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Help with 7 month old's sleep!

julielovestomjulielovestom
in Babies: 6 - 9 Months
My DD just turned 7 months yesterday, and we are really struggling with nighttime sleep.  She was born a "night owl".  As a very young baby she preferred her awake time at night and usually went to bed around 11pm.  This has been extremely difficult to break, and just when I thought we were there, she got a cold and we moved her back to her rock n play in our room so that she could sleep elevated.  Well, she's been back in her crib for a few weeks now, and we are struggling with the first stretch of sleep.  She usually wakes up after being put to sleep (we've tried anywhere from 7-9) and wants to play for a few hours!  I'm exhausted!!!  I thought the 11pm bedtime was bad, but now this has gone as long as 2am.  She is happy and playful and doesn't act sleepy, but this is wearing on me, and I need to fix this now!  I have read the no cry sleep solution, and we've tried some of the techniques, but it doesn't really address our problem.  I have really been trying to implement more of a rountine/schedule in the hopes that it would help, but I'm not seeing consistent improvement.  Last night I though we were there, she went down at about 8:30 and slept until almost 9 this morning (waking to eat every 3-4 hours), and we stayed on the same schedule today, but she woke after an hour to play, and was up (playing and fussing in her crib for almost 2 hours).  I really don't want her to cry, but I need to teach her to stay asleep and not have playtime during the night.  I go to bed in fear that I'll be woken up to play for hours, and I have a 4 year old to take care of as well.  I have tried waking her up in the morning to help set her clock, but it doesn't seem to be working.  I'm at a loss for what else to try.  Sorry this is so long.  Thanks for any suggestions!
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Re: Help with 7 month old's sleep!

  • Lvsoy&chippyLvsoy&chippy

    What are her naps like? She could be really confused. A 7 month old should be somewhere around 2 naps a day ranging from 1 1.2 hours to 2 hours... Possibly a cat nap in the afternoon. 

     Do you make night time and day time two totally different things? For example- Night time should have lights off (whole house) sounds down.... Routine.. Bath, book, sleep.... 

     Also- I know you don't want to let her cry, but sometimes that is what is needed to break a habit.. Give her a little bit to fuss in the dark and see what she does. 

    Hope this helps! 

     

     

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  • smo321smo321 member
    I agree with PP.  I would start making the house dark about and hour before bed time.  Anything that would keep her stimulated take away.  DD goes to bed at 8pm.  If I go past that a little bit she gets her second wind,  she also will end up waking in the middle of the night.  I would say leave her in her crib when she wakes, let her fuss and cry.  I have a friend that just went through similar thing and it took her DS about a week of crying but now he is STTN.  Hang in there.  She will get it eventually and you finally get some sleep.  GL
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  • teamsweetteamsweet member

    If she's used to bed time at 11, a bedtime at 7 feels like a nap.  NCSS suggests slowly moving he bedtime earlier.  So start shooting for 10:30-10:45 for a few days and slowly progress back and that means starting your bedtime routine that amount earlier too.

     She also could be having a wakeful period in general, so give it a few days to get her on any schedule for bed time before trying to adjust.

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