My daughter is 9 months old and she is waking up at all hours of the night. She used to be a great 7pm-6am sleeper (with some waking up to put the paci back in)....up until about 4 weeks ago, when we finally put her in her crib to sleep from the pack n play, our crib was in storage before we moved into our house, long story.
Anyway, she goes to bed at 7 - there's nothing we can do really to keep her entertained to keep her up past then. She takes 2 naps a day as well. Last night for example, she woke up at 2:55 and was fussy til about 4 when we finally rocked her back to sleep - then she woke up again at 5, then I took her with me into our guest room and laid on top of the covers with her til 7:20.
I am kind of at a loss as to what to do? Do we let her cry it out? If you think CIO is what is needed, please explain how to cgo about that - how long crying, etc? All I know, is we'd really like to not be waking up so much at night. Any helpful hints would be great!
I had the same problem with my son about a month ago. He was teething. Try some baby orajel. I would try to comfort my son by picking him up and rocking him for 5-10 mins then I would place him in his crib and let him cry for 5-10 mins before comforting again. After 3 days of this things were back to normal. Good luck
One word: "Ferber"!!!!!
Good luck!!!
I kind of think it might be teething too. My son is 9 months old as well and has had some weird sleep issues this week as well! I think right now you should err on the side of caution and assume that is teething or something. I am a supporter of CIO, but sometimes it's hard to know if that's the right choice. I don't think you should ever CIO if sickness or teething is on the table. She could also be haivng a hard time adjusting to her new crib. If she's been in the pack and play for so long, maybe she's just trying to get used to it. Try the orajel and maybe some motrin before bed if you think it's teething and see if that makes it better.
It's easy to interrupt a baby's sleep routine and hard to get back to it:(
I don't EVER think CIO is the answer. I just think it's a lazy way to take care (or NOT take care) of sleep issues:( Both my boys have gone through sleepless times and now they sleep 12-hours through the night. It doesn't take CIO to "teach" them to self-sooth or any of the other things people claim CIO is good for. It works for some people, I'm not saying it doesn't. I just don't think it's ok to teach an infant that their needs won't be met when they are upset. I don't have the heart to listen to them scream themselves to sleep...Plus, there's tons of evidence that CIO is really bad for them. I can get you links to articles about that.
Is she teething? Is she going through a growth spurt and hungry? Would she nurse back to sleep? Has she been sick? Have you had her ears checked?
I liked "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems" http://www.amazon.com/Whisperer-Solves-Problems-Teaching-...
She teaches you to respond every time the baby cries and then put her down as soon as she's settled, not wait until she's asleep. Pick up - Put down. You do it over and over for a few nights and each night you'll do it fewer times until all it takes is a quiet word or pat and then she'll be back to sleeping through the night.
my daughter went though that at that age too. It could very well be the change of bed but more than likely it is a growth spurt or teething. Both of which have them wake up wanting soothing. I would give my daughter a bottle of warm water in the middle of the night with some oral gel after. After about 2-3 weeks of waking up at night...she was good again. Hope you get your good sleeper back!
Definately put her down drowsy, but awake. At 9 months old, she is aware of the world around her, and aware that she has waked up in a place different from where she fell asleep - imagine how disoriented you would be! (We all wake up every 90 minutes or so. Adults roll over and fall back to sleep - most of the time without realizing that we've done it - kids have a problem with that sometimes.) Also, I liked Ferber - it's not quite CIO (at least not the way I see CIO described here so often). It's sort of like what Lisa W. described, but start over every night. And we started with three minutes, go in, visit, pat, leave. Five minutes, go in, visit, pat, leave, seven minutes, so on and so on - only, put a cap - ours was 13 minutes. So when we hit 13, we just waited another 13 instead of 15, but you can pick whatever cap you're comfortable with. And the next night, start over with 3 minutes (or wherever you choose to start). It takes 3 days. That's Ferber in a nutshell, though I recommend reading the whole Ferber book "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems." Worth it just for the chapter on sleep cycles. Always make sure, of course, that there's not a real problem before starting any sort of going back to sleep process. Teething? Growth spurt also might render her legitimately hungry.
Hang in there. You'll all be alright.
Try these sleeping tips and more on the link below:
http://blogs.goddardsystems.com/Cedar-Park-TX/2010/01/09/...
# Make sure your crib is safe (locking rails), that your older child’s ‘big bed’ has side rails, and if you are co-sleeping, that there is plenty of room.
# The human brain is active during sleep, but the deepest sleep is typically at the beginning of the night. Babies spend more time than older children in stimulating REM sleep, with eye movements and irregular breathing. Don’t worry about all that action in your child’s body – it too is growth.
# Start them young – do not ignore the importance of naps, watch for the yawn, and start bedtime early in the evening.
I would do a modified CIO. Do your nightly routine like normal. How long are her naps during the day? By 1 year, my daughter was down to 1 LONG nap per day (noon-230 or 3) I never let her sleep past 3pm. Then her bedtime is 730.
I say do your nighttime routine like normal (bath, book, Play music, bottle) like normal. when she cries, give her 10 mins only if its straight crying (if she is just fussing every 10 secs...dont go in) then go in and tell her "its nigth night time" and shhhhhhhhh. Stay in for the MAX amt of 2 mins and then leave. If she still crys (which she probably will...maybe even harder) then give her 20 mins. Go back in and tell her "its night night time" and Shhhhhh. Stay for a max of 2 mins and leave. Next time give her 30 mins. See the pattern? Also when going in, DO NOT PICK HER UP. she is probably trying to get used to her new crib. Does she have a lovey? My daughter has 2 blankets and loves them both ALOT.
The next day, you need to start off where you left off, so if you let her cry for 30 mins the night before, you need to let her cry for 40 mins before going in. Its not easy, but it will take a couple nights and she will be back to her old sleeping pattern again. Just to preempt it, i would give her a dose of Motrin before bed just incase its a teething thing.
My hubby and I always say, "its the worst few days of your life, but the best thing we ever did"...besides what do you have to loose, you are already not getting sleep. I would say doing it this way should take about 3 -4 nights...but each night gets better and better...your worst night will be tonight.
Good luck.
