Hates bed time??

[babi]

I have been trying to put my 3 month old on EASY, but I am having a very hard time. I must be doing something wrong, and I believe it has something to do with the bed time ritual, but I honestly don't know what else to do.

When I notice my baby is sleepy, but still in a good mood, I try to start the 4-S ritual. Except that, on the moment I shut the bedroom window, or even try to sit and cuddle her (I have tried cuddling before shutting the window to see if that worked, but it didn't), she starts crying her eyes out! It's like she doesn't want to be put to sleep. She gets furious on the very second I start setting the mood for sleep. After I finally calm her down and I put her down on her crib, she often starts crying again, and I need to calm her again and again.

I have never tried any CIO/CC methods, and there are times when she actually lies peacefully in her crib, watching the mobile or playing with her hands - so I don't think she is afraid of the crib, nor have we broken the bond of trust. But I can't seem to find a way of putting her to sleep without loads of crying.

[cath~]

((Hugs)) some babies just aren't keen on going to sleep - they don't want to miss the action!  My DD2 (12 wks) also starts to protest a bit when I start the wind down.  I continue and actually find she is better and quicker at calming down once I've put her down (with a bit of shhing and a hand on her) rather than me still holding and cuddling her.  Perhaps you could see if your DD prefers this too or calms quicker?

Also, I wonder if your DD could be a touch UT given she protests so much?  Have you tried increasing her A time a little to see if that helps?  What A time is she doing now?

[babi]

Thanks, Cathn!

I think she does calm down easier after I put her down, unless she is VERY upset - in which case I need to pick her up again.

I am really unsure about wether I am understimulating her or overstimulating, I guess I am having a hard time finding her "window". What I know for sure is that, after she has been awake for around 1:15h, she gets reeeeaally cranky. So I guess she is already overtired by then (right  ). But if I try winding her down any moment before that, she immediately gets just as cranky 

[cath~]

It can be hard to tell the difference between OS and tired sometimes. 1hr15 isn't particularly long to be up for a 3 mo (is she just 3 mos or closer to 4?) so it could perhaps be OS.  Although of course some babies do have shorter A times.

Sometimes I do some quieter activity before the actual wind down.  Eg carry H for a walk around the house a bit looking out of windows etc. and watching for tired signs.  Maybe you could do something like that towards the end of her A time (eg around 1hr05) and see if that helps?

How long does she nap for usually?  That can also be an indicator of whether she's ot.  Eg a 35 min nap would prob indicate that she's Ot.

When you do wind down at 1hr15, what does her total A time end up being?