Baby won't lie down!

So your baby has learned to stand up! Congratulations on this fun milestone! This is such a huge step into the world of development that’s coming your way very soon.

‍

Having said that, a lot of babies run into a bit of an issue when they first learn to stand up; they haven’t learned to get back down yet.

During the day, this isn’t much of an issue. Your little one can spend all day standing up and sitting down all while you’re next to them helping them through it.

‍

But once nighttime rolls around, this becomes a whole other issue.

‍

This really puts us as parents in a Catch-22. On the one hand, you can’t just leave your baby in a situation where they might fall down and hurt themselves, but on the other, if you keep going in and laying them down, they don’t learn how to do it themselves. What’s more, they’ll quickly learn that standing up and making a fuss is a pretty effective way to get mom or dad back into their room and paying attention to them.

‍

So there’s a fine line that we need to walk in order to help baby figure out how to solve this little situation they find themselves in without creating a bad habit that could sabotage their sleep.

‍

As with all things in parenting, patience is essential here. Keep in mind that your baby may not know how to go from a standing position to a sitting one on their own yet, and they may not realize yet that sleep comes a whole lot easier when you lie down. Remind yourself of this when they wake you up for the 5th or 6th time in three hours because they’ve woken up and gotten back on their feet again, fussing because they can’t get back to sleep.

‍

The quickest way through the first part of the equation is to develop that standing-to-sitting skill, so during the day, practice going from standing to sitting any chance you get. When baby pulls herself up to a standing position, try putting their favorite toy on the ground nearby, gently encouraging them to go from a standing position back down to ground level in order to get their reward.

‍

Once they’ve got that skill mastered, however, that second hurdle may still be an issue. They may not realize that sleep is a whole lot easier to achieve when they lie down. This is where I like to introduce a little role playing.  Stand up, lay down, close your eyes and make some exaggerated sleeping sounds.  Model this several times for them.  Then see if they will do it with you.  You could even have a key phrase or song- “Lay your head down, close your eyes, when the day is done, this is how sleep will come.”

‍

It seems like it should be instinctive, I know, but again, patience mama!

‍

We don’t want to create a situation where baby starts relying on you to do the work for her, so avoid repeatedly laying her down when she stands up in the crib. Do it a few times at first to show her what’s expected, but once that’s established, switch to a more suggestive approach that doesn’t involve contact. Pat the mattress and use the key phrase or sing it and before too long, they should start to connect the dots and realize that lying down is the best way to get to sleep.

‍

Remember, even though it might appear that your little one is fighting sleep sometimes, that’s almost never the case. They want to sleep, but they just lack the skills necessary to get there on their own, so help them figure it out without doing the work for them and they’ll take care of the rest as soon as they develop a little confidence and ability.

‍

And one last little tip! Hats off to all of the single parents out there and the amazing work they do, but if you’re raising baby with a partner, talk this out with them and come up with a plan that both of you can agree on and follow through with. One parent responding with one set of expectations with another responding totally differently is going to confuse baby even further in a situation where they’ve already got a lot to figure out. Both of you will need to respond in the same way in order for your expectation to be clear, and you’ll see results a whole lot quicker if you’re working together.

‍

As always, be calm, be patient, and be consistent. The hard work now will pay off a thousand times over when your little one is sleeping soundly through the night again and happily going down for naps during the day.

‍