I am wondering what other moms have done when their kids begin standing up in their cribs at night. Our 10 month old son wakes in the night several times. Sometimes he soothes himself back to sleep, but sometimes we wake up to see him sitting up or standing up in his crib crying. This inevitably keeps him awake a lot longer, as it is hard for him to settle back down. Any suggestions? We put him to bed swaddled in a sleeping bag-type swaddle blanket that uses velcro to keep his arms down by his sides. He has gotten very good at getting out of it, though, so that by 1:30am or so he is standing up in his crib, crying for Mama.
He has slept through the night off and on (ok mostly off) since 8 weeks of age. He'll do great for a week or 10 days, then we will take a trip and that will interrupt his habit. Then, once we get back and he has started sleeping through the night again, he'll get sick and be up at night. Then he'll get another tooth, or we'll go on another trip. . . . so the "off/on" cycle continues! Now the problem seems to be sitting up and standing up in the crib. Any useful suggestions are welcome! Thanks!
when my kids were that age I had a radio that I had on to soft music, left it on all night and it helped mine.
The only thing my doc said was to do the 5, 10, 15 etc... method. Go in after 5 mins of crying. Then 10 mins of crying and so on until he goes back to sleep. I have been doing it with my daughter and although she still wakes up, she will not usually go to the 10 min mark anymore.
If he sleeps in a crib where the side railing goes down, then when he stands up it may be a safety hazard. There have been a lot of recalls. I bought some of those adjustable plastic ties from Home Depot and secured the cribs adjustable side into place so that it no longer lowers and raises. This way if my daughter does stand in the middle of the night and holds onto the railing, I don't have to worry.
Hi Heather,
I would probably stop the swaddling, they need room to move around while they sleep now, he is no longer an infant anymore. I use the Halo brand sleepsacs for my 16 month old. You can get them at babies r us or online.
Second, it is normal for your child to wake up standing etc. Remember this is all new for him. So my suggestion would to be to go in there and comfort him and lay him back down, and leave the room. You may need to do this several times, but don't pick him up from his crib, also he is probably going to cry a bit, since your not doing your usual, after a few days he will be okay, some people call it the crying out technique, I read the Jo Frost Supernanny books, which have been very helpful for me. You will soon find out the older he gets the more manipulative he will be when bed time comes around. So if you start getting him trained to sleep through the night now, it will make it much easier for you later on.
I hope this helps
L.
You can get a white noise machine, see if that works?
At 10 months he should no longer be swaddled. That should stop about the time they start rolling over.
As for waking in the middle of the night. What and how much is he eating in the evening. Maybe he's hungry and needs more food in the evening to help him sleep through the night. Try giving him something hardier food wise closer to his bed time. This might help.
Just wanted to agree with the others...it sounds like he is struggling so hard to get out of the swaddling, that he is waking himself up to the point that he is no longer sleepy. Try putting him to bed without the 'swaddler' and see if that doesn't help. Otherwise, get the book 'The No Cry Sleep Solution.' It did wonders for my 3rd child. Good luck!
When my son was that age I just did pjs with the feet in them and kept the house on around 70 or so. I usually put a pair of socks on under the pjs because if not his feet would feel cold in the morning. I didn't put any pillows or blankets in the crib and he did great. If he did wake at night we would usually just let him get back to sleep on his own unless of course he was sick as you mentioned. It is tough off and on the first year or so at times, but they get better and better when it comes to sleep. I would just put him in comfy pjs and maybe one small animal he loves and see how it goes. If he isn't sick etc I would probably try to hold off on going in bc they learn really fast how long it takes to get you to come in. Best wishes!!
Hello,
I'm no expert but, I think 10 months is too old to swaddle. That might be a part of his problem. I also think its very common for children to not sleep all night, every night til they are around one.
I also dont believe that babies and toddlers need all of those heavy duty pj's and blankets. Unless your thermostat is runnin' around 50 degrees, dont smother him. I have always said, if you want to wake my daughter, throw a blanket on her!!! Those little people are regular hot boxes..... ;)
Good Luck,
Margaret :)
I agree with the other poster, 10 mths might be too old for swaddling. We stopped around three months I think, but it was starting to get warmer and she is a hot box! We don't go to my daugther when she wakes up. She used to wake up a couple times around 8pm then again around 10pm when she was around 6 mths. She wouldn't cry just gibberish, but I never went to her. I made her put herself back to sleep and now she rarely wakes up. It might be hard at first, but it will be better for him to learn self soothing. Unless like someone else said, unless he's sick, then everything changes :)
Good luck! Here's wishing you a good night sleep!
I taught my kids the command "lay down". That way all I had to do was tell them to lay down. You can also teach them to be quiet if you want. But, the lay down command will solve the sitting or standing up problem.
Babies do not have the cognitive ability to manipulate. He is crying for a reason. You mentioned several reasons why your son is waking up. So here are several responses that may be useful. I have three children and they would wake up more often if they were sick because their cold would interfere with their sleep efficiency. (I wake up more often when I have a cold as well.) Babies tend to be more thirsty when they are sick. Secondly, get the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. It is a wonderful resource and gives you a specific food guide to use for your child's age. Your child may be waking up because he is hungry. Finally, I chose not to ignore my babies crys in the night, because with three children no one got any sleep and all it did was wake up the entire house! I tried to respond to my child quickly and get him back to sleep as quickly as possibale. Usually it was because they were hungry or had a wet diaper. Also, if you live in a two story house and your master bedroom is downstairs, consider moving you and your husband upstairs to the guest room temporarily so you won't have to do stairs in the middle of the night. Hope this helps.
