Bedtime Issues - Prairie Village,KS

Updated on August 10, 2008
J.G. asks from Prairie Village, KS
14 answers

My beautiful 8 month little girl whom I love very very much is really frustrating me. She's always been so good about her between 7-8 bedtime until recently. When I lay her down to sleep, she automatically rolls to her tummy and gets in crawling position. I would feel comfortable leaving her there but she keeps herself awake this way and then I miss that bedtime window and she gains that second wind. Then she is overtired....please help, I'm at my wits end to what to do. I don't see any benefit to holding her in a position and no matter how many times I put her back on her back she rolls back over to her stomach...argh!

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So What Happened?

Thanks so much for all the great ideas. I hate to say anything after one night b/c she always proves me wrong but tonight I just put her in her bed, kissed her, said goodnight. She rolled over and this time I didn't mess with her, she rolled back and forth several times. I'm not comfortable with letting her cry it out so I just stayed with her and eventually she just fell asleep on her tummy. It's seems the more I fight with her about it the more stimulated she becomes. Seems to be one of the first steps I need to take in letter her figure things out on her own..yikes, they grow so fast.

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S.T.

answers from St. Louis on

My son is nine months and he prefers sleeping on his tummy. When I lay him down on his tummy I put one hand on his back to hold him still, then I pat his bottom with the other hand. He falls asleep within 5-6 minutes. Give this a try.

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L.B.

answers from Kansas City on

J.~ Once again- i know you will get a variety of opinions and responses to this question. I say....let her rool over onto her tummy and get into the crawling position if she wants to. As long as you have the crib lowered enough so she can't crawl out- she will be fine. I have an 11 month old who RARELY (unless she is super sleepy) stays on her back when i put her in her crib. Several times- i turn on her bedtime music, give her a kiss and leave the room- and i will walk by o peek in a few minutes later and she is rolling around everywhere or iseven sitting up and looking around or talking. Once they get mobile- there really is no way to keep them still. I say- if she is not crying and content- just let her move- most likely she cannot hurt herself in any way and if she is anything my little girl- she will everntually put herself to sleep. I think trying to keep her on her back- is a battle you will not win. Occasionally my daughter still cries from time to time- but only for a minute or two and then she puts herself to sleep- sometimes she plays for awhile in her crib and i know its scary when they can sit up, crawl, and move around so much but just peek in from the hall and make sure she isn't in stuck or in a bad position and she will be fine! You have just entered into a new stage with your little one who has figured out how to move and WANTS to move! She will be just fine- i promise- good luck!

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C.S.

answers from Topeka on

With my kids I found that this age is the time when they may have to cry themselves to sleep or play for a bit before going to sleep. By 8 months both my son and daughter would be put to bed by 8pm and they would go to sleep shortly after. Unless the crying goes on for more than 15 minutes or it sounds urgent I would just let them put themselves to sleep. My son is 15 months and sleeps n a toddler bed on his own... he walks up to bed and climbs in with his sippy cup full of water and goes to slep on his own. But every kid is different.

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M.B.

answers from Wichita on

My beautiful baby boy does the same thing. He is now 9 months old and as soon as you lay him down he flips right over. Did I mention that he HATES tummy time normally? It is strange. What we do to calm him down is speak softly and rub his back. If you position him so he can't see you as you leave, he usually goes to sleep. Sometimes you have to give up on the back thing!

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T.M.

answers from Columbia on

we've been dealing with that exact same thing for about a month. we've found that we hold our son a little longer before he falls asleep (we rock him a little), and now, at 9 months, he's growing out of that -- i think he's just so excited to crawl, that he wants to do it all the time. and it's disrupting his sleep. my encouragement would be to look forward to it ending in his time. and also, you may want to rock him some or spend some time holding him while he gets sleepy?

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T.T.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi J., as precious as she is, I would try letting her cry thru at least one or two times (as many as you can handle)when she learns that her newest adventure no longer works she will go to sleep. Keep trying and she'll catch on that it's nap time. Trust me, it will be harder on you than her:) Sincerely,
T.

