I have a 1yr old daughter who still wakes up 3 times at night and is up for the day at like 5am. We have tried everything like keeping her up later (bedtime is 7-8pm), feeding her right before bed, turnig music on for her to listen to, giving a bath right before bed etc. When she gets up she usually cries until we give her water. Ocassionally if she will not go back to sleep we give her a bottle of milk. She has no health concerns. Any suggestions?
2007-03-06 04:36:21 · 13 answers · asked by j 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
My son is 2 and sometimes he still doesn't sleep through the night!
We developed a consistent bedtime routine (bath, books, lower the lights & rock, in bed at 8) and that helped A LOT....
When he does wake, I either go in & rock him for a couple of minutes...I don't speak and I put him back in bed. I have waited about three minutes of his crying before going in, and that works sometimes. Other times, I just bring him into bed with us.
It's hard, I know...but as so many others have said, you just have to be patient and "this too shall pass"!
Trust your instincts, you know her crys and you are the best one to respond to her needs...and when she wakes, she feels she needs SOMETHING, whether it's water or a hug, or to just be put back into her bed. You are doing exactly right...trying to see what works. It's exhausting & hard, but it will get better, I promise!
I found this website helpful...
Good luck!!
2007-03-06 05:25:05 · answer #1 · answered by seaelen 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My 1 year old still wake up at night too!!! Not every night, but most nights. Right now I can guarantee that she's teething and that may be the cause. I asked the pediatrician at her last visit and he told me to let her cry. He said she can cry for up to 3 hours, there's no way though that I'm going to let my child cry for 20 minutes let alone 3 hours. She has warm milk before bed, she has soothing music, she doesn't want to sleep in my bed. My theory (and of course this is just my uneducated theory) is that she just wants alone time with her mommy. If she's crying and I go get her she is right back to sleep as soon as I pick her up, I think she likes the closeness and the quiet of our late night snuggle time, I can't fault her for that, I am a pretty special person :-) I don't have any suggestions for you but be assured that you are not alone.
2007-03-06 16:55:25 · answer #2 · answered by NCMOMMAAC 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
While it can be VERY annoying, some children just do not sleep through the night for long periods of time.
At 1, she should be taking a couple short naps throughout the day. If she is taking extended (multiple hour) naps, try to break her of that. At 1, she should be getting ~12 hours of sleep a night.
Do you have pets in the house that may be waking her? Any other noises that might be occuring?
When she wakes up, try to hold off going in to her for awhile. (a couple of minutes, not 30:)) See if she will fall back asleep on her own. If you can do this, it may help her to not call out when she does wake up, and let you get your full night of sleep as well.
Other than that, it sounds like you are doing the right stuff....just have as much patience as possible, and she will break the pattern.
2007-03-06 12:47:24 · answer #3 · answered by dmc177 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My second daughter woke up 1-6 times a night until she turned about 3. It could be for a series of reasons but at her age, I really wouldn't worry about it too much. It's still important to answer to her needs (according to me) but I wouldn't give into letting her get out of bed because that will translate into bigger trouble. You could always leave a bottle or sippy cup of water in her crib for her to pick up and drink from on her own.
I got my daughter a fabric box from Discovery Toys when she was 2 which is basically for babies but worked wonders for us, it contains a bunch of little stuffed animals. One of which is a small pink rabbit that smells like vanilla which they say is a soothing smell for babies. Ever since she got that, nights got a lot better with less wake ups.
She is now 4 and sleeps right through the night so just hang on, it will get better.
2007-03-06 13:01:50 · answer #4 · answered by scorpio 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My daughter was 19 months old before she slept through the night. She would sleep and hour be up for 6, crying then sleep a bit more. We started taking her outside for the evenings and letting her have fresh air and activities. Maybe we cheated too, she got a summer cold and we gave her the Dimetapp for infants...out like a light for 9 hours....
2007-03-07 12:44:41 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have you tried letting her cry? I know it hurts to hear them cry, but she coming to expect you to come in there and get her up. Once she realizes that you're not gonna come in and pick her up every time she crys at night she'll stop. It will be tough at first but it won't take long. Don't let her cry for more than 15 minutes though. Come in rock her for a couple minutes, kiss her and lay her back down. Keep the lights off, don't play with her, just comfort her a little and lay her back down. Let her cry another 15 minutes. If she doesn't stop, do it again, and agian until she stays asleep. That way she still knows that you're there, but you're not gonna pick her up.
I have 3 boys and started letting them cry for 15 minutes at a time when they were 3 months old. In two weeks they were sleeping through the night.
2007-03-06 12:50:17 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The only thing you can really do is suffer for a about a week and completely ignore her crying. She needs to learn that you wont come in- then she will have no reason to "call" you. I'm sure it will be tough because you and/or your husband works. But children have habits that are changeable- like breaking off bottles,pacifiers, and potty training. And one more thing, I DO NOT agree with bringing a child into your bed, unless of course you want to kill any romance in your marriage.
2007-03-06 12:48:10 · answer #7 · answered by julie j 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
She has to learn to put herself back to sleep, to self soothe. If you keep going in there she is going to do it forever. She will constantly test you and you will go crazy. You need to sleep. Don't bring her in your bed!! You need to let her cry. I let my kids cry it out at 5 months and have not been woken up by them since. They are 3 and 2. Sometimes I have heard them wake up in the middle of the night but they put themselves back to sleep. They never cry for me. Your 1 year old is smarter then you think and she is already manipulating you. Be tough because it will only get harder.
2007-03-06 12:50:31 · answer #8 · answered by angdal 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It happens to mostly everyone who has 1 year olds; it's annoying, irritating, you feel like screaming back at the baby, you feel like placing a scotch tape on his/her mouth, you feel like turning up the music higher than the baby's cry volume, you feel like borrowing him/her to your neighbours to get a few hours' sleep.
But in the end, nothing from the above works.
They say time 'heals', or more like, time 'makes the baby shut up'.
Patience is the key, and it keeps the bond strong between mother and child.
2007-03-06 12:49:42 · answer #9 · answered by YA!!! 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
some kids just dont stay asleep the whole night. is this ur first child? my daughter didnt start sleepin the entire night until she was about 2 yrs old. meanwhile, hang in there & just be there for her cuz its very fustrating at times. they will learn just be firm
2007-03-06 12:46:51 · answer #10 · answered by ladiB812 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