Sudden Change in Baby Sleep Pattern
My 1 yr olds baby sleep pattern seems to have gone out the window all of a sudden. She always went to sleep at 7.45pm, after her 7.20pm bottle. But for the past few nights, she refuses to go to sleep, and was up until almost 9.30pm both nights, despite being obviously exhausted. She was quite sick last week with an ear infection and was on antibiotics and painkillers – could this be what disturbed her sleep? Also, some people have suggested that we’re putting her to bed too late, that she should be going to bed at 7pm. She’s never been a baby that sleeps much. She only takes two half-hour naps during the day.
Your child being sick last week is probably the cause of sudden change in baby sleep pattern. I am not sure if the problem is just that you can’t get your child off to sleep or is this coupled with her waking frequently during the night. She may have made some negative sleep associations with the cot after being sick and now does not want to sleep in it. If this is the case you will need to have some fun time with her in the cot when it is not bed time to change her negative association. Maybe during the day at some stage bring her to the room, give her some tickles while she is in the cot, play peek-a-boo etc. for a few minutes, then give her some toys to play with while you pretend to tidy the room for a few minutes but don’t leave the room while she is in the cot as you want the experience to be all positive. I would do this for a couple of days and see if there is an improvement.
Also she is not getting enough sleep during the day. If a child gets overtired the child’s brain release’s chemicals to keep them awake. This is why it is much more difficult for a child to fall asleep when they are overtired and when they do eventually get to sleep they often end up wakening numerous times during the night as their brain won’t allow them to settle into a deep sleep. I would look at her nap times firstly, make sure her first nap is not too long after she first awakes in the morning, so if she is up at 7 she should be going for another nap at about 9.00 for half an hour and then at 12.30 for about 2 hours. As also if she is overtired going for her nap she won’t settle properly for her nap either. If at her lunch-time nap you find that she is consistently waking after 30mins, go to her at 25 minutes and just when she is starting to move rub her back gently and say shhh. See if she resettles herself.
I would advise that 7pm is a better bedtime but all children are different so you really need to watch her and when you see that she is getting tired and this is the time to start putting her to bed. At night-time if she is uneasy going to bed don’t leave the room for a few minutes, stay with her, rub her gently and say shhh, just before she goes to sleep leave the room. Be sure to leave the room before she falls asleep otherwise you will be forming another negative sleep association. If she cries as you leave go back to her, re-assure her and then try to leave the room again. Repeat this until she falls asleep. Once she has the re-assurance that everything is ok after a few days she will learn to fall off to sleep again by herself.
[This article was originally posted on Rollercoaster.ie]
