How to Educate My 8 1/2 Month Old to Sleep Through the Night?

Hi C.:
We had the exact same situation for quite some time - happy baby, goes to sleep independantly and in her own bed, keeps a nice clockwork schedule on her own...but she would still wake up for the 2-3am bottle every night! Honestly, we didn't worry about it. It's just something they grow out of. It wasn't until around 12-13 months she started sleeping consistently through the night...and now, even at 16 months, she still sometimes wakes up for a middle of the night snack. My personal theory (not proven, so take it for what it's worth!) is that some babies have faster metabolism than others so their little bodies process food quicker and they get hungry more often...thus, waking up at night. I really don't know if that's true but, if so, it helps explain why some babies can sleep through the night as soon as 3-4 months and some don't until over a year. Be patient...and good luck with whatever approach you decide to take!

A couple other mom's said this too, but she's probably waking out of habit at this point. She really doesn't need to eat during the night any more. Maybe just try rocking her back to sleep at first to get her off the bottle habit. I have heard good things about the Happy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby book that someone else suggested.

MANY, MANY babies do NOT sleep through the night until they are at least 1 year old. The other thing to consider, is that "sleeping through the night" is considered to be 5-6 straight hours. So, your daughter might actually be pretty close to that.

Also, you mentioned your daughter has her bottle "when in bed." I wouldn't recommend giving her a bottle unless you are there to supervise/hold it for her. It's not very safe. Adding cereal to her bottle, if you have considered this, is NOT proven to make babies sleep longer & is also dangerous. You can offer solids, if you have started these yet, closer to her bedtime, though.

My other thought is that your daughter might be going through a growth spurt. These typically happen around 9 months. Sometimes, a few weeks earlier & sometimes a few weeks later.

My sister loaned me a book by Dr. Marc Weissbluth- "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." He is very well trained and his book is not based on opinions. Not only does he explain HOW to get your child to sleep better, but he also explains WHY children have the sleep habits they do. We used this book from the beginning with my daughter and she was sleeping 8pm-7am at 6 weeks.

Added- We only used what worked for us in this book. We've never let our daughter cry it out.

And, *yes* babies do need to eat even at night when they are this young.

Hey C.,
Sorry to respond so late, but my daughter is 10 months old and i literally just broke her of the middle-of-the night bottle. At 3 to 6 months she was sleeping through the night from 9 to about 6:30 and then she got sick more often when she started daycare, and thats when it all started..lol I knew she wasn't eating alot through the day, being congested and all so i would give her a bottle through the night. Well i just created a monster. Sick or not she would demand that bottle. And what was hard is the my son and her share a room so i was always terrified of her waking him up and visa vera (they would feed off each other) finally I had enought. It was this week I just thought you know what she's reversing her schedule. I noticed she would eat rather lightly through the day and then want that bottle. So I just let her cry for about 5 minutes one night (she found her fingers to suck on) and thats was it. I haven't had a problem since. and now that i stopped she's increased her appetite during the day. It's hard to make a decision especially with a little one that relies solely on you, but you'll make the right decision. I wish you they best of luck.
M.

Your daughter is probably waking up in the middle of the night out of habit - you could try watering down her bottle a little bit every night until you are giving her nothing but water - eventually she may not wake up for the bottle at all.

Good Luck,
Mel

Hi C.! The exact sitation you were describing describes my little boy... when he was FOUR months old! LOL. 5-6 oz. bottles before bedtime? My lil man (and my older two children when they were infants) drank that much (2 of them were at 8 oz. by the time they were 6 mo.)way before they even turned 8 months old. Around 5 months is when I started introducing baby food and cereal. I know all babies are different, but I think an 8.5 month old should definitely be drinking more than a 5-6 oz. bottle. She's waking up probably because she is STARVING! I'd definitely try to give her something heavy in her tummy (i.e. baby cereal) then wait an hour and give her her bedtime bottle to really fill her up. And as long as she has no other issues (teething, sick, etc.) than she should definitely be sleeping all night long! Hope this helps a little bit - being a 1st time Mom can be rough without family around to give advice. Trust me - I KNOW! :)

At 8 1/2 months she does not need, but rather wants, to eat in the middle of the night. Are you feeding her enough during the day? You might also try reading Dr. Marc Weissbluth's "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" for additional tips. Keep in mind, however, that it does advocate letting her cry it out or gradually crying it out, so that she learns how to put herself back to sleep without having to eat. She has learned that if she wants your attention in the middle of the night, she will cry - that's her expectation, because she knows that you will either immediately run in or eventually run in and give her what she wants, that's why the crying continues no matter when you go in. If you're okay with that, then continue what you're doing.

