8 Month Old Not Sleeping Through the Night Anymore

B.,

I know your pain. I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter and a 6 year old son.

We've used a modified cry it out method for the simple reason that it feels like a knife to the heart when my "baby" is crying and I know all I have to do is go in there and pick her up and she'll stop.

What we do/have done:
1) Do the normal bed time routine and put little one to bed.
2) If they start crying fussing let them go for 5 minutes, unless it's a straight I'm pissed/scared cry then go in immediately.
3) If they're still fussing full strength at the end of the 5 minutes go in and comfort.
4) If they're winding down at the end of the 5 minutes I give an additional 5 minutes. Again though, if the fussing changes to an I'm pissed/scared I go in immediately.

I remember before I had kids I would wonder how the heck parents could tell the difference between their babies cries. Now that I have my own kids I don't understand how you can't *not* be able to tell the difference. :)

You know your baby best and know what his cries mean. Follow your instincts and good luck!

Hope this helps,
Melissa

My 5 1/2 month old is doing the same thing... great sleeper and then not! So far we have had success with putting him down in his bouncy chair if he won't go down in his crib. It has to do with the angle of his head. He doesn't like to be horizontal because of the pressure I assume. He is a little congested and he is also cutting a tooth.

A friend of mine used to strap her son into his car seat and put it in the crib until he was 9 months old. Seems silly, but he slept just fine, was safe, and is now 8 years old and is a normal, happy child. It gave everyone the sleep they needed!!

If he sleeps well when you're in bed together, then that might be your solution.

My son is 2 and started this very thing. We changed his sleep schedule. He now goes to bed at a later time, and it has seemed to help quite a bit. He also used to wake up because he was still hungry. We started adding some cereal to his last bottle of the night.

I hope something works for you soon.

I would take him to have his ears checked. Since he was just sick with a fever I'd be concerned about an ear infection, which is more painful when he is lying down.

E.

http://www.babysignswithelizabeth.blogspot.com

He might have acid reflux. 8 months is a common time to develop it, and it can be aggravated/triggered by constipation. Even if he is not spitting up it might be "silent" reflux. The main symptoms are frequent waking and crying. His doctor can evaluate him and prescribe zantac. My baby only had to take it for a month before her system righted itself. It made a *huge* difference. You can try giving him a tsp of mylanta before meals until you can see a doctor. It doesn't help as much as the zantac but it does help. That will help determine if its acid reflux.