Getting 9 Month Old to Sleep

B. - I am in the same boat with my 9 month old, but I have not tried cry it out. I think there are many options. We are trying the Pantley method, The No Cry Sleep Solution. It is made up of 5 phases to help them get back to sleep. It seems to be working as her night wakings are shorter and shorter. We are on phase II now and I am hoping to make it to three by next weekdend. My favorite thing about this book is that she is realistic and she reminds you that if you are okay with how things are going not to worry and if you want to adjust things she gives you great suggestions. Good luck!

I almost had this problem with my son. I used to sleep with him sometimes but put him in his own bed more so he's not that bad. Every now and then he cries and I just cant stand to hear him sad but over all he's not bad. What I do, though, is give him a teddy bear. When he feels he's holding something he falls out.

I did talk to his pediatrician about sleeping habits and she said that you can let your baby cry it out for 1 hour withouth it being questioned (neighbors) and to give them something to eat when they are fussy as it will fill them up and make them sleepy.

You also might want to try putting on music. Babies relax to that as well.

Both of my kids have slept through the night in their cribs since 3 months old. I'm not trying to brag;-).....but I think the reason they did is because we managed to find different things that were very comforting to them. For both of the kids we used this turtle that attaches to the side of the crib, it has fish that swim around in water inside of it and lights and soothing music. My son attached to a specific blanky very early and was able to comfort himself with that. My daughter also has a special blanky as well as one of those "soothing sounds" animals that has a white noise setting on it....it runs for about a half hour after the turtle stops and just keeps her relaxed until she falls into a deep enough sleep to last through the night. (She slept right next to me in bed for the first 3 months) It's all about them being able to comfort themselves. Up until now YOU have been there for that. It's a matter of trying different things that might sooth him without you being there. Good luck! I hope you find something that works and start getting some sleep!

Braeden loves music in his room when he sleeps. He's rolls over and falls asleep almost instantly when he hears the music. Also, to transition out of our bed, we used our pack n play in our room and then we put him in his crib. It worked for us. We had to let him cry it out too. It was so sad. My husband was way better at it than I was, but it got SO MUCH better. He was 9 1/2 months old though. THe first night 15 mintues, the second night, 1-2 minutes, the third night 5 minutes and now he just goes to sleep. We had to be careful not to let him get overly tired, that was a nightmare. We also stopped getting him at night when he woke up which is not completely done with. He woke up the first few nights a couple times for just a few minutes and then was back asleep.
Good luck! WHatever you choose will be the best decision for your family.

9 months is a growth-spurt time.
Is he hungry?
Or teething?
Or hitting milestones?
All of these things, affects and tweaks sleep in a baby.

I have heard, that crying it out, changes the brain chemistry.

Any "transition" will take time. Because it is a change in routine.

All the best,
Susan

We are co-sleeping with our second child and he is almost a year and still wakes up 1-3x a night and I am still nursing him. With our first child we let him cry it out early on and he slept through the night great early on. However, it totally changed my first child and I swore I would never do it again. When you are co-sleeping it takes more time and definately more patience to teach them how to sleep on their own. It is very worth it. If you are starting to feel the effects though and want change go ahead and change it. There are two great books out there I recommend: The Baby Sleep Book by Dr Sears and The No Cry Sleep Method by Elizabeth Pantley? I believe. They will give you some alternatives to crying it out without damaging your relationship.

I am so against the "cry it out" method! I am a fan of co-sleeping, but I agree it sounds like its not working right now.
Try rocking him to sleep, cuddling, etc. Don't worry about putting him down away, just let him get nice and asleep then put him down. If he wakes up, try gently rubbing and patting him, but don't let him cry to much unless you plan on just letting him cry (the method of waiting 10 minutes this week, 15 mintues next before going to a crying baby just teaches him to cry longer). I will warn you that there will be an adjustment period - it's not going to be a quick change.

Also, have you ruled out causes of him waking so much? Maybe he's teething - tylenol can help with that. Or he could have an ear infection. They don't always have symptoms other than discomfort when lying down. It might not hurt to have a quick check-up just to rule out any external causes.

