"My 9 month old, who has more often than not been good to go down for naps & bedtime, has recently figured out how to stand & jump in his crib and it has changed life! It seems that no matter how tired he is when I lay him down, before long he'll be standing up and then crying. I'm not sure if the crying is because he's super tired, doesn't know how to get down, is afraid to fall, or probably is just too tired to think! I've heard that you can just go in and help them lay down without any fanfare and this seems to work at first, but pretty soon he's back up again and crying almost the moment he stands up! His pediatrician suggested just leaving him alone and that eventually he would learn to go to sleep and that he'd be okay even if he fell. I really want to try this, but because he's been sick & teething lately I keep wondering if he really does needs me. On the other hand, I'm starting to believe that I'm just reinforcing him & he knows if he cries long enough I'll come in. It probably seems worse than it is because I've been sick lately & want to sleep too, but still, I would love some ideas. Thanks!"
So help her out:
What do you do when your baby stands in his/her crib and won't go to sleep?
Do you let your baby cry and just sit down on his/her own? How has this worked
What else have you tried?
What age did your baby stop doing this?
What other tips can you give for babies who won't go to sleep in their crib?
This is our last reader request until someone sends us another one! Thanks for reading.
6 comments:
Maybe I am more "tough love" than others but I would just let him cry for a bit. Sometimes kids are overtired or overstimulated and need to cry a bit to release "stress" I guess you could call it. Your baby might also know that if he cries you will come.
My suggestion is to give your baby tylenol or teething meds for teething worries. Make sure he is clean, fed, and has been cuddled plenty. Then if he cries, you can know that you gave him everything he could possibly need right before you laid him down so he should be fine even if he starts to cry. If you go this route the crying just might kill you at first. It might also seem like forever but my guess is after 10-15 minutes he will be out and sleep just fine. He may keep the crying up each time you lay him down but I bet the crying time will decrease.
My baby is 13 months and still does this from time to time. I just let him cry a bit. Sometimes he cries for the 10-15 minutes without relenting and I just get him back out. If it is for naps I just let him play until he tells me he is ready to try napping again. If it is at night then I will rock and comfort him before laying him back down...while also checking for other things that may be bothering him - a poopy diaper, too hot or too cold?, etc. He cries again but the crying bout lasts for a minute or two and he goes to sleep. I just have to bite my lip and trust that he is fine and like I said in minutes he is out.
If your baby is strong enough to stand than he is most likely able to sit and lay down on his own, even if he falls a bit on the way down. Falling a bit will give him the incentive and experience he needs to be adept at standing and sitting on his own anyway and you won't be there to be his crutch. He has more opportunity to do it on his own without the temptation to lean on you for help is what I mean. Anyway...
Your baby can sense if you are worried about laying him down. Confidently laying him in his crib and not rescuing him from a safe situation can help him feel safe and comfortable in his own crib. Hope that helps.
We went through a short bout of this with my son. Like Delia, I always check before Lucas is laid down that he is clean, has his sippy of water, and his blanket, and that his room isn't too cold or too hot. If Lucas cries and doesn't stop at about 15 minutes, I go check on him and if everything is okay, lay him back down. Usually he goes to sleep in a couple minutes after I check on him, but if he keeps it up, I check on him about every 15 minutes. If this goes longer than 3 times, I get him out and spend sometime with him and generally he will go to sleep the next time I lay him down.
With the standing, I think as long as he is not trying to climb out, just leave him. He will learn how to get up and down on his own and it shouldn't take him very long.
True, it didn't take very long. We got things figured out and are on to new questions! :)
Glad you got it figured out! :) Sorry we didn't get your reader request up sooner!
I was given a cloth book that my kids loved....and still do and that seemed to add a little bit of a distraction, but they were out with 20 minutes as well. I still let my toddlers read before nap. I first read them each a book and then let them choose one for them to take to bed with them.
I only have a quick few minutes to be online left, so Im not going to read the others' comments on this one... hopefully I dont repeat what everyone else said.
For my daughter when she did this we would just lay her back down and then leave the room as quickly and quietly as possible. Often shed wimper for a couple minutes or I could hear her get back up again but it never lasted long. What we started doing was putting a small stuffed animal or two in the crib with her. Ive also always let her have a sippy or cup of water next to her at night (though I dont know if that helps or not)-but the toys do. We havent had anymore problems. yeah we have a night or nap every so often when I can hear she's playing for a while, but usually we lay her down when she's tired enough that it only lasts a few minutes and then she's out! -toys in hand! :)
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