Author Topic: 6.5 month old suddenly struggling to go down to sleep  (Read 1599 times)

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Offline BlueandPinkMum

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6.5 month old suddenly struggling to go down to sleep
« on: March 12, 2018, 09:30:38 am »
My DD has always been very good at going down to sleep -in part my ruthlessness at needing her to to self soothe as I have a 2 year old who can't leave on his own for too long (the length of a Ben & Holly episode 😂).
At nap or bedtime I have only had to put her into her sleep bag, close curtains, sing twinkle twinkle then say 'night night' and put her in her cot. She then sucks her thumb to sleep. She also has sound waves on as white noise.

As of 3 days ago this changed -she starts crying as I put her in her sleep bag and crying "gets serious"!
I have started weaning her in the last couple weeks. That's the only change.

Her routine is:
WU: 6.30 & BF
        7:45 -Breakfast
S:     8:45am

WU: 10:15 & BF
S:     12:30

WU: 2:00 & Lunch
        3:00  BF
S:     4:15 

WU:  4:45/5:00
         5:00  -  Dinner & BF

Bedtime -7pm  (& BF)


Morning wake up is time family get up for work /nursery so struggle to get her to sleep longer hence why her activity times are 2hr15 but she does struggle to stay awake this long. Likewise if I put her to bed at 6.30pm she'd be woken by her brothers bedtime antics (try telling a 2 year old to keep quiet!) at 7pm so this is best that we can do.

I can put her down for naps after 2hr Activity-time but the way the day would work out, she'd have long awake time in the afternoon.

Offline becj86

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Re: 6.5 month old suddenly struggling to go down to sleep
« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2018, 10:40:29 am »
Hi :)

I think your LO needs some more A time, she's probably protesting because she's not tired enough for a nap yet. This is a common age to be reducing from 3 naps to 2: https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=246541.0

Morning wake up is time family get up for work /nursery so struggle to get her to sleep longer hence why her activity times are 2hr15 but she does struggle to stay awake this long.
What is she doing that makes you think she's struggling to stay awake for 2:15? Its quite common for babies to look tired but actually just need a change of scenery.

Offline BlueandPinkMum

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Re: 6.5 month old suddenly struggling to go down to sleep
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2018, 14:01:06 pm »
She gets grouchy and rubs her eyes. This afternoon I put her down to sleep after 2.5hrs and she was just as tearful.
I didn't feed her though, her cries were 'upsetting' but were on & off, not continuous and turned in a sort of 'mantra cry'.
She's now woken after only an hour like she did this morning. 

Feel she's overtired maybe?

Offline becj86

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Re: 6.5 month old suddenly struggling to go down to sleep
« Reply #3 on: March 12, 2018, 20:40:18 pm »
She gets grouchy and rubs her eyes.
Ok, so this can be habitual when LO's had the same A time for a while. It can also mean she's ready for another activity.

She's now woken after only an hour like she did this morning.
1hr naps are UT. She can get through a sleep cycle transition, so that's great but she needs more A time to be tired enough for a full 1.5hr nap.

She may have some chronic OT going with these regular short naps (2hr A times are appropriate at 4mo but by 6mo, babies are doing 2:45-3hr). The only way to fix that is to extend the A times so she takes longer restorative naps.