How do you get an 8 month old to go to sleep??

Question

We need help! Suddenly this past week our son has decided he doesn't want to sleep at night and screams when we put him in his crib to sleep! Before this we would give him a bottle around 8 then do "jammies on" and sing a little song, change his diaper and he knew to settle down and we'd put him in his crib and he'd roll over and go to sleep with his sleepy time teddy. In the past 5 days he's suddenly decided he doesn't want to sleep in his crib and will
scream when we put him in there and continue to scream for about 30 minutes. If we go in and check him he will get very happy and want out then we will try to soothe him by patting him and sometimes picking him up - sometimes he will come back out with us for a bout 20 minutes, in which time he will fall asleep or rub his eyes and try to bury his head in our armpits or chests - then we'll try to gently return him to his crib and he'll wake up and we'll do this all over again.

Answer 1

Your son is a smart one! My older son used to be very cyclical in his ability to sleep, three weeks on, three weeks off. Then, a friend of mine who works with me in the Infant and Toddler program got me a little book that completely took care of the problem. It is called "Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Dr. Richard Ferber. A lot of people think that Dr. Ferber advocates a "cry it out" philosophy, but he does not. What he recommends is called "progressive waiting". The first night, you choose an amount of time to start (most will choose 5 minutes) and let the child cry for that amount of time and then go in his room, DONT pick him up, but rub his back and tell him it is time for bed, stay in the room for NO MORE THAN 1-2 minutes, and leave. Then you wait 10 minutes before you go in and do the same thing mentioned above, then you wait 15 minutes, then every time you go in after that is 20. The next night, you start at10 minutes, and go in after 15, 20 and 25 minutes - each time, simply rubbing the childs back and telling him you love him and its bedtime. Then next night you start at 15 minutes, and so on, and so on.

I did this with my older son and we did, 5, 10, and 15 minutes the first night before he went to sleep. The next night, we did 10 minutes, and we haven't had another problem in the past 3 years !

Good luck!

Answer 2

well as you will find in the next few years, just when your kids have found a routine, and you have caught on, they will change things up on you. He is testing you to see how far you will go. You can choose to keep the routine or change it up, but i am telling you now, picking him up and cuddling him everytime, is only going to become a burden, because it is EXACTLY what he wants and you will end up doing it till he is 3. Try the old routine, but then before you leave the room, play some soft music on a CD ( i used piano classics) and leave the room. In 3 or 4 nights, it will become his new routine. He will cry for a few more nights..... but he knows he has you!!!! he smiles when you come in the room, which is your first clue that NOTHING is wrong!!!!! dont cuddle him again.... do your bedtime routine then THAT IS IT!!! plenty of time for more attention tommorow!!! i swear by this. I have a 3 yr and a 2 yr, and 8 weeks away from #3... i know what i am talking about!!!

Answer 3

Our son got very used to snuggling up with us when he woke up in the night - we would do the same thing...gently transfering him back to his crib once he was asleep (or just letting him sleep with us when we were too darn tired to move). DON'T DO IT!

We spent weeks and weeks and weeks trying to correct this habit (and heard from other parents, "Oh, I did that with my first one, too"). Good for you - you've already established a fantastic bedtime routine - keep it up and make sure he falls back asleep in his own crib when he wakes up. Of course, give him comfort, but letting him fall asleep on your shoulder will start a bad habit - when they wake up they don't understand why they're not still on your shoulder and they get mad & cry.

Our little guy is two and has had several short-lived periods of wacky sleep. Sometimes he do something like wake up at 1:15 every night for 4 days straight and we think "Great, now what?" Rest assured that it will pass and the more you keep up the routine and keep him falling asleep on his own, the better.

One random note: At one point my son was nearly outgrowing his one piece PJ's. They were a little short and I didn't realize they must have been uncomfortable. He woke up every night for several days but when I bought new larger PJ's all of a sudden he slept through the night again.

Answer 4

Check to see if he's teething. My15 month old usually has problems sleeping when she's cutting new teeth. She's got 3 molars coming in at once - I'm so tired...

If he's not teething and takes an afternoon nap, try cutting that short or keeping him up altogether. When my older 2 started having trouble sleeping at bed time, I just kept them awake past their usual morning nap and consolidated it with the afternoon nap. Easier said than done, but after a week or so they adjusted to the new schedule and the bed time routine was back to normal. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 5

She should be sleeping through the night. You need to let her cry it out a little bit. DO NOT FEED HER through the night (she does not need to eat). If you are feeding her, try backing the ounces down an ounce every couple nights. If you keep going in there and rocking/feeding/soothing she will never be able to fall asleep on her own. You have to show her who is boss. Good luck! Get some sleep!

Answer 6

I've got a two year old who went through a similar episode......

He's going through a phase. You have to be tough. You have to put him to bed and leave him there until he falls asleep. It doesn't matter whether he cries 2, 5, or 10 minutes or even an hour or longer. You have to put him to bed at his designated time and leave him there until he falls asleep. You can't let him manipulate you to decide when and how he goes to bed. You have to make him realize YOU decide when and how he goes to sleep. He's got to learn to accept when you decide to put him to bed and how to soothe himself to sleep.

It's easier to talk about this than do it but you have to be firm or you'll be dealing with this for many weeks, months, or even years to come. Be tough or you'll be miserable! Good luck!!!

Answer 7

If you have a rocking chair sit in it with your baby, in a quiet room. Sing to him. Before his bed time give him a bath and a warm bottle. While you are rocking slighty rub or tap his ear drum this will work for sure.

Answer 8

Try not o let his day naps go past 12pm so he will tire himself out the rest of the day

And once you put him to bed....... you HAVE put him to bed!
Do not give in a go pick him up or comfort him , you are only making your life harder!

Also try putting some teething gel on his gums before bed time.
hes probably teething.

Answer 9

I had the same problem and the doctor said as long as all there essential needs were being met, let them cry it out....yes it may be mean but it works....it may take a few nights but DONT GIVE IN! G/L

Answer 10

ummm a little rum in his bottle?
jk saw it in a movie (meet the fockers)