sleeping thru the night

[mommy2d&b]

I have an 8 1/2 month old son who refuses to sleep thru the night. I thought it was because he was sleeping in our room well i moved him to his own and he is still not sleeping thru the night. He wakes up around 730 or 800 goes down for a nap around 1000 and then sleeps for about an 1hr to 1 1/2 hrs. Gets up plays and eats lunch then goes back down around 3 or 4 and sleeps for almost 2 hrs and then is back in bed at 930 or 1000. I have a 4 1/2 yr old who was sleeping thru the night at 10 weeks so i am at my wits end. We are getting ready to go on vacation and visit family and I was hoping to have some advice before I go. thanks in advanced

[Amy]

Hi! First, welcome to the board!!

My ds didn't like sleeping through the night either. Once I was able to rule out teething, growing pains and etc., I realized he just wanted to be be social. Well, I needed my sleep, so I gritted my teeth and let him cry. Within 3 days he was sleeping through the night and I didn't ruin him fo life! LOL Now he is a great sleeper and he is 3 yrs old!

[mommy2d&b]

I think Brandon is going to be my social butterfly he is so happy all the time but on the flipside he doesnt sleep well. I have tried the crying thing but with the neighbor thing i am really nervous I know you would think they'd understand but knowing them or not knowing them just the way they have acted about my oldest playing in his room in th middle of the day I cant imgaine what they'd say about brandon in the middle of the night. i will keep ya posted. thanks

[PamE]

Hi! Welcome to the board. :) Getting them to sleep through the night can be such a bear! You might try cutting out his morning nap and putting him down for his afternoon nap soon after lunch. One thing I found that had to be a hard and fast rule with our kids, even when they were babies, was that they were up from 4:00pm till their bedtime. Otherwise they thought sleep time was play time. :lol:

[mommy2d&b]

HI thanks for the welcome, I will have to try that I try to put him down yesterday for his nap and he slept for only about 30 mins maybe 45, well he was more then ready to go to bed at 900pm and only woke up once. that was great he woke up at 530 for a bottle but went straight back to bed after 4 oz. so that was nice we'll see tonight I'll keep ya posted Thanks again

[Diane]

I've got a 9 month old little girl that I do day care for and she is pretty much on the same schedule as your's... Her mom was having problems with her waking up at various times of the night too. At first she thought it was because of her teething, but it wasn't... she was hungry. As soon as she started feeding her a little bit of cereal each night just before bedtime... she started sleeping through the night. She's been doing great since... except when she IS teething. LOL Make sure that your ds has a full tummy before he goes down to sleep... and as somebody else suggested... maybe cutting out the morning nap and giving him his afternoon nap a little bit earlier in the afternoon. That way, he should be good and tired by the time he goes down at night.

If that doesn't work... When he wakes up at night, when you go into his room, don't turn the light up on high... if you have one, use the night light. Pat or rub his back gently telling him that everything is okay... go back to sleep now. Never pick him up or stay too long. Turn around and quietly walk away. If he starts crying again, wait a few more minutes, go back in and do it all over again. Each time adding a little more time in between going back in... and then, just don't. He'll soon tire and go back to sleep. Half of the time they just need to know that you're still there for them. Turning on a brite light or picking them up will wake him up too much... and then it will be hard to get him back down to sleep. He'll also start getting into the habit of waking up every night at that same exact time... expecting you to pick him up, to play and get held. (it will become his routine) Good luck... I hope that if this doesn't help you'll be able to find something that does. It can be awfully frustrating. :)

Diane...

[KarlaB]

No good advice here. Just wanted to say that I know what you are going thru. I went thru it with both of my dks and I was never good at letting them cry it out. :( Seemed like I was very sleep deprived for a long time, so I know how wearing it is. Hope you're hanging in there and that your little guys starts sleeping better for you soon. :) Keep us posted!!