Baby Won't Sleep in Crib - Matthews,NC

Sounds like its time for a toddler bed/big kid bed. My middle child HATED the crib as soon as we put him in a toddler bed he started sleeping just fine

Hi V.-
Just wanted to suggest separation anxiety. It may be coinciding with her learning to pull herself up. Our 9 month old started having new problems with sleep when the separation anxiety started up.
It ended up being a phase that we had to be patient through and now she is sleeping better than ever. (She was pulling herself up at 6 months and kept getting her legs stuck in the crib rails so it has only been the last month that she has been sleeping on her own!)

It's fairly common once they started being mobile, trying to cruise/walk. Once they accomplish this or the novelty wears off they usually go back to sleep. Another thought is she may be napping to much and not need as much sleep. Sleep patterns can vary greatly in babies and toddlers so you may have to experiment with naps and bedtime. My oldest took a 2-3hr afternoon nap and slept 12 hrs at night at 10 mths. My baby (9mths) takes about a 1 hr nap in the morning and afternoon and only sleeps 8 hrs at night.
Give her some time in case its just a development change. if its not better on a week or so you might try eliminating a nap. you should try to stay consistent with the sleep time routine that had been working for you before. If she was falling asleep on her own keep trying that. Changing the established routine will just reinforce her wakefulness. If your presence in the room helps her remain calm, maybe you could just sit where she can see you until she falls asleep.

Not a lot of advice, but just a thought . . . have you tried leaving her to roam a few times until she gets so exhausted that she just falls asleep 'wherever'? Maybe if you don't make such a big deal of her 'being in bed' to GO to sleep, she'll quit rebelling so strongly against it. Usually I'm one to 'make them' do things (and I do agree that once you put her in bed, you need to be firm about her staying there), but sometimes the relaxed route brings about more family serenity if it's something that's not directly 'giving in' to her demands! You DO need to stay 'in charge' as children only get MORE independent (demanding) as they get older!

This happened to us and what i ended up doing was pulling a chair next to the crib and laying my hand on him while he cried. I just kept making him lay down, and eventually, he fell asleep. Maybe she is teething? try giving her 1/2 dose of tylenol before last bottle...

I'd try skipping nap time in the crib and allowing her to play in her room behind a baby gate during her usual nap time. (of course, make sure the room is absolutely baby safe first and use a room monitor if possible- You knew that already I'm sure. ) As babies grow naps become infrequent and she may not need them at the same time as before. By allowing her to play this way during the day you will discover her new sleep pattern in a more natural way, and she will learn to entertain herself while you get a much needed break. This new change would be helpful for bedtime too because she will be tired and more willing to go to her crib having spent less time in it than usual.
You may want to find a special toy that is only allowed in the crib. When she comes out of the crib, the toy stays behind.
I don't know if this will work with your little darling, but it did with mine.
Good luck!

Didn't read other responses so I apologize if I'm being redundant. I've decided that with kids, everything is a phase! I remember mine going through a similar phase, though it's been a while. How is she napping? Still 2 naps? Might try limiting the morning nap if she's taking a long one, to get a better one in the afternoon. But still seems a little young to get rid of it altogether. And really wear her out (lots of activity, sunshine) between naps. Then when it's naptime (ours was usually after lunch) Do your usual soothing routine (story, rocking, snuggles, etc) Darken the room, put on music or white noise, put her down and leave the room. Be very consistent with your routine, so she knows what's next. Or,you could just stand there (silently) and just lay her back down every time she gets up, so she knows it's naptime, not playtime. Or stand outside the door (watch if you have a video monitor) and do the same. If she was able to soothe herself to sleep before, she can do it again. They just change so much so fast at that age it's hard to keep up with the phases. I remember doing the same with mine, and it driving me crazy when you know they're tired, and you're doing everything and and they just won't go to sleep. One other thing you could try too, is putting her on the floor (w/blankets etc) and lying down with her. When my youngest was a little older (out of the crib) and not wanting to nap, I started lying down with her and we would both fall asleep. I never slept long, but it was the most delicious 20-30 minutes of sleep! And she always fell asleep faster that way. She's 4 and we still occasionally do that:) I always recommend "Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child" because it was very helpful to me. You might check it out.
Good luck!

Yes, it's totally normal for sleep routines to get messed up when they learn new skills. Check out Babywhisperer.com's message boards for tips on sleep training methods. It's my favorite site! Consistent routine and more physical activity during the day always helps. Whatever sleep training technique you use will take a few days, but it's totally worth it. Otherwise, it'll become a huge habit! Good for you for wanting her to sleep independently!

