Author Topic: 9 mo standing up in crib at nap time  (Read 1016 times)

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Offline mulvia

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9 mo standing up in crib at nap time
« on: March 31, 2016, 13:32:14 pm »
Hello...again.  ;) I posted recently about night wakings but this is a whole new thing...my LO recently started being able to pull himself up on the crib's bars. Needless to say, he wants to practise at nap time (and sometimes during the night but that's not a huge problem yet as I think he gets up in his sleep and then just needs help getting back down). Today it took about 40 minutes to get him to settle enough to go to sleep for his PM nap..I would like your opinion on what's the best strategy here: I usually wait for him to actually get up, and then gently but firmly put him back down. He generally arches back and shrieks, and as soon as he's down he tries sitting and/or standing again. I tried to simply pin him down but it's worse. I would try to let him do his thing (and I do for a while then get back in the room) but I'm also a bit worried he may hurt himself if he falls the wrong way. Any advice on the best way to tackle this? Thanks!!

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Re: 9 mo standing up in crib at nap time
« Reply #1 on: March 31, 2016, 13:42:01 pm »
Mostly it's a phase you will need to ride out, it's such a new experience for him that he can't help but want to do it all the time and as you've said yourself sometimes when they get up they can't get back down.
All though it's a case of riding it out you could try:
- lots of floor time during A, don't use any bouncers and limit how long  he is in other restraining things such as high chair, car seat, push chair etc, the more time he gets on the floor the better, he'll get his skill and move on.
- A longer A time. Although he might not really need a longer A time it could help with getting him really tired before he's put into the cot, so he is less inclined to stay awake and stand up.  Some floor time prior to nap time could help too so he gets his body tired as well as his mind (physical tiredness can be very important to some LOs and at certain phases)
- teaching him to sit back down.  Tracy said in her BW book, to take LOs hands on the bars of the cot and one by one slowly bring them down so LO is holding the bars but lower and lower, eventually his bum will plop onto the mattress and from a sitting position he is more likely to be able to lay himself down. Many LOs work out how to stand up or pull themselves up and get stuck.
- Use 2 different phrases when helping him, 1st "sit down" 2nd "lie down" (followed with your key phrase, "go to sleep" etc), it may be too much to work out the "lie down" instruction when still standing. It made a difference to my DS.
- keep reminding yourself it's not for ever...as tiring as it is it will likely be for a short period.


Offline mulvia

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Re: 9 mo standing up in crib at nap time
« Reply #2 on: March 31, 2016, 14:14:29 pm »
Thanks creations, that makes a lot of sense already - I did think he may need some more 'tiring out' but once we started the nap routine I felt I should stick with it. Will try an extra 10/15 mins and follow your suggestions...and I suppose a little time will do the rest!  :)

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Re: 9 mo standing up in crib at nap time
« Reply #3 on: March 31, 2016, 17:27:28 pm »
but once we started the nap routine I felt I should stick with it
Oh yes I know how that feels, you're already in there, already saying it's sleep time and then feel like you can't back out of it. Been there.
Whilst I wouldn't say it's a good idea to consistently 'give up' on a nap (because LO is sure to learn that if they just kick off a bit they get to skip their nap but end up in a tired mess) it really doesn't hurt to once in a while say "looks like I've got brought you to bed too soon, lets go play for a little while" it's a bit of a drag as you then need to do a short additional A time and then the WD all over but sometimes it helps to get them really tired and sometime it just helps to break that cycle that you can get stuck in trying to get them to lie down.  The few times I did this with my DS I don't think I ever once regretted it.
Mine appeared to needs lots of physical exercise just prior to a nap...even when he was older and up running for years we've done pre-BT physical activity, quite a few others in the community do too, it's like a last chance to burn off any remaining energy before sleep. I know it sounds a bit back to front when you want them to relax!

Well, good luck, hope the phase doesn't last too long for you :)