10 Month Old Who HATES to Sleep - Help!

It's not that your son hates to sleep...it's that he enjoys time with you more! He would rather play with you, talk to you, get rocked by you, etc. than stay in a darkened room alone. When he realizes that he's alone in the room, he cries and knows that you will come to him. This is very common and appropriate for his age!

I recommend finding a sleep training method and sticking to it. There are many good books available. With both my kids, I have had excellent success with Dr. Marc Weissbluth's, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." The book is organized by the child's age, so even if your husband is going out of town soon, you can immediately access the section on 10 month olds and go from there. You don't mention when bedtime is, but since fatigue causes increased arousal in children, perhaps his bedtime is too late and should be earlier. The sleep method book you chose will, most likely, give you guidance on this too.

As for the night feedings, you may want to check with your Pediatrician. Mine instructed me to end night feedings at 9 months -- she said that there was no need for food at this age and that my child was using them as a "social visit" from me. But you should probably check with yours.

Good luck! Healthy sleep is SO important for our little ones. I hope you can get some relief before your husband leaves town.

Has he always done this, or is this something new? My son did that for about a week and then he stopped. We chalked it up to separation anxiety. Do you play music for him before he goes to bed? What about reading stories on your lap? That way he gets cuddle time and the music is soothing. I held my son until he fell asleep until he was just after 12 months, then after I weaned him, I started putting him down awake and telling him that it was bed time. I let the music play and by the time the c.d. was done, he was asleep, usually. We have been doing this same routine since January and it seems to work for him. We use the Baby Einstein Bedtime Lullabies c.d. I know it's really hard, especially when stuff like this happens and interrupts your sleep. Is he teething? Try giving him Tylenol or rubbing his gums with baby orajel before bed. Does he take a pacifier? I would try that instead of nursing him back to sleep. There are just so many things that could be causing this behavior. You could just let him cry it out for a few nights. We have done that before. As long as you know there is nothing wrong with him, just let him cry. Hope this helps! :)

It sounds like he may need the extra connection time with you if you are away during the day. That is normal. Babies need to connect with their moms.
Another book you can check out is Elizabeth Pantley's "No Cry Sleep Solution."
Another way you can get that connection time is by letting him sleep with you. I always did that with my kids. They would start off sleeping in their own beds and then once they woke up I would just bring them into my bed. I had to work during the day so it provided that connection time that we both needed.
Hope you find a solution that works.

T. S.

I've had three children who would only go to sleep if they were nursing. If I was home (which is every night), they had to have mom - no dad's allowed. My suggestion would be to alter your pumping schedule to an earlier time, maybe pump extra during the day while you are at work or pump during the dinner hour so that you can allow him to eat while you put him down. That or you may have to consider allowing him to have formula for a bottle or two a day. It was horribly hard on me when I had to let my husband give my second daughter a bottle of formula, but thankfully she liked it and did better with it! My son also had to transition to formula while mommy was gone at work and did fine. We've recently discovered that he has an allergy to milk, so at almost twelve months old we have switched to soy based formula and soy milk. Last weekend I decided I should wean him in order to be able to control his dairy intake completely. Considering I weaned him cold turkey, he had done wonderful and is thriving on the soy formula. Long story short, do what you have to keep your baby happy - even if it means introducing that nasty formula...as hard as it is (believe me I know), it might be better for him!! Good luck.