I'm Losing My Mind...!

I think you are right. I just experienced the same thing with my 6 month old. I am convinced it is the excitement of being able to get around on her own... and prior to the crawling I had been putting her in a "Sleep Sack" and nursing her then rocking her to sleep and laying her down.. once she started crawling she would immediatly wake up upon placement in her crib... and start crawling and crying. This went on for about a week and a half... we were near crisis. Obviously what had worked wasn't anymore so I did the exact opposite of what I would normally do...

I tried waiting until she seemed sleepy rather than nursing or rocking her to sleep, instead we took a bath together and I dressed her in a nightie then held her in the dark to help settle her down taking nice deep breaths and yawning a few times(with her night light on and soft ambient sleep music playing on repeat) then put her in her crib with her favorite blanket still awake, kissing her and telling her night night... she would fuss when I walked out and begin to scream.. I checked on her every 5 min... kept it brief, didn't pick her up like she wanted me to do, but let her know I'd be there if she needed me... it took about 3 visits...she was fine just didn't want to go to bed...then suddenly there was silence... I was nervous because I had never left her in bed with anything before, but when I went in to check on her one last time she was sound asleep. The blanket seems to be key... it is now working for naps too... but like everything... well see how long this works lol.

M., unfortunately it might be time to consider adjusting the nap schedule to just one nap each day. My girls each took morning and afternoon naps early on (2 hrs each) and I was very sad (and a little crazy) when they decided that they only needed one nap each day. It was an even bigger shock to my system when my oldest started (proceed with caution) needing no nap! I have adjusted now and soon my youngest will giveup naps completely. Fortunately I have taught them that on Sunday everyone takes a nap so I can have one.

Hello M.,

I really think that because your baby is 8 months old, she may be teething. You are lucky that she is not screaming, if is just the fussyness that she is giving you, then is probably that she is trying to let you know that something is wrong with her gums. Try to make a chart of the things she does daily, that way you are going to get a better idea of when and how she reacts to things. Also, is going to tell you when is the best time to try for naps. Have you also tried rocking her to sleep? wrap her in her favorite blanket, massage her body with baby lotion, it will help her calm down and there for it will be easier for her to go to sleep. Let me know how it goes for you and good luck.

Whenever my daughter reached a milestone (crawling, walking, etc), she had terrible sleep - both naps and at night. I think it's a combination of everything being so much more exciting now that there's this whole new element (they don't want to miss out on anthing!) and their little brains trying to process all this new information they are getting.

Best of luck and I hope she gets back to her schedule soon!

Hi M.! My Kela went thru a spirt like that. We had just come home from Hawaii and she was fit to be tied. Didn't want to lay down for any amount of time. Forget sitting or being held for long as well. She had acid reflux but that was a normal thing. I took her to a baby massage therapist and she suggested seeing a chiropractor. I see one on a regular basis and was hesitant to let my 1 month old be adjusted. I sucked it up and took her. She was so out of alignment. She had like 10 sublexations all up her spine and neck. By that late afternoon she was a different baby. My goodness the difference was amazing. She would lay down longer and her napping became better and she didn't fuss. We still go together and get adjusted and she is doing great.

my son had the same problem.we took him to a neurologist and he said they are so excited with all the new things they can do they dont want to sleep. he recommended buying melatonin 5 mg (it has to be synthetic not natural)and giving it to him before he went to bed. it worked like a charm dont worry it wont hurt them its what your brain naturally releases to make you sleep.the good thing is you only give it to them for a week or two and they get into the routine and you can stop. my son goes to bed at 6:00 and wakes up at 7:00 and before he would wake up 4 or 5 times a night. i was weary of trying it but it worked hopefully it'll work for you too. good luck!

Can she be teething? Constipation? My son had these issues when ever he got fussy for sleep. I would just leave him to play until he got really tired, once he was back to normal we went back to his nap schedule.
Good luck