8 Month old does not sleep past 3:30AM. What should we do. We try leaving him to cry but he does not stop...?

Question

So here is the scenario, our baby of 8 months is not sleeping past 3:30ish. He goes to bed at 7:30PM and goes through till 3:30AM. At that time he does not go to bed you can let him cry and he will not stop till we go pick him up and bring him in the bed. My wife since he was 3-4 months been taking her in the bed with her after he wakes up around 5-6ish but now its 3:30AM and that is it. We are both getting very frustrated as we can not sleep, when he goes in the bed with my wife he just tosses and turns. I need some ideas people and please email [e-mail] with any other questions or details needed. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

in the long run crying it out is the worst thing to do... just be there for him comfort him find a way... if you can't find what works, then at least he knows you're there for him.

read this about crying: http://askdrsears.com/html/10/handout2.asp

Answer 2

I think letting her cry for no more then 20 minutes is fine. I am a nanny and when I started for the family I work for, they had 1n 8 month old and that is what I did for him. Now he is almost 2 and is very easy to get to sleep for a nap. I just lay him in his bed and tell him it time for his nap and 9 times out of 10, he will go right to sleep on his own. I would make sure she is fed and changed before I put her down, then leave to room and check on her after 20 minutes, BUT DO NOT PICK HER UP!!! let her see you and pat her back or use the shhhh wound to help her sleep, after she settles down or after 5 minutes, leave again, going back every 20 minutes. After a few days she will get the idea, that if she cry you will not run to her right away, it will take some time. I think this will help her when she is older as well.

Answer 3

He might need to stay up later. My kids at that age slept for 12 hours, but not all children sleep like that. Each one is different. According to his apparent needs, he is sleeping 7 hours every night, then he would sleep until 6:30 if you put him to bed at 10:30 p.m. I know that seems late, but there are other things to look at.

What kind of naps is he taking during the day? Most children under a year (again, not all!) take 2 naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. But some children don't nap well - so they get really cranky in the evening, go to bed too early, and then wake up too early. If he hasn't been taking an afternoon nap, this may be the problem. Try getting him to take an afternoon nap, then put him to bed about 9 or so.

And, if he used to take an afternoon nap but now only takes a morning nap - then you need to try to get him on the schedule where his one nap a day is in the afternoon. That was one of the hardest things for my kids. They wanted to take their one nap in the morning, but then they were horrible by 7 p.m.! Again, if he can take an afternoon nap, then he might stay up a little later.

Another thing to look at is - is he napping too much during the day? If he is sleeping all day, then he is kind of getting his days and nights turned around. His nighttime sleep has become almost like a long nap to him. His nap or naps should be rather short with lots of stimulating play and attention in between - that way he is busy and active during the day and may sleep better at night.

Source: mom of 5!

Good luck!

Answer 4

I have an 8 month old son and he only sleeps till about 4:30 and my alarm clock goes off at 5:30 so it gets frustrating, my son usually just wants his pacifier back, but if yours doesnt use a pacifier then just try giving him a nice warm bottle, that what i do some nights give him a nice warm bottle and he is out in a matter of minutes, and its nice cuz my son holds th ebottle by himself, also try putting him to bed later, my son goes to bed around 8 or 9.

Answer 5

Put him to bed a little later, and make sure he's getting a good nap in during the day. You want him tired, but not over tired for night time.

You have to let him cry it out. He will stop eventually, even if it takes hours, he will exhaust himself and fall asleep. Its the only way he can learn that its safe and okay to fall asleep on his own when he wakes up.

My son's record is a little over 4 hours of constant, choking, gagging, screaming and crying because he doesnt want to sleep on his own. The next night it was only and hour, the night after, it was 20 minutes, and then that was it. Give him some tylenol to make sure he's not in pain from something like teething or learning to crawl, make sure he's not poopy or wet, and then leave him to cry. Put only a couple crib safe toys in with him (one that lights up quietly is great) and another one thats soft, like a baby book or something of that nature.

He really will get over it. I promise. Its hard when its the middle of the night and the baby is screaming. Shut his door and yours if you have to. He will not die from crying. He'll get over it in a couple nights, and soon you'll find that he benefits more than you from a full nights sleep.

I promise he wont hold it against you in the morning.

Answer 6

Hi;)
Here's something you might want to try : when he starts crying, go to his crib and talk to him. Let him hear you're there and stay as long as he is not calmed down. In the begining you may take him in your arms and try to put him back to sleep but don't make a habit out of it. Put in there something that smells like you, lets say your t-shirt. When he finaly sleeps, go back to your bedroom. This will be hard at first, but with time he'll come to understand that all the shouting in the world won't work;)
You have to break the habbit ;)
good luck!

Answer 7

You are putting him to bed too early at night. You need to gradually shift his routine so that it is more like 9:30-5:30 (or whatever length of time best fits your schedule). You can do this sort of like switching from daily savings time to standard time, but probably will have to do it in increments of 15-30 minutes or so. Do whatever you can to keep him awake and delay the evening bedtime past 7:30 p.m. or even wake him up just enough to feed him at 10:30-11:00 ish. You may have to take a look at the whole day's schedule to see where to back up to and adjust (try to move the morning or afternoon nap earlier, etc.)

Answer 8

Your going to have to let him cry and cry. 7:30 or 8 is a perfect bedtime you don't want to keep him up later than that. I have an 8 month old son and he wakes up too but he just lays there for a bit then falls back to sleep. It will be hard but just let him cry, close the doors :)

Answer 9

try to keep him up longer at night. maybe a snack before bed might help. maybe he wakes up thirsty and needs a drink. he might be sleeping too long during the day........discuss naps with his childcare provider or revamp if he is at home. you could also go to bed when he does to make sure you get lots of sleep. i would not recommend letting him cry it out, it makes everyone miserable. all he will learn is that his parents do not respond to his needs. not a good message. experiment. regardless...it will end eventually. good luck!

Answer 10

We did crying it out, it might take 45 minutes or so for a couple of days. But it's worth it in the long run. 8 months is old enough to sleep through the night. Good luck!

Answer 11

Try putting him to bed about 8:30 - 9:00. Also try giving him a warm bottle with baby cereal in it preferably oatmeal cause it is thicker. If he is changed and feed and he is just crying then close the door and let him cry himself back to sleep, There is nothing wrong with letting him cry when you know there is nothing wrong with him. Baby aren't stupid they know that if they continue to cry long enough someone will put them in there arms.