9 weeks so not far off the age of your LO.  You could try to raise the top end of the cot a bit to see if that helps.  He maybe is crying because he knows he is in pain when lying down - this is what happened with my LO, she became a bit funny anytime we put her in her cot!!

Laura
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