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Baby screaming at bedtime
My son is 7 months tomorrow, he's always gone to bed fine, however the last 2weeks, not every night but he's been screaming at bedtime. He has naps during the day and goes down without a fuss. He hasn't any teeth yet so don't know if it could be that. If it was a cry I could let him cry it of but this is a full on scream, coughing and retching. It's like he is in pain. I've tried winding him before bed with gripe water too, putting him down with a light on. Nothing seems to work. I've not changed anything in his routine. He's such a good boy it's hard to believe he would just be playin up! Please help!
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have you tried a dose of calpol and covering his front gums in dentonox or bonjela 10 mins before bed. i know its not nice to give calpol unless he's in pain, but if you find he goes off better it might tell you its his teeth.
my lo goes through fazes of doing this, he doesnt like watching me move away but sometimes he falls asleep feeding or is so drowsy he doesnt mind. we do cc but if he seems particularly upset/its hot/he's teething etc my oh rocks him - he loves being in daddys strong arms. however if it becomes habitual we do go to cc again. your lo is at the right age to be getting separation anxiety so it could well be that. my lo started with bedtime and moved onto his daytime naps. i didnt want to put him through cc for daytime naps though - it didnt seem worth it, so we go round the block in the pushchair and he naps in that just as well as in his bed x
Oh Tracy hon, it isn't easy figuring baby out. If he is dribbling it could well be teething & as Alfie suggested a spoonful of Calpol shortly before bedtime should help relieve the pain enough to aid sleep.
Sadly the 'screaming' is a trait common with most children as they reach the 6-12mth age gap when their alertness suddenly heightens & they know where they are & what is happening around them. It sounds horrible & will tug at your heartstrings but that is the response it is meant to get. Hard though it is you need to remain calm & confident in telling your LO it's time to sleep, he won't like hearing it but it is what he needs. As long as you can keep your patience & routine going LO will quickly learn to trust you again & fall asleep soon after you lay them down.
Hi Tracy, just popped over from the other post you wrote on. I listened to the advice of the 2 lovely ladies above, which really i knew but needed reassurance. Babies do just test us, and Ryan's screaming has now abated. The first night i was in to him every 5 mins for 35 mins to reassure him, and although he cried a lot he settled himself in the end. The past 2 nights I've put him in his cot, gave him a big kiss and told him i love him, and although he's cried, he's been asleep in less than 5 minutes. I'm just hoping eventually he will stop crying altogether. He is on calpol at the moment too as his 3 top teeth suddenly seem to be coming all at once, and it does help him.
The smiles I get in the morning reassure me that he knows i still love him.
xxx
glad its working tigerlilly. i find we just get him sorted, then he gets poorly or has sore gums and we go back to square one! they form and break habits so quickly. hope you are getting more done and a bit more sleep for yourself as well now! x
tracy sorry i think we posted at the same time. so glad things improving for you. its not easy and they are all different but am pretty sure by the time they get to this age the answer isnt always giving in - its so tough though and must be much harder when you're parenting alone in the week. it helps having someone with you to tell you you're doing the right thing. i find my lo has forgotten all about it the next day but, if he has cried for a period of time he's very tired and needs more naps. it must be exhausting to cry like that but not more exhausting than regularly having poor sleep permanently! x