Things were going great with our almost 1 year old daughter's sleep sched. (her birthday is in 3 days). We "trained" her when she was about 6 mos. old, and got to the point where all we had to do was lie her down, give her a kiss, and leave. She'd sometimes fuss a bit, but be asleep within minutes. Then a couple weeks ago, she realized she could stand up and walk around in her crib, and now bedtime has become horrible!
I have both babywhisperer books (read both cover to cover), and I've spent countless hours on this forum. I've read virtually everything I could find, looking for a solution. Here's what I've tried: spending activity time giving her lots of practice standing, sitting, walking, etc, in hopes that she'd get tired, get sick of it, and also to make sure she knows how to lay back down after she's stood (she does). I tried letting her walk around her crib in hopes that she'd wind down and go to sleep. She spent 2 1/2 hours at it, and by then nap time was WAY over. I've tried standing there and gently pushing her back down when she tries to stand up. Tried standing outside the door and going in and laying her back down every time she stands. It became a game to her very quickly. I've just recently been letting her stand up and cry for 2 to 4 mins. in hopes that she'd get sick of the whole thing and go to sleep. (I've been going down after 4 mins. to comfort her). I decided tonight I can't continue that. Even letting her cry for 4 mins. is too much. I know I sound like a wimp, but she's SCREAMING a blood-curdling cry. I can't bear it. Last night she basically screamed like that for 2 hours, and it felt like "cry it out" even though we kept going in every 4 min. to comfort her. It's absolutely not a mantra cry, and I'm afraid I've damaged her trust because tonight when I gave in and sat holding her hand, she kept startling awake and looking to make sure I was still there. Broke my heart. At nap time I've just given in and I now hold her to sleep, then lay her down.
Here is our easy:
8am awake
E (4 oz.bottle and solids after I've had some coffee)
A
S Around 1130am, about 3 1/2 hours after wake. I hold her to sleep she sleeps about 45 min.
A
E Around 2 or 230pm (4 oz.bottle and solids)
A
S 330pm. Sleeps 45 min.to an hour.
A
E Around 7 pm (8 oz.bottle) and bedtime routine begins.
S Between 730 and 8pm.
I think our schedule is fine. It was working great until she started standing in her crib. 2 weeks ago I used to be able to just lie her down in her crib and she'd go to sleep. For naps and bedtime.
What should I do? When I was trying to just put her down when she stood, it became a game for her very quickly. Maybe I just haven't been consistent enough? Please help. I'm a wreck.
