Name: C.J.

Enumclaw, Washington

Number of kids: 1

Ages of kids: 10 months

Problem: My ten month old will stand up in her crib instead of lying down in her crib to sleep. It wouldn't bother me so much if she didn't cry every time she got up. One day it took almost 3 hours just to get her nap in that she so badly needed. And it doesn't matter how many times I go in there and lay her back down she just keeps on doing the same thing. We have even tried to rock her, feed her, change her, and just sing her lullabies. Nothing seems to work. Does any one have any ideas?

Solution submitted by Colorado Mom: My daughter is nine months old and she does the same thing. A really good book called "What to Expect the First Year" by Arlene Eisenberg, et al, gave some good advice on sleeping problems that I have applied to bedtime battles also. They suggested when your child wakes up at night, unless they sound in pain (or some other emergency), to let them cry it out for increasing amounts of time before going to them. This helps your child learn to self- soothe themselves and go back to sleep on their own. Anyway, I have practiced this with my daughter, and it took less than two weeks before she quit demanding for my attention at night. Back to your problem (sorry!), this was a key factor in helping her to go to sleep on her own when I put her in her crib for naps or night time. She will stand in her crib for a while, but now she will eventually lay down and go to sleep on her own, without needing me to soothe her. Another thing I read in that book is that it is normal for a child to want to check out their environment instead of laying down like we want them to. You know, it seems kind of cruel at first to let them cry, but it REALLY WORKS!!! One other thing, just make sure her crib is low enough that she won't be able to crawl/jump out, and I wouldn't worry about it so much. She'll learn to go to sleep on her own eventually!

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