# how can i get him to stop treating bedtime like naptime?



## jackson'smama (May 14, 2005)

my 6 month old ds (who used to sleep great, btw) is now getting a little bit more difficult to settle at night. He is so obviously tired at dinner time (6ish) that he is red-eyed, rubbing eyes, fussy, etc...so i immediately dress him for bed and nurse him down. lay him in his crib (he is a cosleeper once we are in bed). he sleeps anywhere from 15-40 minutes. then, he cries, i pick him up and try to nurse him back to sleep. but he is UP! cranes his neck to look around, wriggles around, but still seems tired (rubbing eyes and general demeanor). if i try to nurse him (rocking or lying down) he will nurse aggressively a few seconds while kicking and scratching me (constantly moving his arms and legs) and then quickly pop off, roll over, roll right back and act frantic to nurse again. this could go on for well over an hour. by this time, we're looking at it being between 8 and 9pm.
how can i get him to sleep and STAY ASLEEP? why is he treating this evening sleep like a nap but then waking up not-so-refreshed?
background: he wakes for the day usually around 7:30 or 8. naps from about 9:30ish until noonish and then may catnap in the afternoon but nothing serious. he's breastfeeding and doing very little solids and the introduction of them was after this began. he wakes during the night - there's no pattern and some nights it's twice other nights it's 5 times. he's healthy and happy.
what gives?


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## prettypixels (Apr 13, 2006)

Do you have a good nighttime routine? I think that would help a lot. Here it is dinner, bath, nakey baby time with books, and bed. It's predictable so she knows what is coming. I know we started our bedtime routine around 5/6 months... maybe that is something you could work on.


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## Mere (Oct 1, 2002)

It sounds to me like he just needs a nap and isn't ready to go to bed. My ds did that for a while (took a nap around dinner time) and then went to bed around 8:30-9:00. Lately though he's dropped the dinner time nap and is consequently ready for bed by 7-7:30. His schedule is always changing, so I just have to go with it.


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## Inanna_Mama (Sep 18, 2006)

Oh Mama! I know how frustrating it is. DS's been doing something similar (details and info on what we've been trying are here: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=823590)

My son's a week bit older (14months), but any chance there are some teeth trying to come in?


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## readytobedone (Apr 6, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jackson'smama* 
my 6 month old ds (who used to sleep great, btw) is now getting a little bit more difficult to settle at night. He is so obviously tired at dinner time (6ish) that he is red-eyed, rubbing eyes, fussy, etc...so i immediately dress him for bed and nurse him down. lay him in his crib (he is a cosleeper once we are in bed). he sleeps anywhere from 15-40 minutes. then, he cries, i pick him up and try to nurse him back to sleep. but he is UP! cranes his neck to look around, wriggles around, but still seems tired (rubbing eyes and general demeanor). if i try to nurse him (rocking or lying down) he will nurse aggressively a few seconds while kicking and scratching me (constantly moving his arms and legs) and then quickly pop off, roll over, roll right back and act frantic to nurse again. this could go on for well over an hour. by this time, we're looking at it being between 8 and 9pm.
how can i get him to sleep and STAY ASLEEP? why is he treating this evening sleep like a nap but then waking up not-so-refreshed?
background: he wakes for the day usually around 7:30 or 8. naps from about 9:30ish until noonish and then may catnap in the afternoon but nothing serious. he's breastfeeding and doing very little solids and the introduction of them was after this began. he wakes during the night - there's no pattern and some nights it's twice other nights it's 5 times. he's healthy and happy.
what gives?


i think it's the age. DD started doing this same thing at the same age. it's gotten a bit better, but i notice the earlier i put her to bed, the more likely she is to treat it like a nap. if she goes down one minute before 8 pm, she is up within an hour. if she goes down at 9, she stays down for a few hours usually (or if she wakes up, she's settled back down easily; doesn't STAY up). so i try never to put her to bed before 8 pm.

maybe try instituting an afternoon nap. if he's up at 12:30 from the morning nap, maybe around 3? that would keep your DS from being as sleepy as early so he might go to bed a bit later and treat it like a proper bedtime.


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