Help moms!
We have 13month old twin girls who used to go right to sleep like clockwork at 8pm. Until recently, my "little" baby (she's 3lbs. lighter than her sister) discovered how to stand up in her crib and would do so almost immediately after I place her in her crib! Then, she doesn't know how to get down so she just stands there and will eventually start to cry! This will sometimes wake up her sister and then we have 2 aggitated babies... which leads to 2 aggitated adults who used to look forward to bedtime because it used to be so easy! My question is, have any of you had this problem and what, if anything, did you do about it?? I'm hoping she will figure out how to get down (besides falling down because it scares her) and that this will pass. I appreciate any advice I recieve!
thanks!
Have you tried teaching her to get down in the daytime when she is rested and not tired or upset? My daughter is 15 months and I taught her to get down backwards if she is on a chair or stairs or anything. It is a similar skill and once she learned she got very good at it pretty fast.
Hello K.-
I know this sounds strange, but did you try putting your little one to bed a few minutes earlier than usual? Baby and toddler bedtimes change quickly, so what was a 7:00 bedtime last week may need to be 6:30 this week. When kids stay-up too long they miss, what I call the "bedtime window" where they easily go to sleep, and fight it more.
I tell the parents I coach when there is a sudden change in a child's bedtime habit, like yours, to try putting the child to bed slightly earlier.
This change may only be necessary for your one child, the other may be ok with the slightly later bedtime.
I hope this helps.
R. Magby
Things like this is purely developmental. Not a behavioral problem.
At certain age junctures and when they hit major "motor-skills" developmental milestones like standing-up or pulling up and what not.. it is instinctual in a baby... to then do it. It is an "impulse." They can't control their impulses. And yes, even in their sleep when they are "supposed" to be sleeping, they will "practice" their new motor-skills and do it.
And yes, they don't know yet, how to sit back down, to then lie down, and to then make themselves all into a comfy little sleep position.... again, in order to sleep. And it is repetitious. UNTIL she on her own learns how to stand-up, then sit-down, then lie-down... ALL IN sequence... she will not know how to do it on her own and it WILL tweak their sleep. When they stand-up, they then get "stuck" in that position... and don't know what "next" to do... to get themselves out of it. Normal. They don't yet have the motor-skills AND coordination working together in tandem... to problem solve this or to undo it.
So yes, until she "masters" her appendages and motor-skills and coordination of standing then sitting they lying down ON HER OWN at-will... it will happen again and again and again.... and wake her up and others. Because it is instinctual and their thoughts of then doing it... you can't exactly make her "stop" it.... unless you glue her to the crib. LOL
It WILL pass... but not yet, and not until she FULLY masters this part of her motor-skills and coordination and appendages to work all together....
Both my kids did that too as babies. And any normally developing baby will do that. So, the upside to it all is this: That your baby is developing perfectly and normally.. and she is "practicing" her skills which is normal and good... and it shows she is able to do this part of her development. HOORAY! Just take videos of it... for fond memories. That's what I did.
After she masters pulling-up and standing-up... even in her crib... then she will be onto other things. Like, knowing how to sit back down... and then knowing how to lie down again all on her own.
All the best,
Susan
I agree with Rachel, spend the waking hours working on this new skill. Start with lots of pillows on the floor and a child size support for her to pull up to, maybe start with a small stool, and help her pull up and then go down. The most common way they will go down is to plop on their bottom first, eventually they will bend and kneel. if you help her do this with pillows and make a game of it, clapping and smiling when she goes down, maybe she won't be so afraid when it happens.
If you get stuck on knowing how to help her with her motor skills, get on the floor yourself and be aware of how your own body moves to get to where it needs to be. Good luck, sleep will come again
