1 Year Old Still Not Sleeping Through the Night

This may sound crazy..but have you considered getting up at 4 am? LOL...I did that with my son for a long time..it eventually stopped at around 3 1/2 or 4..But, we had a great time early in the morning...playing and spending time just..Mommy and Me...

I just went through that! Mine is 16 mths and has been doing that for at least 6 mths now where she would wake up between 2-5 wanting milk and refuses to go to sleep in her own bed. Since we have another baby on the way I decided it was time to break her of this habit a few weeks ago for my sanity and to prepare for baby #2. It was a rough week or 2 but I had to just make sure she had orajel or motrin or whatever before bed in case she was cutting a tooth and then just let her scream it out for however long it takes. Be patient. Stay calm. The first night or 2 I would go in to hug or check on her and then leave but that just seemed to make it worse, so from then on, I never got up, I just let her cry and noticed throughout the next several nights, she would cry for a shorter period of time each time. I know it seems like an eternity when they cry for 30-45 minutes in the middle of the night for the first night or 2 but it worked for me. And now she sleeps through b/c she knows I love her but I'm not coming to give her milk. Every now and then she still wakes up, but only cries for a few minutes so she's figured it out. My sister-in-law had a similar problem, so she got her 16 mth old a toddler bed... for some reason, that's all it took. She liked her "big-girl-bed." I know all kids are different, but I'd give it a try :) Good Luck.

You might try feeding him more at night before bed. Do you have a CD that you could help him get used to falling asleep to? Maybe you could just turn that on quickly for him at 4 AM. Do you think he is hurting? Do you think he is hearing a noise (outside) that is waking him? Could be a neighbor going to work, etc.? What times does he go to bed? Some babies/toddlers only sleep 8-10 hours. My daughter goes to bed between 9-10 pm and wakes between 6-7 am to eat. She then takes a morning nap at around 10 am. Maybe you could keep your son up later? I have plenty of friends whose babies sleep 11-12 hours, but they all don't. I am not going to let her "cry it out". We have tried that twice and she vomited. It's just crazy! I think if she sleeps 8-9 hours and then is hungry... that's understandable. I need a drink after 8-hours. I just think so many people do what is convenient for them. Best wishes!

My oldest son did the same thing, and my pediatrician told me to try cutting the middle of the night drink down with water. Just a little at first and keep adding more and more water over the next few weeks. If you do it gradually, he won't know you are making the change, but his body will eventually stop depending on that middle of the night milk run for nutrition. I also think the mom who said to add a high protein snack before bed would be a great help as well.

When you get up with him, make it a very quiet visit, don't play or read or do anything that can stimulate him. It is important that he realize this is your sleepy time, and he will eventually catch on. Good luck!

I think I would just have that cup of milk ready and grab him and the milk and put them both in bed with me and go back to sleep. I have a 4 and 1 year old and I was so uptight about my oldest staying in his bed when he was a baby. With my second, I gave up all that and just enjoy him and our time together and don't stress over the little stuff(as much). Good luck and he'll be sleeping all night before you know it!!

Right or wrong, neither of my kids used pacifiers. When I took them off the bottle, I put them to bed with a sippy cup of water. They drank it when they woke up. Even if they wake up crying I'd leave them in there, sometimes they are jut restless and will go right back to sleep. Hang in there, someday you'll miss those times.

My 2 year old has a few weeks on end that she will sleep through the night but is not a real good sleeper and hasn't ever really been. Some of the things that have worked for us include making sure she gets some extra milk before bedtime to help her feel full longer. She usually goes down around 8:30 and will sleep until 6:30 and we can live with that! When I know she has been teething and she would wake up in the middle of the night, I would put some Orajel on her teeth, turn on her music, and she would usually go right back to sleep. If your little one is teething, you can try some Tylenol or Motrin at bedtime. If he wakes up after it has worn off, you can give another dose per the instructions on the medicine. My daughter has had a really hard time teething. Rubbing some olive oil on his gums can make that easier and you may not need the Tylenol or Motrin. There are times when she wakes up for no reason and doesn't want anything - despite her list of things that she says she wants - and we have had to let her cry. She has cried for as long as an hour before but there was no harm done and she eventually went back to sleep. Most of the time if she wakes up, I can turn her music on, cover her back up, and she is content to go back to sleep with no fuss. I do agree with the mom that said he doesn't really need the milk. I had the same problem with my daughter at that age and I talked to my pediatrician about it. She told me not to give her the milk, she didn't need it, and she just needed to go back to sleep. She gave me some of the tips here. I do put a sippy cup of water in my daughter's bed and she will help herself, get a drink, and I never hear a peep out of her. You may have to try several things before you find what will work with your little one but it is certainly worth the effort. And I don't think that any of this is about what is "convenient" for you. If your little one isn't sleeping, you aren't sleeping, and a tired parent can make mistakes that can be dangerous for your child. Good luck!

Dont give him that cup of milk! He expects it now so that every time he wakes up, he wants milk. I would give him his binky or a lovey or something for maybe a few nights but if you really want him to sleep through the night, he has to learn how to make it without you. He may cry for a while but I promise he WILL go to sleep on his own eventually.

Best of luck!

I had the same problem with both of my Little girls and here is what was almost immediate success.

I would put them in the bed read a quick story then began to massage their little feet and slowly moved up the legs and on the first few nights I worked all the way to their heads (spending about a minute or two on each body part). by the 4 or 5th time I barely made it passed the ankles and they were OUT ! Ever since then the sleep very well. Of course they are fully grown now. But this is very effective in nerve calmness and actually lookinf forward to bedtime for the child..

J.

My daughter was very similar. I found that giving her a high protein snack right before bedtime (like avaocado or cheese) and a BIG cup or bottle of milk really helped her sleep longer.

First thing is I'm glad to know I'm not alone on this one. My son is also 1 (13 months). We just got him off the bottle as we got a late start so we are working on all of this. Recently he slept several nights in a row and I thought we had reached our goal only to have him start over again with waking. It seems he is teething really bad right now so I feel like this is the main cause. One thing we do is give him a snack and large portion of milk before he goes to bed so he doesn't wake early and hungry. We added the fan in his room for noise as well. I will be interested to see what other moms post here since I too have this problem.

Get a copy of the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It is wonderful and tells you methods to get your hcild to sleep thorugh the night. Everyone that I know that uses it, has a child on a sleep schedule and they all sleep through the night. You will love it as long as you follow the methods. It works!

Well, we had to be tough with our daughter as she was waking up every morning at 5am. We just let her cry it out for a couple of nights and that was the end of her waking up. I know it can sound harsh, but we did this when she was 8mo old. It was hard on me for those couple of nights, but I'm so thankful we did it. Just turn the sound off the monitor and just watch the lights. It's just habit with them and nothing that they need. We did give our twins a snack (usually fruit) and milk 30 minutes before sleep.