How Many of You Let Your 9 Month Old Cry in the Middle of the Night?

We did it, with both our boys. It was much more difficult for me (it's awful to listen to your child cry) than I ever expected, but it worked well and quickly. At about 9 mos., after a cold where he got a lot of attention during the night, my son decided he wanted me to watch him sleep. He would lie happily in his crib as long as I stood over him, but as soon as I would leave he would cry again. Clearly neither one of us was getting much sleep so we had to do something. We read the Ferber book:

http://www.amazon.com/Solve-Your-Childs-Sleep-Problems-Ne...

and basically used his method. It was hard but it worked quickly and I never felt like I was being cruel. Very firm, but not mean.

My kids (4&6) are both wonderful sleepers now and have been for many years, and I really credit this book.
Good Luck!
-J.

I know that at the time it seems like an impossibility, but think of this. . . the earlier a child learns something (or any of us for that matter) the easier it is and the more of a habit it becomes. If you can work through the sleepless nights a week or so I bet your daughter will teach herself how to go to sleep and you will have peaceful nights from now until she gets her driver's license!

Good luck and stick with it.

Kim

I have had similar problems with my 11 month old. My doctor told me to lay her down when she was tired and leave then keep coming back to reassure her if she was crying. So I have tried that and every time she cries so hard that she vomits. It was too much for me and I stopped. I don't know what else to do. It is the same for me I have to wake up early to go to school so I need sleep. It is just me so there is no one else to do it.

Hi B.,

Probably not the answer you are hoping for, but we never let ours cry... we bed share and have since she was tiny. I believe that thisis the way nature intended it. Little ones are not designed to sleep through the night. Not to mention, night time makes for great bonding. Are you breatsfeeding? I still do and I can't imagine getting up to do it. Not to mention, you get your sleep and so does everyone else.

I slept with my almost 9 yo until she was 3 and she is a secire, confident happy little girl who sleeps in her own bed...

Anyway, I could talk about it all day but instead will tell you about a website you should check out that back upthe idea of co-sleeping. I met Dr McKenna and he is ghreat. HI sresearch is amazing!!! Plug him into any search engine w/ "co-sleeping" and its awesome what out there.

http://www.nd.edu/~jmckenn1/lab/index.html

Take care, C.

B., we never let our (now) 10 month old baby cry when she wakes up, mostly because she's been right next to us in the co-sleeper and it's so easy to pick her up and nurse her back to sleep. However, now that she can crawl out of that by herself, we need to switch her to the Pack n' play or buy a crib. Anyway, babies this age are usually restless sleepers because they're so preoccupied/excited about crawling and walking. Add to that the daily ups & downs of teething, and it's a wonder anyone gets any sleep. We've been trying to follow the plan of Elizabeth Pantley's "No-Cry Sleep Solution"- and i DO recommend it as a book and reference, but progress is painstakingly slow and it seems like there's a setback every day. My friends with older kids tell me there's really no sure-fire solution to sleep problems except sticking to a routine and mostly, them getting older and growing out of this development stage. I work full-time too and my husband takes care of the baby during the day- so i'm the one who is losing sleep- but still, it wears on both of us. I empathize with you and wish you the best of luck.

Hi B.,
I never did have the heart to let my son cry it out, and we had 18 months of sleepless nights! Turned out to be chronic ear infections, and as soon as he got tubes put in, he started sleeping right through the night.
Not sure if this is what you wanted to hear, but I know how it feels!
Good luck!
-P.