Hello,
We have been very blessed to have a baby girl that 'slept' great...up until last week. She is 7 months. Starting a couple of weeks ago she had been using her feet to move herself up against the crib. We have a breathable bumper pad so I'm not worried about that. She used to go to sleep with no problems too. NOW, everything has changed. When scooting her way to the top of the crib, she gets stuck. We go in to move her, but I think that's the wrong thing to do. As I am typing she is in her crib SCREAMING. Last night she woke up at 11 and decided to start rolling from back to belly in every direction. She only rolled over in the past when she felt like it. Well, now she's rolling all over the place and getting herself stuck (her head is in the corner of the crib). This a.m. we woke up & she was finally sleeping on her belly.
I can go on forever. Point is...I think going in to move her is the wrong thing to do. Do we just let her cry and cry and let her figure it out herself? We feel terrible seeing her like that.
Move her and leave, like most of the other people said. Within a few weeks she'll be adept enough to get it on her own, but there's no real advantage to having her doing her practice in the middle of the night half-asleep and half-scared.
My daughter did that too. In fact, she's 22 months and I still find her curled up in the corner with her head shoved up against the rails. It's normal and a bit frustrating.
If you think that letting her get herself back to sleep will result in her getting all worked up and not sleeping after all, you can calmly go in, pull her out of the corner and place her on her stomach and walk out. If she's able to move around like you say, that shouldn't be a problem anymore for her to be on her stomach.
One problem I had was that I went in and cuddled her, which was a mistake. That actually woke her up and then she would do it more often to get more mommy time.
Good luck in this phase.
Its a phase. Go in , move her and leave right away. Then let her cry it out if she has to. Eventually she will figure it out.This too shall pass. Oh, and take out the crib rails. She's too big for them and could use them soon to climb out.
Yes this is normal at this age. If she gets stuck move her, tuck her in, and leave again. Don't be surprised to find her on her hands and knees (and still asleep) in the middle of the night. Sitting up in her sleep, standing in her sleep - or awake. Babies at this age are so focused on learning to move that they will practice in their sleep and at night. It can be disruptive to her sleep. If you peek in and she's been crying but is laying down and seems reasonably comfortable, just leave her. If she's in some other weird uncomfortable position just lay her back down and tuck her in. She'll fall back asleep before you know it. Even now my 12 month son sits up in the middle of the night, but he usually falls back asleep himself (with his face planted in the matrass, his knees tucked underneath him and his butt in the air). Sometimes I tip him over onto his side so that he doesn't wake up again because his legs fell asleep, but usually he'll roll himself.
Our Dr. said let them figure it out
Hi L.,
Whenever my son got stuck somehow in the crib, we always helped him out. Mostly it was a leg or an arm hanging out, but it would scare him and he couldn't figure out how to get it out and we didn't want him to hurt himself. Within about a month, he stopped getting stuck. I don't think there is anything wrong with helping your daughter figure out how to get unstuck.
Good luck!
L.
You should go in and move her, settle her down for about 30 seconds, then leave. Like others said it's a phase, but she needs your help so she's not stuck.
Hi! I'm also a mother of a 7 month old. He has the same habit of rolling and scootching until his neck is bent up in the corner and he can't get out of it. I don't have any real genius solution to give you, but one thing that has kept him out of the corner is that I put a few crib toys that hang from the sides. It seems to keep him in the middle area. While he still rolls and scootches, at least he stays more towards where the toys are. We have a fish aquarium thing that lights up and bubbles when he hits the button on one side and a panda bear that lights up and plays music when you pull its arm hanging from the other side. It seems to work for him. I hope this helps!! There is nothing worse than losing a night of sleep!!
Good luck!
A.
I think all babies go through this to some extent at this age. She is really learning her gross motor skills. Don't be surprised for her to be pulling up and not knowing how to get back down. The only thing I can suggest is to let her play in her crib during the day. This way she can master her skills in the A.M. instead of the P.M. I don't think it is bad to go in to check on her at night if she is screaming just to make sure she isn't stuck. You don't need to pick her up and put her back to sleep. If she is a tummy sleeper now, just put her back on tummy and give her butt a little pat, a kiss on the head and leave the room. My second daughter would get her little legs stuck between the slats all the time. Teaching babies to sleep is the hardest job! Don't worry, this too shall pass and you'll be presented with a whole new challenge!
