Nap at 7:30 pm? What's going on?

Question

My 8 month old started to wake up after half an hour sleep, and she is ready to play! This has been going on for the last two weeks. After she wakes up, she stands up in her crib and no matter how long I wait, she does not go back to sleep. I don't take her out of her room, but all she wants is to play, jump, stand up! If I leave her alone, she cries like crazy, and it becomes even more impossible to put her back to sleep. She stays up for 2-3 hours. Then becomes very cranky, then she goes to sleep, and wakes up every hour or so. I give her Tylenol for teething. During the day, she naps for about 2 hours total and it's the same scenario... She sleeps for half an hour, gets up, and she is like the Energizer Bunny. I can't keep up with her, since she does not sleep through the night. I am not looking for a magical solution, but have you experienced this?

Answer 1

Babies are funny aren't they? No suggestion I can give you will be as good as your own instinct but I will gladly tell you my experience with this and maybe it will offer comfort to you...

My son started doing this very same thing when he was 12 months old. (He is now 14 months). He would be in bed by 6:30 and by 7:00 he would be climbing, playing, laughing, and eventually crying until I went in to get him. Then he would stay up until 9-10 when he was overtired and cranky.

I set him up on a schedule, dinner, playtime, bath time, story time, bedtime. I stuck with the schedule and after 4 days, he knew exactly what to expect and even anticipated it. The first three days he cried for 10 minutes or so in his crib but I did not go in his room. I knew he had all of his needs met and there was no reason to intervene. By day 4, he was asleep in minutes. He has been on the same schedule since, and he never cries when I put him to bed. He actually brings me his books after his bath and settles himself down to listen to his stories...

Good luck with whatever method you choose and just know that as long as you are calm and reassuring, your child will know she is safe and will be able to soothe herself back to sleep in no time.  

Answer 2

I would put her to bed around 9 as she gets older her awake time gets longer.

Answer 3

You could try to keep her up a little later before putting her to bed.  Just keep her entertained......if it does not work then just go with the flow