My DD, now 8 1/2 months was sick for the last week with a very high fever and cold. So of course we gave into all of her needs and tried to make her feel better. Well her cold is gone but the attitude remained. She now wants to be carried all of the time, sleep in the bed with DH and I at night and for naps. I actually have to lay down with her head resting in my arms and pat her to sleep. Oh and she is now waking up 3 times a night 1AM 4AM and 6 AM. She was sleeping through the night before she got sick only waking up occasionally. She was not falling asleep on her own but it was not this much of a fight before. So she screams alot more and shakes her head no for almost everything. Help me what do I do. I don't want her to feel she is only loved when she is sick, but I want to go back to a good nights sleep. The only thing I can think of is we stopped most of her solids while she was sick to increase her liquids, so maybe she is more hungry but I am starting more solids back up tomorrow now that she is 100 % better. But what do I do about her attitude. Oh and if I try to lay her in her crib she will just stand up and chew on the paint, so that dosent work.

What did you do to get her to sleep through the night the first time? Have you tried using a nighttime routine? That has made a HUGE difference in whether or not Am cries at bedtime. She knows its coming when I dim the lights, give her a feeding, and read her Goodnight Moon book. When she does cry its usually no longer than 3 min. If it lasts 5 I go in to check on her and make sure she's laying down, checking if she threw her nuk out of the crib on accident. She still wakes early sometimes (due to teething or wet diapers) but otherwise theres no underlying cause. Your baby is old enough to sleep through the night. Sometimes when babies are learning a new skill they focus so much on what they do throughout the day that they're still thinking about it at night. That's why babies tend to change sleep patterns when transitioning to a new stage. Is she standing yet? It could be that she's ready to. Or she could be teething. It's also possible that she's just used to the attention now in which case you can look up ways to get your baby back to sleeping well online. I won't recommend a specific method. You need to go with what works for you. I will say though that a bedtime routine is a good thing to try regardless of method.

Is she teething?
Sometimes teeth play games and go up and down before they actually break through the gums.

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Austin
Mom to 3 beautiful girls

It sounds like she's not feeling good yet, and teething. Definitely ease her back into solids more, as that will help and give her things to chew, along w/some ibuprofen.

For the crib, they do have railings you can stick on. But you may have to glue them, as my son would chew on them and then take them off.

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The Really Needy, Special, Networking and Talking Mod

I think it is more then just teething. She already has her 2 bottom teeth in the front and thoes actually came in without to much fuss. Thankfully. And her peditrican whom we saw while she was sick confirmed it was a virus. Oh and yes she is standing and crawling already, it could possibly be the walking milestone but I doubt it would be this soon.

I am a foster parent of infants as well as have my own kids, one of which is 6.5 months, so I have been through this alot.

First off, you gotta get the crib rails for your crib. They are plastic sheaths that go along the railings so kids can bite on the rails and not chew the paint off. They will help you feel ok about leaving your daughter in her crib. And it lets her chew what she wants to chew! You can buy them online or at baby stores, I don't think they have them at the major retailers.

Then, like the other commenter said, you need to establish a night time routine and do the same thing at the same time every night. You have to be very consistent. I know it seems like alot but it will work and it will help the next time your daughter gets sick or learns to walk or for whatever reason her schedule gets thrown off.
For a routine, I will start at 6:30, give baby a short bath, get pjs on, feed a little (not a bottle though, you don't want baby to get dependant on bottle -but if you already do this, keep it up but start switching with water and solid foods) Carbs are a good choice as they help make baby sleepy (like cereal or cheerios or whatever carbs your baby eats now). by the way, this is to be just a little snack, not a full meal. If baby is used to a full meal, start cutting back little by little. Then lay down in crib and read a book. Try the same book every night. The previous suggestion: GoodNight Moon is a good one, otherwise any baby book will do. (I personally like My First Taggies Book: Sweet Dreams, it is short and super soft and baby can chew on it after you are done). Then I turn out the lights and leave the room. Make sure to not play with baby during night-time routine and as hard as it is, try to avoid eye contact. This helps baby stop getting so stimulated. Then, after baby is in bed, if baby cries, go back in after 5 minutes, do not pick up, just tell her she's ok and pat on back, then leave. Keep doing this letting the crying go a little longer until she goes to sleep. In a few days she will know the routine and if not then, will soon go to sleep on her own.

Try not to get discouraged, most babies get their schedules mixed up as different life events happen. She is not turning into a brat, she just doesn't know what time it is! Since you can't tell her, you have to show her by the routine. Also, all this work you have been doing taking care of her while she is sick and working through this schedule mix up has probably taken a toll on you too. Please try to get out without baby. Either on your own or with your husband.