Six Mos Old Baby Started Crying When Put to Bed

First, please don't doubt your ability to nurse your child or have enough milk. Breastfed babies will tell you what they want and need. And really you have no way of checking your milk production other than a satisfied baby. Can't tell by pumping and can't tell by the feel of your breasts at this stage in the game.

6 months is a very busy time of change and development. All baby's go thru phases where they have disruptions in their sleep or need more comforting from mom and dad. She could be going thru that 6 month growth spurt and needs to get topped off right before going to sleep. It's really not a big deal. Very common with breastfed babies to ask for a little snack to get topped off before going to sleep. Think about it-if she'd had a feed not long before that then goes back to the breast she's getting another round of the high-fat, creamy hind milk that is very satisfying to baby. No wonder she calms down and falls asleep.

Here's another hint-I understand not wanting her to get in the habit of falling asleep at the breast but I never found it to be a big deal with either of my kids. They both learned to sleep on their own by me sticking with their routine. But you can take her off the breast, burp her and then lay her down. That way she's got a little something in the way of activity in the middle prior to going down.

Once she gets thru this you can go back to your normal routine. Just be patient and follow her cues.

Don't ever worry about nursing to sleep. It's not a bad habit, it's natural, it's normal, and it's the way it's supposed to be done! Enjoy that bonding time with your baby. Not only are you calming and soothing your baby you're also encouraging milk production which will help you keep your milk supply up.
Nurse her to sleep if that's what she wants. Feeding on demand is the corner stone of nursing. She probably is hungry and needs some extra milk so give it to her.
I nursed my oldest one to sleep and I do the same with my now 3 month old son without problems. They will learn to go to sleep on their own later on. When you are ready to wean you will simply replace the nursing with another activity such as stories, cuddling or lullabies. It will take some time, but it will all work out in the end.
Good luck!

She's just growing and developing. What she needs to know is that you are there for her, to comfort and hold and nurse and be with her. She's just changing and so are her needs and her ability to communicate them to you. Please do not try to teach her that she doesn't need you or can't trust you to pick her up. What you don't want is for her to pull inside herself and feel abandoned. She is telling you what she needs and sometimes you are responding, so go with that. I think your maternal instinct is to help her with this, not hope it will go away. Listen to that instinct! Forget about what you'll have to deal with down the road. She's going to have a lot of needs as she grows and develops and you'll deal with them as it happends. One thing you want to communicate loud and clear to her is that you love her unconditionally and will help her. One day she'll be able to help herself more but that's years away. She is still very dependent on you and that's OK. She's just a little baby.

A person for not allowing a abay to cry it out. Please also look at the resources at the end.

http://www.phdinparenting.com/2008/07/05/no-cry-it-out/

It's a phase and if you don't want her to rely on feeding to fall asleep then I would stop that now , they all go through this , check on her by all means and even pick her up for a reassuring cuddle but then put her back down and walk away , yes she will cry again but she will get the message

At 6 months she could be going through separation anxiety, teething, or even an ear infection. If you pick her up, are you holding her upright (her head on your shoulder)? Ear infections hurt worse when the child is laying down and feel some relief when upright. Might be a possibility. Watch for fever, or tugging at ear. Good luck!

Crying it out has been shown to cause brain damage in children and an emotional disconnect between parents and children.

Options for what is going on now

1. growth spurt...she is hungry
2. Developmental milestone...she needs reassurance that everything is ok
3. She's not tired...try putting her to bed a little later or cutting her afternoon nap down by 15-30min
4. she really wants/needs the extra attention from you.

Meet her needs where she's at. She won't become spoiled I promise.

I would think that now she may need more feeding as she is getting bigger. Try nursing just that little bit longer so that you know she is full. Also check yourself out and make sure you are passing enough for her. Sometimes we don't know it and they are not getting enough and start crying. She could also have a gas problem. You could try maybe Pedialyte in a bottle so that the gas if coming up. Defininetly check your milk flow though. I know myself with my son I couldn't figure out why is cried when I put him down at 6wks. Finally I clued in and found out that I only had little and was drying up. I got him formula and gave him his first btl. and he slept for 10hrs. I was checking on him constantly, but he was fine. After that it was formula and he was fine.
Good luck mom, do remember to check because yes, the more you pick her up she will catch on to this.

The responses below are all good advice, but I would check to see if she is teething, my six month grandson is going through this now will be 6 months tomorrow and his gums are so sore that he is gnawing his hand off (lol).

It will all work out best of luck to you.

So what is wrong with picking her up? She is communicating with you. She may need to be held, she may need to nurse or simply to suck. Ignoring her crying seems counter intuitive. I like many of the answers that you have received already that also stress responding to your child's request. Respond to her (don't overstimulate her, but soothe her); you will actually look back on these days as the most precious of all.