9 Month Old Not Sleeping. - Round Rock,TX

Hi M.:

To get your 9 month old to sleep better at night. Try giving him a nice warm bath everynight - massage some of that baby lotion all over and give a bottle with baby cereal in it. Put on some soft music in his room to get him into the sleepy mode!

Also, you must make sure that he is NOT taking more than 1 hr long naps during the day. If your son is sleeping too much during the day - then he'll be wanting to be up all night - thus getting his days/nights all mixed up! And if he's not sleeping hardly at night - I would try to keep him awake as much as possible during the day and just limit to 1 hr nap around 1pm in the afternoon.

Another natural remedy is give him a bit of chamomile tea with just a tad of sugar to sweeten a little bit. It is very relaxing and good for the tummy as well. My mother raised all 13 of her children (I'm #12 of 13) giving us chamomile tea and it works like a charm to help babies sleep as well as adults too!

Good luck with your little boy - and hopefully you'll be getting some much needed sleep as well!

Take care!

Hi M.,
My son would wake up multiple times as well at night at 6 months and I finally said enough is enough. I went and purchased a book called Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child and I am so glad I did! He started sleeping better the first day I implemented what the book suggested. Now he sleeps very very well. He goes down between 6-7pm and doesn't wake until 5am then sleeps for another couple of hours. I highly recommend this book...there is so much info in it! Otherwise I would have written you some clip notes:)
good luck~

How long has this been happening? This is a classic time for a growth spurt. It seems that most only last a few days, but my daughter's seemed to go on for weeks. I was still primarily breastfeeding her at nine months--she wasn't all that interested in solid food--and she would nurse through the night during a growth spurt.

You could try a cluster feeding scenario where you feed him less each time, but more often in the hours leading up to bedtime. If you have three hours, maybe offer him 4 oz. each hour. This may actually help him digest his formula better and get more out of it.

Your son is old enough that he'll turn away if he is not hungry.

Sadly, I am in the same boat as you. My 9 month old is waking up 2-3 times each night. And hardly napping because I'm sure she is overtired. I've tried to let her cry it out, but now that she crawls its even harder. It's my 4th, so I've done the cry it out method, and it works well to lay her down awake, but she just keeps waking up. It breaks my heart. I will try the methods mentioned here.

my almost 7 month old is doing the same thing I keep telling myself that when he doesn't eat the whole bottle tht means he's really not hungry and he can just cry it out but that hasn't happened yet but then my hubby brought up the point that if the pacy works then he isnt really hunger so we are starting to let him cry it out and its tough but it is working for ht emost part

Our son was still waking once or twice a night for a bottle at 9 months. He did not sleep threw till one year. The pedi told us to use the CIO method. The first night we put him to bed and went back 15 mins later to tell him it was ok and go to bed. This only made him angery. So the second night we waited for 20 mins after which he calmed down by himself. The thrid night he had it down. The only time we go in there now is if he has a nightmare. After a year they no longer need the night feedings. Hang in there momma.