What to Do When a Baby at 6-Months Old Cries at Bedtime?

Try to determine why your baby is crying at bedtime.

At 6-months old, the average baby typically spends three hours napping during the day and about 11 hours sleeping at night. While crying can indicate that your baby truly needs your attention, persistent crying at bedtime can also be a reaction to baby separation anxiety. This begins to become an issue for babies at 6-months old.

Rule Out Illness

Make sure your baby's crying is not due to illness.

Always check in on a crying baby to make sure he isn't coughing, running a temperature or exhibiting any signs of illness. A sick baby should always be held and comforted. Your baby could also be crying because he is in need of a diaper change.

What To Do

It's okay to provide some comfort.

Once you've determined that your baby is not ill, you can begin to employ a "Cry It Out" method of responding to bedtime crying. Allow him a few minutes to calm down, stop crying and fall back to sleep alone. If the crying continues, visit briefly and offer some comfort such as soft talking or a short back rub. The next time the crying resumes you may add a few more minutes before making another short comforting visit. Eventually, your 6-month old will begin to understand that you haven't left for good when bedtime rolls around.

What Not To Do

This behavior rewards your baby's crying.

While going through "Cry It Out" training, it is crucial to never pick up your baby, this may be perceived as a reward for crying. Also completely avoid turning on bedroom lights, feeding or playing with your baby. While it is acceptable to provide some comfort, at 6-months old your baby needs to figure out a means of self-comfort in order to sleep quietly through the night.

References

• Kids Health: All About Sleep
• Baby Center: Cry It Out Methods of Sleep Training
• Dr. Spock: Bedtime Resistance

Resources

• Baby Sleep Advice: Baby Separation Anxiety