Problem with Bedtime

He doesn't hate going to sleep. He changed his routine just when you through you had a routine and now you are frustrated. Personally I'd probably move his bedtime a little later and see if that works. I'd put him down around 8 ish and leave him fuss a bit. He should be able to self sooth.

Why would you prevent him from rolling over. Maybe that's why he's crying. Stop doing that. Seriously!

Welcome to mamapedia, Diller

Leave your son alone. LET HIM SLEEP. If he is rolling? YOU ARE FINE!!!

Also as he gets older? That 7:30 time is going to get later and he may be on the brink of staying up until 8PM. It might be he's just not ready for bed and needs to stay up a little bit later.

Why do you keep turning him back over? If he's able to roll over, the chances of SIDs is reduced.

ALL four of my boys were belly sleepers. STILL are. Let him sleep how he wants to sleep. He's big enough to flip/roll over. Leave him be.

If his last nap is at 3PM? He might be getting too much sleep and needs to go to bed later. You also might be setting him up for issues later with your "massage" routine. At some point, it will need to stop. As he will expect it every night before he goes to bed.

I don't understand. Is he not allowed to roll over? If he can...he can! Let him. He will find a position that is comfortable for him. Make sure you don't have bumpers on his crib...those can suffocate or a baby can get wrapped up in them.
I remember how awful it was when my daughter wouldn't sleep. Oh god. I came on here and wrote a question...in tears. She was so hard!!
Sorry...got distracted! I nursed all of my children to sleep until they were 1. It was a time to share, cuddle, love on my kids.

If your son can rollover all by himself, I think that means he passed the age where you have to put him on his back to sleep. Check with your doctor to be sure, but when my boys were little, I was told that if they could roll over on their own, I didn't need to put them on their back anymore ... or at least, I didn't need to be concerned if they rolled over.

he's not training you, if by that you mean he's consciously manipulating you. he's an infant, and he doesn't hate sleep.

i'm baffled by your response to his rolling over. rolling over is an important milestone. why on earth do you think rolling him back is going to help him sleep?

babies go through many many stages, sometimes cycling rapidly through them. it's a roller coaster for parents, but sometimes you just have to go with it. you can't train a baby out of growing up.

but yes, you do need to get a grip on bedtime but that doesn't mean trying to rigidly control how and when he sleeps. your bedtime routine is great, but it could be that your baby flat isn't sleepy at the time YOU'VE decreed bedtime any more. so move it back. play with it a bit. you don't want to throw everything but the kitchen sink at him, but you've got to be flexible with how babies' needs change.

if he cries, don't pick him up. just rub his back and sing softly to him. don't talk to him or play with him. keep it sleepy and low-key. be patient. he's a baby. he doesn't understand being 'taught.'

and yes, he does want to go to sleep. he doesn't hate it. he's figuring it out.

you will too.
khairete
S.

He sounds like he might not be tired yet. Can you try tiring him out more and letting him stay up an extra hour? I'm all for schedules, but babies' needs and change constantly depending on growth spurts, etc.

As far as his sleeping position, I'm pretty sure all that goes out the window once they can roll over. Ask your ped.

I'm fairly sure that the "sleeping on the back" thing is for young infants or babies with low muscle tone who are incapable of rolling over by themselves. If your son can roll over with no problem, and if he's generally strong and healthy, then let him choose his sleep position. Just make sure that his crib is not stuffed with toys and lots of quilts and pillows, and that his mattress fits securely without gaps between the mattress and the crib wall.

You also might consider making the afternoon nap a little shorter. If he wakes at 3 pm, and is back in bed for the night just 4 hours later, he might not be tired enough. Maybe a shorter or earlier nap, then some activity, fresh air, play time, a good supper, and then your bedtime routine.

To me it sounds like he is waking up too late from his nap or you are trying to put him to bed too early at night. If you are adamant about him going to bed between 7 & 7:30 I would either shorten his nap or make it earlier. I don't know mean by places with the lowest SIDs co-sleep. If you are putting him in a crib that is not co-sleeping. Are you trying to get someone to tell you to co-sleep? If you want to it's your choice.

move bedtime back. with a 3 pm naptime he may not be sleepy enough for bed at 7 at 7 months if he can roll then it does not matter which way you lay him down, let him roll to whichever position is comfortable and self sooth to sleep.
just make sure there are no cords from blinds, no toys no blankets nothing in the crib that he could get tangled up in and he will be fine.

With my first, I thought every single thing he did/we did/didn't do - caused his sleep issues. Was it the soother, was it the night light, was it the fan, was it the temperature, was it his rolling, was it the sleeper ...

No - it's your baby, he's hit a new developmental milestone and just when you think you've mastered a sleep schedule, they change it. Routine keeps changing and parents have to adapt. It's the nature of the game :)

It's maddening and it's hard. Just go with his flow. He's changing. Don't keep trying to put him in a position he doesn't want to be in. Once they're mobile, just let him be.

My first was my worst sleeper. My others all went in crib (no routine) when I noticed their eyes were closing. They just went zzzzzz......

We kind of overdo it with our firsts, and the routine can kind of rev them up if they notice we're anxiously trying to get them to sleep (they pick up on the vibe). Also, if they're not super tired, the routine can kind of backfire. Just go with his flow :)

JUST STOP! No one EVER said you have to make a child sleep on their back that can roll over and sleep however they want.

So stop trying to do anything with him. Stop. He can sleep how he wants.

He's going to bed really early if that makes a difference. How do you guys have any sort of family life with him going to be so early? He can't go that many hours without eating so he has to be waking up during the night hungry. Why not put him to bed later? When he's sleepy?

We did stuff after my husband got home from work. We played and went places and did things. There's no way we would have wanted to be tied to putting a kiddo to bed that early.

But you need to stop doing the sleep on his back thing. That's over. Newborns and those just a few months old are the ones that should sleep more on their back than off it. Some aren't comfortable on their back and that's just that.

Move bedtime back to 8-8:30 with the same nap schedule he has now. It sounds like he still has plenty of "energy" at his current bedtime.

Kids go through on and off sleeping phases, but just because it's normal doesn't mean it won't drive you crazy! Haha. It sounds like he has a good bed time routine so the rolling and crying is more attention seeking than actual needs. Have you tried just leaving him in there? Like you said, he is probably trying to train you guys so if you keep going in there, he will keep having a ball with it. I agree that maybe pushing bed to 8pm might also help tire him out a bit without the meltdowns. Good luck!

How many naps and how long is he napping? Mine never did more than one "formal" crib nap. They might have caught a few smaller car naps. That afternoon nap was usually 2-3 hours. And bedtime was 8:30-ish after a bath. Once they stopped napping, it was easy to move the bedtime up a little earlier. Maybe you need to adjust your daytime sleeping routines and timing a little bit

I think that the Back to Sleep concept is primarily for younger infants. By seven months my son was pulling himself into a standing position in the crib, so keeping him on his back wasn't even a thought for us. If your son can roll onto his stomach, let him do it.

I had a hard time with letting my son cry-it-out. But I also wanted him to be able to self-soothe.. So we used Harvey Karp's wake and sleep method. Tear free (for both mom and child!) and he's a champion sleeper now.

What if you don't go in? I don't see that there is a reason to. He can sleep either on his stomach or back...let him choose. Let him roll over. Let him cry a little and then fall asleep. I would try this and see how he does.