9 Month Old Getting up 3-4 Times a Night

Updated on April 14, 2008
M.P. asks from Mesa, AZ
10 answers

Ok so this may sound silly but, I am having a hard time getting my 9 month old to stay asleep all night. I have two boys and my first never did this so, my baby has been sleeping all night since he was two months old. He would go to be at 8 and get up at 6. Now for the last three nights he goes to bed at 8 and is up at 11-11:30 drinks milk, gets up at 3:30 is soaked and I have to change him, his clothes and the sheets, and is up again at 6:30 and stays up unitl 10. I have tried everything my mother has suggested and nothing is working. He is teathing right now and sleeps with a pacifier. I give him a bath at the same time everynight, get settled for bed no playing, rock him, give him milk and let him fall asleep. I have tried giving him rice cereal in his milk thinking he wasn't full enough, gave him gas drops, and tylenol. I am out of suggestions and would like to go back to sleeping all night myself. So any feed back would be great. Thanks

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So What Happened?

Thank you all for the great advise. I have got a few books and have been reading them. They are very informative and I appreciate the suggestions. He is doing much better now and I think it had allot to do with him teething.

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M.S.

answers from Phoenix on

Try using Hyland's homeopathic teething tablets. They are sold in most stores. Along with tylenol, my little guy has been sleeping through the night. He is 11 months and teething as well. They worked great for my older son too. Good luck to you and I hope you all get rest soon!

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J.V.

answers from Phoenix on

There was actually just an article in Parenting magazine that said giving kids solids to sleep longer doesn't really work like we think it does, as it is developmental. Every child is different. Believe it or not, 9 months is still young to sleep all night long. Yes, we force many babies younger to sleep longer stretches, but they wouldn't if they were not forced to many times. Babies are physically incapable of sleeping like adults. Even babies who 'sleep through the night' get up many times, they just don't wake up parents. I read the book The No Cry Sleep Solution by elizabeth pantly and that helped me learn gentle ways to help my son sleep longer. ALso, I love using Hyland's Teething Tablets. They really help with the teething pain. All kids deal with teething different. Also, if Tylenol doesn't help, you can try Motrin.

Here are some helpful links:

http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detsleepthrough.html
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBSepOct05p204a.html
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070100.asp

1 mom found this helpful

A.H.

answers from Phoenix on

I think this is the 4th day in a row that I have recommended this book -- but I can't sing it's praises enough. It literally saved my life and my sanity when I was getting no sleep with my 2nd son. It's called: "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Dr. Richard Ferber. There is so much incredible information and sound advice in this book. I know if you read it, it will make sense to you and you will understand why your little guy is getting up in the night the way he is right now. Sleep is such a necessity for EVERYONE...when we aren't getting enough, the whole family suffers. I hope you will head to the Library ASAP and check out this book and read it -- you will not regret it.

As for the teething, try giving him Motrin instead of Tylenol if you suspect his gums are hurting. The medicine lasts much longer.

A. (SAHM of 3 boys: 9,7, and 4 years old)

1 mom found this helpful
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D.D.

answers from Tucson on

When he wakes in the night try giving him water or juice he may have an allergie to milk. This caused my niece to wet the bed until she was about ten until they figured it out.

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E.D.

answers from Tucson on

that tends to happen along with growing spurts. when you say soaked, i assume you mean a wet diaper? if so, huggies makes an overnight diaper. i'd definitely buy some of those.

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B.R.

answers from Santa Fe on

Two of my children woke frequently when they were teething, and I never figured out a way to get much sleep then either. It stopped eventually when the worst of the teething passed, but in the meantime you're probably just in for some sleepless nights and tired days, unfortunately.

One thing you might try is both Orajel and Tylenol the first time he wakes, and then give him a smaller bottle in hopes that maybe the wet diaper won't wake him again and he can make it through until morning. Hopefully some of the other moms here might be able to help more.

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C.R.

answers from Tucson on

Have you tried the homeopathic teething tablets you can get from Walgreens or any drugstore? They are all natural - contain chamomile and may soothe him a little more, if it is his teeth waking him. I am sure this will be a short-lived phase he's going thru. Also, check temps in your home, make sure he's not overdressed, maybe get something with 'white noise' in the room to help him sleep better as well. My kids LOVE the sound of the ceiling fan but you could get anything in there really. Hope this helps.

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S.P.

answers from Phoenix on

Only you can choose how you will change this new pattern of waking with your child. However, after 4 kids I realized there was a pattern when each of them went to a new developmental stage (ie. about to crawl, learning to walk, etc.). Sometimes it was waking in the night, sometimes clingy, fussy behavior all day. At 9 mo, you are probably seeing a few developmental changes, for sure teething. I hope you all get the sleep you need soon!

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S.S.

answers from Tucson on

Hi There,
Make sure to try all avenues to see what's going on physically. If nothing seems like a fit try looking at it from a behavioral perceptive .
T. Berry Brazelton, America's favorite pediatrician, says the way you put a child to sleep each night dictates what they come to expect when they wake during the middle of the night.

When children cry out during the middle of the night most parents, myself included, go in and pick the child up and nurse or give a bottle until he falls back to sleep. The problem with that is the child wasn't awake, and the parent has now become part of the ritual to fall back to sleep. The child was in Rem sleep or light sleep. He looks awake, can call out and even stand up, but is not fully awake.

When parents become part of process of going back to sleep the child doesn't learn how to self-soothe and can’t put himself back into deeper sleep.

The solution, and no one likes it, is to replace the bedtime ritual with something else, and most of the time that involves needing to listen to crying for a few nights. You will not be abandoning him by doing what I’m suggesting.
I don't believe in making children suffer, but I also believe, in most cases, what looks and feels like suffering is your child's extreme attempt to make things go back to the way it has always been. Just make sure there is no abandonment.
Let me explain.

At bedtime breast or bottle feed him until he is ALMOST asleep and place him in the crib while he's still a LITTLE bit awake. Be prepared for crying; in fact, count on it.
That way you’ve prepared yourself emotionally before you begin, and your feelings won't stop you or surprise you.

He will most likely wake himself up as you’re putting him down, and begin to cry for you. Lay him down again and say good night and leave the room. Come back after 1 minute or so and say goodnight again, and lay him down again and leave.
After time number 3 or 4 go in and lay him down and say nothing. Do this until he falls asleep.
Then prepare yourself for the fact that this will happen in the middle of the night, and you will need to repeat the EXACT same process.

By repeating the same thing again and again you are replacing the old ritual with a new ritual. Remember you’ll be undoing 9 months of learned behavior.

The only thing that’s different with this method versus all the other methods is the fact that you’re only leaving him for 1 minute at a time. He’ll come to relax because he knows he will see you in 1 minute, as he relaxes he falls asleep.

Some methods suggest you gradually increase the amount of time you leave him to cry. Having done this method with my own child, I think that just makes everyone crazy.

And now, since you know the child needs to learn how to self-soothe and put himself back to sleep, you can feel better about doing this because you realize you’re helping him learn something versus feeling like you’re abandoning him

When I did this with my son, he cried off and on the first night then slept through the night from then on.
Good Luck, The Mommie Mentor, www.proactiveparenting.net (notice .net)

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R.C.

answers from Phoenix on

M., You might switch the tylenol to Motrin (ibuprofen) since your little guy is teething. Also, remember this is probably a short disruption in sleep (yes you will sleep again) related to teething. Try to go with the flow and comfort him through his discomfort. My daughter never slept through the night until after 18 months of age and when she was teething sometimes we were up 5 or more times a night. I can empathize with you. R. (SAHM of 1 almost 2)

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