Hello Mummies (and Daddies!),
I've posted here a few times lately as we are having a few minor bumps along the way. So here I am again.
Until about a month ago my baby who is almost 6 months would pretty much fall asleep on her own. I'd put her in her cot, kiss her good night and walk out of the room. She'd fall asleep on her own with no fuss or complaining. About a month ago we came back from a holiday and she was really jet lagged. She struggled to sleep so I think I ended up accidental parenting her. We patted her to sleep for almost a week (naps as well). The problem is that since then she won't fall asleep on her own and I'm struggling to break the pattern.
She has also hit some developmental milestones, she can turn now from her back to her front (but not the other way around) and she has this habit of bringing her legs up (as if she were doing an inverted sit up - I swear, she is going to have abs of steel!) all the time!
A few nights ago I started trying to not pat her to sleep and tried to bring her back to her old routine and for a couple of nights that seemed to be going rather well. I'd put her down, give her the lovely and the dummy and just put my hand on her bottom (she falls asleep on her side) for a few minutes and walk out of the room. She'd turn a few times and complain and after about 5-10 minutes call out. I didn't let her actually cry; I'm so worried that she will be scared of her own bed that I respond as soon as I hear her call. When she called I'd go back in and do the same again and she would fall asleep on her own.
Over the past 2 or 3 nights she has been really resisting it all though. She will go into her cot with no problems but a few minutes after I've left the room she starts moving her legs up and down, thrashing the lovey around, playing with the dummy. I've wondered if she is under tired, but she was yawning minutes earlier. Today it took her close to 45 minutes to settle and she only really fell asleep when I had one hand on her back and the other on hew head.
Her legs are always going up and down, even in her sleep (is this normal?) and is her refusal to settle just something that will change or is this something I have to watch more closely. I must admit that I do miss not having to stay in her room for ages waiting for her to fall asleep!
So I have 2 questions that I was hoping for some help on...
Does anyone have an idea on how I can un-do the sleep crutch?
How long is too long for a baby to self settle; when do I intervene and when do I take a step back and let her find her own way?
x
