Crying herself to sleep.

ok... so i am now majorly stressed.
seriously hoping some of you mammas on here can help me!!!

My DD is 7 months old (last week) and from 5 months had a really good 'going to bed' routine. (bath, books, bottle and self-soothing to sleep.) this would all happen between 6 and 7pm. she would often have a little moan or cry, but nothing that lasted more than about 2 minutes, and definitely not anything to distress her.
The last two nights on the other hand.... bloody awful. getting hersilf in an absolute state. I can't leave her like it. it makes me cry. so i go in... calm her down, and then lay her back to sleep.... and off she starts again... this can go on for up to half an hour. i know its only been two nights.... but its breaking my heart.

she doesn't have a temp, has shown no signs of teething (already cut 7 teeth!) and has eaten and slept as normal during the day.
husband and family say she is just testing us, and that i have probably made it worse by going in to her. but i just hate to hear her upset. am i being a wimp?
Do any of you have any tactics!?! or similar experiences?!

rant over!

Thanks for reading!! x x

Jake sometimes does that, and when he does, we bring him back into the lounge and cuddle him until he calms down and is quite dozy, then put him back in his cot. He does share a room with his big sister, so we can't have him making a lot of noise anyway. We also don't agree with controlled crying or cry it out (most down to us being big wimps about it and not being able to cope with either of the kids crying!)

so glad i'm not the only wimp!!
thank you
it's just bloody hard... coz i do want her to have some element of routine... but i also can't cope with the screaming. and she has real tears... seeing them actually makes me cry!

Thanks again! x x

could it be separation anxiety kicking in? You won't find many on here agreeing with cry it out so don't worry about seeming like a wimp! We had endless trouble with bedtimes etc and what worked for us was staying with her till she went to sleep, not rocking or anything just being there to comfort when she got frustrated. Then you gradually move further away from them each night - it's called gradual withdrawal if you want to google it, and IMO it's the only real alternative to either CIO or co sleeping

You won't find many on here agreeing with cry it out so don't worry about seeming like a wimp!

Thank goodness for that - everyone in my family thinks i should just let her get on with it, or else she's going to become clingy...
i knew i loved this place!!

Thank you xx

Another wimp here

Both mine were similar from about that age. I used to just sit in the (dark) room with them until they fell asleep. No eye contact or speaking, just sitting. I would sometimes hold their hand or put my hand on their back, or make gentle shushing noises.

I really liked "the no cry sleep solution" if for nothing else than making you realise that both you and her are perfectly normal

Good luck finding a routine that works for you!

We've always cuddled and or fed to sleep. DS1 needed lots of help/comfort for him to sleep and if DS2 needs it (although I think he is slightly less so) then he will have it too. I've never left them to cry themselves to sleep as I couldn't imagine having to cry myself to sleep.
DS1 now at the age of 2 is becoming more independent to sleep, he will take himself off to bed for his afternoon nap if I'm and he now after reading his bedtime story will go off to sleep with us stood just outside his door. However sometimes he will still want his hand held and if he does he'll get it.

I also did the sitting in the dark room shushing thing. A little tip is that once you think she is asleep count to 5 mins before leaving the room. If you get to 5 mins with no noise from baby then they are asleep & you won't disturb them when leaving the room. If you leave too quick you'll wake her up & have to start all over again. Dd is nearly 2 and this still happens occasionally. She is really good at settling herself normally.

Also just wondering what time your dd wakes up from her nap? Could she be sleeping a little too late now that she is older & can stay up longer or has she been waking up earlier than normal & could possibly be over-tired at bedtime?

Also just wondering what time your dd wakes up from her nap? Could she be sleeping a little too late now that she is older & can stay up longer or has she been waking up earlier than normal & could possibly be over-tired at bedtime?

hmm.... she is waking up earlier... about 5am, but after her bottle she plays in her cot for a bit.... she doesnt sleep much in the afternoon... although she has had a bit more sleep during the day in total over the last 3/4 days.... should i limit her sleep during the day??!! and if so.... how much approx should she be having??!! Argh!! Up until now i havent been sticking to a routine during the day... just taking the cues from her. so she sleeps as much as she wants, or doesnt want to!! Although i dont let her sleep past 4pm....

im definitely going to try sitting with her. feel much better about that idea. i absolutely hate the idea of her going to sleep crying. my gran tells me that it wont harm her, as its just her way of going to sleep and stretching her lungs... but im def not convinced!! Anyhow - she makes enough noise during the day to stretch her lungs!!!!