I'm waiting for my own exhausted 2-year-old to calm down for a nap herself. (The room has been quiet now for 10 minutes, so maybe she's finally crashed....) I just finished weaning her, which means no more nursing to sleep at naptime, and no more easy way of guaranteeing her much needed nap! If she doesn't have a good nap each day, she's overactive and overtired and just does goofy things that get her in trouble, PLUS she wakes up at night and can't settle back to sleep well because she's overtired. She's always been sensitive to sleep changes like this (never slept through the night regularly until I got serious with the sleep training a few months ago--and she's 2!!!), so babywhisperer has been fantastic. (We had to make a rule that she has to stay in her bed, otherwise she'll just play the entire time and keep herself awake, and then be exhausted by 5pm. She needs the sleep so much!! When kids get older, their nap requirements do change, but some kids get better and better at keeping themselves awake despite how much they need the sleep--at least mine and the 3-yr-old I babysit do!!! She's a handful without a nap as well!)

Put her in the crib and walk away. Every 3 minutes, go in there and pat her back and walk back out. She'll hate it at first, and will scream harder to make you change her mind, but keep it up and you will get through this. And yes, it's just a phase. Nothing lasts forever unless you keep it going by doing what she wants you to do.

Hi V.,
You're right, you have to teach her to go to sleep on her own....so, here's the hard part, let her cry herself out. It's so hard, and I've been there. With my own children, now with grandchildren. My daughter came with my first grandson for a visit with him, around 8 months old then, and I took a week to allow him to calm himself down when napping and bedtime. It was hard to hear him cry (scream), for me and my daughter. I told her that it was part of development, they have to be able to calm themselves on their own. So, the first day it's something like 20 minutes ....and gets less and less as the days progress. If it takes longer you can go in and firmly but lovingly tell her to lay down and ignore the desparation on her little face, making sure she is fine otherwise. Oh, I know this is a toughy. Toward the end of the week my grandson was going to bed without a wimper. My daughter told her friend it was the best gift she'd ever gotten. Oh, I realize how she may get the first few days of this....but, my doctor had told me to "put on the vaccume, play music, get in the shower...do just about anything to distract yourself from my daughter's screams. Oh gosh, good luck, it will be worth it in the long run for both of you though. Good luck V.

Hi V., I feel like I was reading my own question. I am going through exactly that right now. My son just turned 10 months and about 4 weeks ago started crawling and pulling himself up in the crib. He seemed too excited about his new skills to EVER take a nap or go to bed at night. You just have to stay strong and stick the routine. I think it is a phase and as long as there's consistency then she should get back on track... I think. I'm not expert by any means since this is my first baby too. But, I do know that it worked for me and he's getting much better at taking his naps on time. I will say there was a lot of crying involved, but he does not let me rock him to sleep because he just wants to stretch out or crawl around. I will also say that I was NEVER one to let him cry it out before. When he was smaller, I would get to him right away at first wimper. But now he's older and is learning to cry just for my attention, so I can differentiate the real cries from the attention cries. When I do go back in, I lay him down, pat his tummy and eventually he'll just fall asleep. I hope this helps!

My daughter is 10 1/2 months, and she went through a phase where she would pull up at nap time and then she had trouble sitting herself back down. She would get tired and then start crying. I would just go in and lay her down, sometimes 4 or 5 times, and then she'd finally go to sleep. That lasted for a week or two and now she's good about going to sleep on her own. She might stand up and play in her crib for a few minutes, but she will lay down and go to sleep.

I definitely think it's a phase. She's just really excited about the fact that she's mobile and she doesn't want to slow down for nap. Yet she still needs naps. Even though it will be rough at first, I think it will be better in the long-run if you just let her cry and learn how to get herself to sleep. Go in and lay her back down if you need to, and talk in a soothing voice. We had one week that was really rough but she finally learned and now she enjoys naptime and bedtime.

helping toddlers sleep, go to ask.com
you should get lots of info, you may type in different phrases til you find some great tips on your situation, hope this help, hugs!

I know this may sound crazy but when my son was that age I had to take him out of the crib and put him in a bed. For what ever reason he did not like to be confined to the crib. I started letting him sleep in a bed in his room and never had anymore problems with him sleeping at night. My daughter ended up being the same way when she hit 10 months old. I just figured they did not like the small space. Now both of the (5 & 17) like to sleep in full or queen size beds so maybe its a space issue.

U might want to try putting her in a regular bed and see what happends.

sometimes the problem can be that they don't know how to get down from the standing position. They learn to pull themselves up but are afraid to "fall" back down. Teach her how to sit down from a standing position. If this is not the problem and she is just refusing to lay down and go to sleep AND you know that she is tired... it may be a battle of wills. Let her know that getting out is not an option. If you can't just let her cry by herself, then sit in the room but pay no attention to her. Don't look at her or talk to her other than to again say, " It's time to go to sleep now".

Letting them cry it out at 10 months is different than letting a newborn cry it out. A newborn doesn't know what is going on, a 10 month old does. Expecially if she new how to put herself to sleep before. She may just be acting stuborn about it and you just need to let her know that you are in control and she needs to stay in her crib.

At the very least, stop taking her out of the crib to comfort her. That is exactly what she wants you to do.

My pediatrician told me with my toddler just going into a toddler bed (about 14 months old)... you can't make them go to sleep, but you can insist that they stay in their bed. They can do whatever they want as long as they stay in bed. Eventually, they will fall asleep. I thought that was good advise and it took the pressure off of me to "make him fall asleep".