Time for Jo Jo to start going to sleep in her crib. I love our cuddle time, but she will NOT settle down to cuddle with now anyway. The girl has to move, climb, stand, crawl, etc at all times. Put her in the crib and she screams like her little heart is breaking. She also beats me up… even when she’s lying there taking her bottle. She pinches hard, she scratches, she pulls hair, pulls ears and earrings out, hits, and kicks. She hasn’t gotten to biting… yet.
So I think I will start with nap times. I will start getting her familiar with her crib during non-sleeping times, while I’m there, make it an ok place to be, not a punishment place, which I think she sees it as now. Then I’ll start putting her in there for naps when she’s sleepy, after five minutes if she’s still screaming, we will rock, and then she will go back, repeat, until sleep happens. They will be the longest 5 minutes of my life.
I’ve been reading tons of advice websites, with anecdotes from all kinds of moms, and this seems to be a common problem at the age that kids start crawling, standing, and walking. Moms everywhere are pulling out their hair trying to get their kids to sleep when they absolutely refuse. I don’t want to fight with my baby at every nap and bedtime. I appreciate that she is wonderfully athletic, can stand up without holding onto anything, is even taking a step or two here and there, and can climb up a wall if nothing else is available. But I know when she is tired and needs to sleep, even if she doesn’t. And I know that neither her nor I want to continue to battle like this. She’s going to be needing a crib for naps and nighttime for at least another year and a half, before toddler bed transition. I would happily co-sleep and nap next to her but she just won’t lie down.
She’s full of the dickens. And I’m getting to my wit’s end!
Mother of All Things 
We have an unused booster seat we had that strapped to a kitchen chair. We use it as timeout when the dude gets to his unruly phase. My kiddos don’t sleep long at nap time, but we’ve tried to let them know they can play quietly in their room, if they don’t nap. We play with them in their room, and I’ll let them follow me in higher I fold and sort laundry, and they’ll climb into the bed and play and I can give positive reinforcement. Dude is still in a crib due to his bungee jumping ambitions, but he’ll play with softer toys in his crib for about a half hour without getting fussy. It’s all about negotiations! We only have pacifiers in the bed, only have certain toys in the bed, so it’s a unique time for them.
Nope. I refuse to believe she is that big. Nope, nope, nope.