Two days is not long enough for anythig to work with infants and toddlers. I did the crying out method with my daughter at 4 mths old and ne wise mom told me give it 1-2 weeks before trying something else. Of course he is not going to be the same his routine is changing and he is probably getting less sleep untill he learns to put himself to sleep. He might be developing some seperation anxiety since he is not sleeping with you which is also a new change on top of letting him cry it out. Double dousy. I took the pacifer awayf rom my daughter at 9 months cause she was waking up and crying cause she could not find it and it only took a few days that time for her to learnt o sleep without it. I had her without t earlier but when I had to go aways for a week my husband started using it again as it was easy to put her down with it. Crying out method can altered in several ways. Search the ferber method online, that is where the cry it out came from. It does not necessrily mean letting them cry for hours with you not going in. Yuor son needs to learn that although you are not right there next to him you ar enot far away and wil be there if he truly needs you (dirty diaper, hungry). Good luck, it will happen just need time, which you may have 1-2 weeks of little sleep but sounds like you are still use to that.

I agree about the teething... be sure to go ahead and get some teething tablets..If he uses a pacifier, put 3 in his crib so he can grab for it in the dark.

This weekend will be a good time to start a new sleeping routine.

Tomorrow evening,
Have a nice dinner. Be careful not to be too loud. As long as your child gets really riled up it will take him to calm down. Sometimes twice as long. Turn off the TV and cell phones.

Bath time should be quiet, and the house slightly darkened so that it does not look like there is anything interesting about to go on.

During the bath, have really warm water and use strong rubs like a massage. Then wrap him in his towel and carry him into a slightly darkened room. Dry him with strong strokes, use quiet voice tones. Breast feed him or give him his bottle while you read him a story.If he has a bottle, lay him in his crib while he drinks. When he is finished with his bottle, rub him slightly while you read. Read slower and slower while reading. Do not engage him with the book. Do not ask him questions. He should be pretty worn out. Turn on some soft music or use a sound machine. Turn off the light and leave the room...

If he wakes in the middle of the night, give him a few minutes, he may settle down. If he needs to have a diaper change, change him in total darkness, no conversations, then lay him down and he may go right to sleep. If he needs to breast feed do it in the dark, no conversation. Or make sure you have a bottle ready so you can give him a small bottle.

In the beginning getting him to sleep on his own may involve some crying. Just close the door and check on him in 5 min. only if he is crying. do not touch him, just peek and tell him "it is time for him to sleep". If he cries again, give him 10 minutes. then 15. etc.

Sometimes starting this new routine is best on the weekends cause there may not be much sleep for anyone in the house.

I am sending you strength.

Hi, B.. Yes, there are other options at this age rather than crying it out. I found with all of my kids (4) that teething caused wakefulness. We used Tylenol at night, sometimes more than once, and were able to sleep. I encourage you to rule out pain as a reason for waking.
Two *fabulous* books with sleep ideas are The No Cry Sleep Solution by Pantley, and Good Nights by Gordon. Both books look at why a baby wakes, and offer many, many ideas for extending sleep. Good Nights also has the 10-night sleep through the night idea, which is suggested for babies who have been co-sleeping and have reached a year. It doesn't even involve tears, nor does it involve moving baby out.
Hang in there, Mom! They eventually start sleeping longer.
A.
www.breastandbottlefeeding.com

Also very, very against CIO. I will link you some research on the topic so you can decide for yourself. I read The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantly and it was a LIFE SAVER, let me tell you, it worked wonders. She also has a website with helpful tips. I say go there for ideas.

Two good summaries of research on CIO:
http://www.drmomma.org/2009/12/should-baby-soothe-himself...

http://www.drmomma.org/2009/12/sleep-training-review-of-r...

Dr. Sears on Sleep Issues:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070100.asp

Two more great CIO articles/ research:
http://www.sleepnet.com/infant3/messages/534.html

Pantly's site....
http://www.pantley.com/elizabeth/

http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/pinky_mckay.html

There are so many other options besides crying it out! It sounds like you've already gotten some good suggestions, but I'll add to the list. "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Mark Weisbluth, has some great strategies in it (although it is a little on the cry-it-out side for me) for all ages of babies.
Just as a side note, my son (18 mo now and a great sleeper) didn't sleep through the night even once before he turned 1 (he was still nursing once at night until then), but I would not go back and let him cry it out if I could! He had bad separation anxiety at that age (so common!), and he really would've freaked out if I'd just laid him down in bed and walked out of the room! We went through a gradual process of getting him to sleep on his own, probably similar to the No Cry Sleep Solution process. It required a bit more time in the evenings on my part (I spent many nights patting his back and reading in the rocking chair by the crib, waiting for him to fall asleep), but I don't have to look back on it and wonder if I did the right thing. Now that he is older and more stubborn, he does occasionally get left to fuss for a minute or two at naptime, but it is totally different from the panicky screams of an infant!
So, all that to say, trust your God-given instincts! If you feel that he really needs you during the night, or that he is not the same during the day, don't force yourself to let him cry endlessly at night on someone else's say-so. There are other options!!