LO doesn't want to be put down to sleep

HeatherFaye718

Anyine experiencing this lately? This last week my son cries as soon as I lay him down even if he was already asleep. Now today it started for nap time as well. Anything I can do? Any idea why this could be? I'm assuming I'll just have to wait it out but it's getting really hard at 2am when I just want to go back to sleep. I'm at a loss...

natalknitter15

Ugh, I hear you. My son slept through the night until he was 3 months old, then he reverted to waking every 3 hours. Now, he's continuing to wake every 2-3 hours AND doesn't go back to sleep easily, like he once did. I thought things were supposed to get easier, not harder. Alright, that's the end of my whining (for now!). Hopefully someone else will have some good advice.

kdoak2015

4m sleep regression=brutal 

Saramore10

Is your LO teething maybe? 

rachswi

My LO hates to go down too. Bedtime is tough but naps are a huuuuuuge fight. It often takes me 3-5 attempts of putting him in his crib for him to go down and stay down (for all of 45 minutes max). I just keep trying. And as difficult as it is, I try to stay calm because when I get upset it seems to be even more difficult to get him down. 

He still doesn't go to sleep on his own, and as tempted as I am when I've put him down 3 times only for him to immediately start screaming, I'm not going to let him cry it out because I can't handle it (he ramps up to hyperventilating screaming quickly and then takes forever to calm down). 

Im exhausted too. But I'm just keeping at it. I don't want to add another sleep crutch by holding him all the time for naps so we play the up-down game. I have found that a heating pad on his crib (removed right before you put him down) has sometimes helped him transition a little better to not being held. We'll get through it. Coffee is a wonderful thing. 

gipfish

It is hard to move Jane without waking her. Sometimes it helps her go right back to sleep if I immediately pop a paci in her mouth and sing to her. Other times, the only way she will fall aslsep is if left alone. I set a 10-minute timer on my phone, let her fuss, and check on her when it beeps. Generally she is asleep. Listening to her cry, it always seems like way more than 10 minutes, but she is easily overstimulated, so being left alone is usually what she needs. 

HeatherFaye718

Just got back from urgent care. Little man has been screaming on and off for hours for a few weeks now. We're putting him back on his reflux meds (we stopped cause he was diagnosed with 5ths disease shortly after started and his pediatrician second guessed her diagnosis) if those don't work then I was told it is most likely late onset colic

I didn't even know that was a thing!!

natalknitter15

Does anyone else feel like they spend the majority of their time with baby trying to get him/her to go to sleep?

We get about 1-2 hrs of lovely playtime in the mornings, then he gets cranky and starts rubbing his eyes. We then start the naptime fight - where we move back and forth and back and forth between the rocker and the crib. It can take an hour or more until he eventually consents to a nap, and then he's up again. And we repeat that process about 3 more times throughout the day until we reach the final battle - Bedtime. I just wish there was a way LO and I could spend more time enjoying one another and less time fighting over sleep.

VexedMommy

natalknitter15 said:

Does anyone else feel like they spend the majority of their time with baby trying to get him/her to go to sleep?

We get about 1-2 hrs of lovely playtime in the mornings, then he gets cranky and starts rubbing his eyes. We then start the naptime fight - where we move back and forth and back and forth between the rocker and the crib. It can take an hour or more until he eventually consents to a nap, and then he's up again. And we repeat that process about 3 more times throughout the day until we reach the final battle - Bedtime. I just wish there was a way LO and I could spend more time enjoying one another and less time fighting over sleep.

There's a sweet spot not long before they go to school where I didn't feel that way, but now I find myself fighting DD1 (at 10yrs old) over grooming, getting ready for school, and homework.  There will always be something unpleasant that takes up far more of your parenting time than it feels like it should. 

Saramore10

@natalknitter15 My little one was similar In the beginning of me rocking him without feeding. Try putting him to bed a little earlier. He could be getting over tired which makes for a very cranky baby!

doodleoodle

Saramore10 said:

@natalknitter15 My little one was similar In the beginning of me rocking him without feeding. Try putting him to bed a little earlier. He could be getting over tired which makes for a very cranky baby!

I agree. If my LO is yawning and rubbing her eyes it's too late. She's over tired and it's going to be a fight. Unfortunately this means she can only be awake for an hour at a time. I am so looking forward to longer wake periods.

natalknitter15

Thanks everyone. I have off from work this afternoon, so I'm going to try putting him down for a nap after 1 hr of playtime, instead of waiting for tired signals.

@VexedMommy - That's a good point that I hadn't thought of. I guess there is always something like that! That helps to keep things in perspective.

Saramore10

It all depends how long your LO naps for too. If my son only naps for 30 mins then I'm sooner to put him down for his next nap than if he naps for 2 hours. Hope you get it sorted out! ☺

nycmommy13

Same here. And it never happens with my husband. He can rock him to sleep and get him down just fine within 20 minutes. I could be rocking him for a half hour and he'll still cry when I put him down. It's a little better when I make sure to get him to bed before he's hit the point of being really tired. Does your LO like lights? We also have a bear nightlight where the lights change colors. I put that in the bed with him when he starts crying and he falls asleep looking at it sometimes. Then I take it out once he's asleep.