My daughter is 8 months old and loves to roll around. She's usually very good about going to sleep at night and sleeping the whole night. Lately, after her bedtime bottle, she gets sleepy so we put her in bed. Immediately she starts rolling. Once she's on her stomach she thinks it's playtime and cries for us to come and play with her. Last night it took an hour to get her settled to sleep. We thought about just letting her cry to sleep, but she keeps turning so she's sideways in the crib and she gets stuck, so we are afraid she will injure herself. We have bumpers on the crib. Does anyone have any suggestions on what we can do to keep her settled in her crib? Should we take the bumpers out?
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Kris
Do you use a consistent, predictable bedtime routine every night? If not, you may wish to try that. It can be as simple as:
-take her to her room
-change her into her pajamas
-read a book (maybe even a 'night time')
-dim lights, close blinds or curtains
-turn on lullaby music
-feed bottle
-give kisses, put in crib, say 'night night, see you in the morning'
-leave
If you've never had a consistent routine, it may take a few days for her to get the hang of it but at least she will begin to know what to expect when it is 'time for bed', and you can continue this routine well past toddlerhood.
Hi Katie,
How cute.....your own little rolly poly!! I personally would not remove the bumpers but I bet a lot of people will say you should. I never had a problem with the bumpers with my daughter who is now 2. I removed them after she started standing and cruising. I always felt they kept her safer when she was rolling around in her crib but I was also very vigilant about making sure they were properly positioned and attached. I just worry that by taking the bumper out your little one will start rolling into the sides of the crib and that can't be comfie!! I agree with the previous poster though that you should just continue to go into her room, not say anything, just pat her back and maybe a few shhh shhh's and leave the room. I always found, even now, with my daughter that if we did that a few times she'd realize she wasn't getting any fun out of us and would stop. I have also been known to do this a few times and if she keeps it up I go in there a final time and tell her quietly but firmly that it's night night time and I will not come back to her room again tonight. Your princess may be too young for that right now but it works for us. However, I have to stick to it and sometimes that means she cries it out a little bit. Good luck!
Hello, based on personal experience (my son is doing the same thing) do not take the bumpers out. I did and then his leg kept getting stuck between the bars and he would start screaming as he tried to get it out. I put the bumper back in and that problem was solved. He still rolls around once I put him to bed but he usually goes to sleep eventually, so I just let him play and fall asleep once he is ready.
Hi Katie,
This is a fun age! I would keep the bumpers in. Your daughter will have more padding when she turns sideways. Good for you for realizing she wants to play and giving her some time to settle down. Try leaving her for 5 minutes. Watch the clock and listen to her. If she is not settled down by 5 minutes, go up and reposition her as needed. Don't interact too much. Then leave her for another 5. One other thing I did, was I stayed in her room where she couldn't see me, this way I could make sure she wasn't stuck. This worked with my daughter. I hope it works for you.
Whenever your child meets a gross motor developmental milestone there is usually relapses in good sleep. This goes from rolling, sitting up, standing, walking, etc. They LOVE to practice their new skill. It is a phase and will pass. I have learned that nothing lasts longer than 2 weeks. Seems long but doable. I would say at 8 months you can take the bumpers out. She will be learning to pull up soon. Maybe have a rolling marathon an hour or so before bed time. Then she will be too tired to do it in the crib?? At this age starting a routine is important b/c they really seem to get it at this age. Good luck..
oh also, I am not sure if it is too early, but babies start needing only 11 hours of sleep at night, so you could see if putting her down a bit later helps, again it may be too early. I am not sure when I pushed my sons bedtime up. You tend to forget after awhile.
We left the bumpers in. As far as getting stuck...we let our little ones figure out by themselves. If they got stuck they eventually worked it out and got unstuck.
Good luck! It is funny how bedtime routine and practices change as they get older. Just when you think you got it, they change and so does the routine!
I found that a very consistent bedtime routine helped my son go to sleep better. We started around 6 months when he had trouble sleeping and still use it - he is 28 months.
Any routine that is consistent should work, as long as it is consistent and moves them more and more to a relaxed state. Our routine:
- Brush teeth
- Change diaper
- PJs
- Read and snuggle for about 20-30 minutes
- Hugs and kisses and go to bed
I would also agree that while you need to peek in at her to make sure she is not tangled, I would not go to her once she is in the crib...that has always set me back when I succomb!
Best of luck!
I've always been told to remove the bumpers once baby starts rolling. Also, I had to let my oldest cry to sleep for a little bit when he was an infant. Set the crib in the room so that you can peek in and make sure baby isn't stuck or hurt, but so that baby can't see you peek in. As soon as she sees you the process will start all over again and it's just heartbreaking to listen to them cry like that. It's hard, but SOOOO worth it in the end. Both my boys are the BEST about laying right down to sleep at bedtime. No fussing, no whining, no crying. It's great. My boys are 5 and 17 months.
B.
Take the bumpers out.She could use them to climb out. When my daughter was 9 months old, we let her cry. Sometimes she'd cry so hard she'd throw up, but after a few nights she got better,and slept great. My second would get caught. We'd go in, free her adn walk right back out. Initially she'd cry harder, but after a few nights, again, she got the message. 8 month old a VERY smart and know how to play you. ;) Good Luck!
Katie,
I'm starting to have the same problem. All of a sudden, my wonderful sleeper has turned into a nightmare!! I would advise taking out the bumpers though. My almost 9 month old is pulling himself up to standing in his crib. So get the bumpers out of there before she learns to do that, and uses the bumper as a step! OUCH!!
Other than that, I don't have much for advice. I'm in the same boat!!
Good Luck!
L.
K.,
My first suggestion to you is to take the bumpers out. A baby can use these to climb out of their crib and when your daugter gets a little bigger she will figure that out. Secondly, I would poke my head in but don't pick her up. Let her know that you haven't abandoned her and quietly let her know that it is time to rest and then leave. She'll probably protest and then fall asleep.
Good luck
K.
Hi Katie-
I agree with the other M.'s about having a bedtime routine, that should help your daughter understand when it's time to start settling down. Having a routine for them is so important, no matter what the routine entails.
Regarding the bumpers, I removed mine around 8-9 months, but replaced them with the "Breathable Bumper". It's a thin mesh-like bumper that will help block her from getting her limbs stuck, but it's so thin they can't use it to climb out. I still have it on and she's 13 months old, very active but has never tried to climb out.
Good Luck
