Scared of the dark???

[AnyDream]

Hi, just wondering what everyone thinks of this. DD (7 mo) is quite happy for day naps, settles easily, sleeps well and wakes up happy, quite happy to play in her cot instead of crying/calling out. However, nighttime is a different story. Harder to settle, frequently wakes again a few minutes later, cries as soon as she is awake, gets up frequently, and cries if we try to tiptoe out of her room while she's snoozing off. Could she be scared of the dark at this age? Or does she just associate fun play time in the cot with day time?

[~Trish~]

I'm not sure . Have you tried a night light in her room? It may be worth experimenting and seeing if a soft light overnight may work?

Sorry I'm not much help!

[SamiH]

Hi there

She has just entered that new awareness phase from around 6months on - she has learnt that night time sleep = long time away from mummy & daddy and might be a bit anxious about it - time to check your routines etc. Unsure if you have one or believe in them LOL but I would recommend ensuring the bedtime routine is predictable etc - a soft night light is a good idea though for both her and you - my daughter now 3 doesn't use one anymore and my son aged 5 has gone back to a very low night light (so he can go to the toilet by himself etc).

I also tried music/radio on low - perhaps she is waking up and there is no noise and she is used to noise comforting her.

It really is trial and error - oh the rich person that finds an instant cure and bottles it!!

Good luck

Sam

[Lulu]

Hang on, I think 7mo is the separation anxiety time isn't it??

Mary - I'm STILL scared of the dark.....

[AnyDream]

Well we've been experimenting with the night time lighting, since the 25 watt bulb in her lamp was just too bright, cut that down to a 15 watt bulb and wondered if that was still too bright (we only had it on when she was up or being settled down). Then I dug around in the drawer and found a proper night light (ie gets left on all night) and had that in there last night - but it seems pretty bright in the middle of the night and I'm waiting to see if that makes a difference over a few nights or just makes it worse.

I don't know, on the one hand they say to keep the room as dark as possible, but on the other hand a nightlight is softer than switching a lamp on!

[mum3girls]

Just an interesting tip re: night lights that I read in one of Elizabeth Pantley's books - choose a night light that has a more blue glow rather than yellow/orange/red. She likens the blueish light to moonlight which is more naturally linked to sleepytime than yellow/orange light.

I'd agree that the possibility of separation anxiety is probably more the cause than being scared of the dark. But it's also possible that bubby is more comfortable waking up and being able to see familiar surroundings rather than waking up in the dark and wondering where everyone/thing is IYKWIM?