Sleeping baby-- or lack there of...?

Question

My daughter is 8 months old and still wakes up at least 3 times a night. Is this normal? We have tried to let her cry it out-- will she just learn to sleep in her own time?

Answer 1

We went through the same thing with our daughter when she was around 8 - 9 months old. From what I understand, they are becoming more aware of things, and they are also more restless due to all of this. They begin to awaken during the night, and because they are more "aware" of their surroundings, they begin to develop fear of the dark or being alone.

What we did was hang in there. I would go into our daughter's room and giver her a pacifier, cover her back up with a blanket, speak softly to her and try to comfort her, but I would not pick her up. I would calm her down, and then leave the room. If she began to cry again, I would wait a few minutes, and then go in again, repeating as needed, except I would wait longer each time. It was like she was checking to see if someone heard her, and would help her out. I didn't pick her up because I didn't want her to think that it was okay to want out of her bed during the night. I wish I could tell you that it stopped in two or three nights, but it didn't. But after a while, she did eventually go back to sleeping through the night, and if she did awaken herself, she would put herself back to sleep.

She will learn to put herself back to sleep. That is why it is important to do some comforting, but don't pick her up because all you will do is reinforce the thought of it being okay to get up during the night. Help her, but do it without picking her up. Rub her back, speak softly or sing to her, give her a toy or blanket that will comfort her, or some other way to aid her in learning how to go back to sleep. It will work, and it does get better. That I can tell you for a fact - my daughter is now thirteen months old, and she has been sleeping through the night for quite a while now.

Good luck and hang in there!

Answer 2

It really depends on the child and the family. Do you know why she is waking at night? Is she always wet, or thirsty, or cold...? Some babies are less tolerant of wet or dirty diapers than others, and a good thick dose of zinc oxide cream can solve the problems. Or, especially if she's waking at the same time every night, she could be waking out of sleep cycles, out of habit.

Once you know WHY she's waking, that's when you can decide how to handle it. If all you are doing is going in and comforting her back to sleep, chances are she's waking by habit. At that point, you can decide how your family feels about the CIO method. Many believe that it is important to help your baby learn how to put herself back to sleep on her own in the night. Many say that if you go to her every time she wakes in the night you are actually teaching her that she needs you in order to fall asleep. Many believe that this can teach a child that they DO have something to be afraid of, waking in a dark room. Whereas, if you let them learn to put themselves back to sleep they realize that the dark room is safe and they can soothe themselves back to sleep. Others believe that letting your child cry is cruel, because they are always asking for something when they cry.

Decide how you feel about her crying and how you feel about her sleeping. If you think you can and want to do the CIO method, you have to be consistent. It gets worse before it gets better. And only do it if you genuinely feel confident that you know the difference in all her cries- that you can tell the difference between pain, anger and just plain being tired. If you are going to question yourself every time she cries, you will not be able to be consistent, and all you'll do is upset both of you.

Personally, I think that babies that aren't sleeping well by about 12-14 months are getting to the age where it is more out of behavior/control issues rather than needs. So you could conceivable wait a couple more months to see if she settles it on her own. But by 10-11 months, if she's still waking so much, I think you should consider some of the methods people mention. Because they just get more independent and strong-willed as they get older, and you won't have the healthy sleep habit foundation to build on.

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Answer 3

Each kid is different, and so is each set of parents.

You might try this method:

Start doing a bedtime routine, and get your baby all sleepy right about the time you'd eventually like her to go to bed for the night. Right? So give her a bath, feed/nurse her, turn the lights down low, sing or play quiet music...whatever your bedtime routine will be. I'm guessing that she falls asleep just fine sometime between 7:30 and 9pm?

So when YOU'RE ready to go to bed for the night--maybe around 10:30 or 11--go into her room and feed her again. Don't make a big production out of it. Don't change her pants or turn on the light. Hopefully, she spends the whole time in a sleepy dream state and falls right back to sleep. Then you should be able to go to bed, confident that she won't get up until the next morning. It might be EARLY--like 5 or 6--but you can live with that, right?

And then you can work on dropping that late night cuddle/feeding.

Definitely put a night light of some kind in her room.

And get her to associate your voice and maybe your touch with comfort. (Eventually, you might not need to pick her up. Just a pat on the back or the sound of your voice should send her back to dreamland.)

I have to say, though, that these tricks worked with my girls when they were much younger--like 3 or 4 months, maybe even younger. Your daughter might be too set in her ways.

But it seems to me that you need to somehow get her down to just one night waking before you can let her cry it out. Letting her do that three times a night is too hard on her and too hard on you.

You could try leaving her in her crib and not touching her but sitting in the same room when she wakes up. That might reassure her.

And last thought: lots of kids are cutting painful teeth when they're about that age. You might try giving her a little Motrin before bedtime and see if that helps.

Answer 4

Most children this age sleep through the night unless they are sick. Your daughter has learned that she gets to see you and interact with you when she wakes at night. Letting her cry it out takes more than 1 night or even 2 or 3. As long as you continue to go in and "rescue" her, she will continue to wake and "need" you. The more she wakes at night, the less she probably sleeps during the day. It is a vicious cycle. Start Friday night, DO NOT GO IN. Continue without fail and by Tuesday she should be catching on. You have trained her to need you and now you have to untrain her.

Answer 5

Sister, I feel your pain. Mine is 15 months old and still wakes up at night. She will eventually sleep through the night. At least I keep telling myself that. If you have ruled out all the normal factors (wet diaper, hungry, too hot/cold), then she's just waking up because her body's gotten used to it. Let her cry it out, or console her for a few minutes and put her back down letting her know it's night time. Good luck.

Answer 6

Every child is different. My kids still get up in the middle of the night and eat and they are 10 & 12 yrs. they can just get up and get it themselves now.
It is quite normal. Most babies will not sleep through the night until they are over a year old. Most babies who sleep through the night are fed things that their bodies cannot digest easily and that is why they sleep. Crying it out will not help....when she wakes up feed, and change her, keep the lights down low, and gently put her back to sleep as she gets older the peroids of sleep will get a little longer. Just remember she is only young once, and they grow up very fast. I hope you get some ZZZZZ's tonight

Answer 7

Yes, it's normal. It's normal for them to wake at night through the entire first year.

Please don't let her cry it out. Babies cry because they need something. Crying is how they communicate.

Yes, she will learn to sleep through the night all on her own if you leave her to do it. All three of mine have figured this out on their own. But I have to tell you that it does take longer than 12 months for some kids.

Answer 8

When she wakes up what does she normally want? Does she wake up because she just wet her diaper? Is she too hot or cold? If she wakes up because she just moved, or something little like that, try to let her calm herself and go back to sleep. Sometimes you just need to let them do this. Is she hungry? My son would wake up all the time like that and would want a bottle. He'd take a full bottle of formula each time! We ended up starting him on cereal alot sooner than the doctor wanted us to and wouldn't cha know it, he started sleeping through the night.

Answer 9

They are all different like said above. My first child slept through the night from one week, my second was still waking up till she was one. She will learn to sleep through the night, just be patient.

Answer 10

Each child is different. Most will sleep through the night on their own time.