Reply To: Crying when walking to the bedroom

[Emma H]

Hi Gabriela,

It sounds like you’ve made significant progress over the past few weeks, especially at night. It’s fantastic that you’ve been able to reduce movement during the bedtime routine and that your little one is now sleeping in the crib through the night!

I completely understand how exhausting and frustrating it can feel when naps don’t seem to follow the same progress. To get a clearer picture and help you more effectively, I have a few questions:

1. Wake-Up Time: Does your little one have a consistent wake-up time? If so, what time does she typically wake?
2. Nap Schedule: How many naps is she taking during the day, and are they happening at regular times?
3. Nap Routine: Can you describe what her nap routine looks like?
4. Sleepwear: Does she wear a swaddle or a sleeping bag for naps?
5. Bedroom Environment: How is her bedroom set up for naps? For example, is it cool, dark (dark enough that you can’t read a book), and quiet?
6. Settling for Naps: You mentioned feeding her to sleep for naps, as well as walking and rocking. Are you transitioning to walking/rocking to fade out feeding, or does it depend on her needs?
7. Daytime Feeding: Do you know how often she feeds during the day and whether she gets distracted while feeding? If she’s distracted during the feed she has after waking from her nap, she might not take a full feed, which could lead to her needing to feed again soon after. Alternatively, since she’s feeding to sleep, it’s possible that when she wakes from a nap, she’s not very hungry because she ate shortly before sleeping. This could result in smaller feeds and her feeling hungry again not long after.

While you answer these questions I have two suggestions that might help:

1. Adjusting The Nap Routine Slightly

Given that she gets upset on entering the bedroom, you could try putting the swaddle or sleeping bag on in another room a few minutes before going into the bedroom and walking around with her in your arms (preferably lying down). This could give her some additional time to settle and get ready for sleep.

2. Feeding Adjustments

• After Waking: To encourage a full feed, try feeding her in a quiet room with natural light. If she gets distracted, close the blinds and turn off the lights to minimise distractions.
• Before Naps: If she’s hungry before nap time, consider feeding her in a bright, busy room to help keep her awake. Do this before putting on her swaddle or sleeping bag. It’s important to ensure she doesn’t fall asleep while feeding. When she’s awake and actively feeding, you’ll hear her swallowing every few sucks. If she’s sucking but not swallowing, she’s likely fallen asleep. If she does fall asleep while feeding, it’s best to gently place her in the crib without waking her. Waking her at this point to settle her into the crib using the settling pyramid may not work well, as even a brief nap while feeding can reduce her sleep pressure (the drive for sleep), making it harder for her to settle back to sleep.

Emma

• This reply was modified 3 weeks, 5 days ago by  Emma H.
• This reply was modified 3 weeks, 5 days ago by  Emma H.