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W.B.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi J.,

Coming from a mother of 4, she is fine to sleep on her tummy at this point. And from what you are describing this is the "normal" way for an infant to sleep. My youngest daughter will be 2 in November and she still sleeps this way. I think also you may want to push her bedtime back to 8 pm and if you don't want to do that weed out the morning nap. You may have to make lunch a little earlier to accomodate this but then you could have her going to bed at the time she does not.

The way she is sleeping is how she feels comfortable and wants to go to sleep. When they are able to roll bak and forth by themselves they are ok to sleep how they feel most comfortable. By you going in ther and flipping her over you are creating your own monster. If you were to watch her the whole time she was alseep she would turn all sorts of directions, my youngest and older 2 or like fish out of water, they flip all over their bed. I'm not meaning to be harsh but she IS OK. If I thought she was in any harms way I would say so. At months of age she is old enough to sleep on her tummy. Let her go to sleep and you do the same, W..
P.S. put her in bed tell her good night and you will see her in the morning. Let her be, if you hear her talking she is just getting relaxed and it is very common. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

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C.C.

answers from St. Louis on

I'd let her sleep on her tummy. When my kids were little (I'm a grandma now), all the experts said... NEVER let them sleep on their back. They said that they'd be more apt to die of SIDS or choke on their vomit if they were on their back. Now... the 'experts' say just the opposite. I raised 4 kids, laying them on their tummy's from day one. They always slept so well, curled up on their tummies...with their knees drawn up under them. Anyway, she's way old enough now to sleep on her tummy. Don't worry.

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R.S.

answers from Columbia on

I would suggest placing your hand on belly and chest wide fingered gently rocking her side to side as you sing a sleepy song or two. Good luck!

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R.G.

answers from Kansas City on

With my kids.. now 17 and 13. I would have a routine and then say good-night and yes leave. I would check on them/have a baby monitor so I could listen in. In early child developement it is said the first independent habit a child should do on there own is fall sleep/go to bed.

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J.K.

answers from Kansas City on

My 4 1/2 month old baby does the exact same thing - she is not quite crawling yet but getting very close. I nurse her to sleep and then put her down but almost immediately she wakes up and flips over to her belly and starts the crawling motion. The last week or so we go through at least 60 to 90 minutes of this before she finally konks out. I usually pick her up and try calming her by walking her around and singing to her. I know it is frustrating but they are excited to be alive and want to practice their new skills. I am just trying to make bedtime as calm as possible. My husband and I have tried to eliminate anything that gets her too excited a few hours before bedtime - ie: johnny jumper, exersaucer, and daddy rough play.

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T.M.

answers from St. Louis on

I went through the same thing with my now 9 month old. She would roll over onto her back and didn't know how to turn over and would cry. We eventually just left her there to figure out how to go back to sleep - and she finally did. It might take a couple of nights but she will figure it out. Be patient and good luck.

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K.C.

answers from St. Louis on

Is her room dark enough that when you put her to bed that she will know that it is bedtime? It is okay for them to talk/coo themselves to sleep. It's their unwinding time. Even if she plays a little bit there is no harm in that. Even in a dark room, they may do that for a few moments. It's no different than what most adults do when they are going to bed. I used to read in bed before falling asleep. Now I watch tv. My parents used to talk over the day in bed before going to sleep.

Have a little night time routine. The good nights, I love yous, I will see you in the mornings, etc. Maybe even play a lullaby CD for a little while to help her relax. Turn out the light and leave. All I know is that by continuing to go in her room, is interuption and re-stimulating. Also, the amount of sleep that she needs may have changed. You may need to cut out a nap or put her down a little later at night.

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T.R.

answers from Joplin on

just shut the door and leave her in her crib with the rails up. she'll go to sleep eventually if no one is in there to stimulate her. sounds heartless but it works. good luck!

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