10 mo thinks sleep time is play time

[EandE]

I could really use some help with this one! DD has never been an easy sleeper, but the past couple of months have gotten worse and worse. We cosleep on a futon on the floor of her nursery I lay down to nurse her, but only about 1/4 of the time does she nurse to sleep or fall asleep easily. The other 3/4 of the time, even if she seemed on the verge of nodding off, she opens her eyes and becomes excitable. She scoots off the futon and bangs on walls, pulls blankets out if her dresser, or worse-- tries to pull my hair or slap my face. The first few times this haapened, I thought I had just missed her sleep window, but now it happens more often than not It can take more than an hour until she winds down, and my patience really wears thin.

I know this is a pretty typical stage, but I don't know what to do in the meantime. Do I insist on laying her back down every time she sits up, or let her roam around the room a bit (I've done both)? At naptimes, how long should I try to put her to sleep before I give up and decide to try again later (I have sometimes attempted naps 3-4 times before she fell asleep, but I don't know if this sets a bad precedent)? How can I prevent her from beating on me, but still be there to cuddle with her when she's ready? Any other suggestions for how to let her know that sleep time is not playtime?

[kathrineg]

You might try wearing her down to sleep or rocking her. She will be unable to roam around. At that age they can't control their impulses and in my experience they start to resist sleep quite a bit...preview of the toddler stage!

Good luck!

[EandE]

Thanks for the suggestion.  When she's being excitable, she will not tolerate being held or rocked.  But I have thought about wearing her more during the day-- I stopped months ago because she got so heavy, and I wonder if she misses it.

[Megan73]

When you say she won't tolerate being rocked or held, do you mean that she cries?
That may just be her fighting sleep. Whenever my nine-month-old is about to fall asleep in carrier or car seat, there's always a minute or two of protest as if he objects to falling asleep without the boob.
It might be worth experimenting to see if a few moments of fussiness in the carrier buys you a good nap.

[kathrineg]

I agree. I used to watch a baby from 5 months to when he was about a year and he would fuss in the carrier when he was going to sleep. He was right there with me and he was okay and I could generally tell that he wasn't anxious, hungry, in pain, etc...just mad at my inability to nurse him to sleep, and his general feeling that he was too excited and curious to sleep. Of course no sleep would lead to a crazy baby.

(The crying lessened dramatically as he got used to it.)

He also needed me to be walking walking walking quite vigorously and bouncing him up and down until he got used to it...then I got to just stand and sway...finally I could sit down with him in the carrier and he'd still fall asleep. The other cue I used was a CD, the same CD every time.

I'd also make sure he's getting a ton of exercise so he's nice and worn down by sleep time. It can be hard at that age because they can't do much by themselves so you get more exercise than they do!

Hang in there.

[EandE]

She doesn't cry when I hold her, she squirms and arches her back until it's nearly impossible to keep a hold on her.  I haven't tried with the carrier.

I'm starting to wonder if part of the problem is that she doesn't get playtime in her bedroom-- she always plays downstairs in the living room.  So when we go up there for naps or bedtime, it's a complete novelty for her.  I'm going to try incorporating some playtime in her room before naps and see if it makes a difference.