Hi!
I know this is going to sound horrible to you at first, but it is worth a shot. Let her cry it out. The first night she may be up for an hour, but crying isn't going to hurt her. Put a little rice cereal into her bottle before she goes to bed to make sure she doesn't get too hungry and if she wakes up in the middle of the night just let her cry until she falls back to sleep. I fortunately have a wonderful sleeper. My son is 9 months old and has slept 10-12 hours nearly every night since he was 6 weeks old. Every once in a while he will wake up in the middle of the night for no reason and the first night I will go in and rock him back to sleep, but if it happens again the next night my husband and I just let him cry himself back to sleep. It usually only lasts about 5 minutes or so, needless to say it feels likes days, but he just lays back down and goes back to sleep once he realizes we are not coming in. I give him the first night just in case he has a bad dream or something, but I know that the next night is done just because. Also, when you do go in there try and get her to fall back to sleep without a bottle, just like us...if we eat at the same time every day our bodies will instinctually get hungry at that time every day. Like I said, it is really tough the first couple of times, but trust me it works. There really isn't anything wrong with her that you need to fix she just wants to see what your up to. I hope it works out for you. Just remember once you commit to doing it you have to see it through. Don't let her cry for 10 minutes and then break down and go in there, because then she'll know she has you. Babies are a lot smarter than we give them credit for!

Omit the night feedings. In her age first of ll she does not need the food in the middle of the night and second it is not good for her teeth. You will have couple sleepless nights, so do it on weekend, and switch to the water (not juice) for her night bottles. She will be very unhappy about it, but will have to get use to it. And i hope you do not leave the last evening bottle in the crib, that is not a good practice. Change her into pj's, give her a bottle and after she is done with it put her to bed.

Good luck and God bless your family

The first couple of nights of this plan are no fun but if it pays off for you then it is worth it. A friend told me this and my pediatrician backed it up. My son has been sleeping through the night since he was four weeks old. First don't feed your daughter after five o'clock. She will be fussy obviously but just let her tire herself out. About thirty minutes before you want her to go to bed, give her a nice long warm bath. After you put on her pajamas let her eat as much as she likes until she falls asleep. It worked for me the very first night and I will definitly do it again when I have another child. It seems really cruel to let her "starve" for a couple of hours and listen to her fuss but I know several people that this has worked for. Good luck! A.

I have a son who is now alomst 10 months, my son was the same way, I tried giving him double the cereal and a bigger bottle before bed but he still woke up at like 4 a.m. My pediatrician told me to give him water when we woke up in the middle of the night and he would eventually not want to get up. So I gave him water when he would wake up and after a week he slept from 8:30 p.m. to at least 7:00 a.m. if not later. I hope this helps. Good Luck!

I disagree with the other moms who have replied so far - I think that many babies can be hungry during the first 0-12 months of life! They grow SOOO much and SO fast during the first year, so I think it is possible for them to be hungry at night too. Especially if your daughter is becoming more mobile (did she just start to crawl a lot? or is she pulling up to standing and cruising around furniture?), I think it is reasonable that an older baby would be hungry at night.

I also strongly disagree with the "cry it out" method for 2 reasons --> first, there are gentler ways of helping a baby learn to sleep that do NOT involve leaving them alone in a room to cry themselves to sleep; and second, "cry it out" is a one-size-fits-all method BUT not all babies are the same so it does not work for all babies.

If you strongly feel that your baby is not hungry, then check out Elizabeth Pantley's book "No Cry Sleep Solution" which will help you make a plan to improve your daughter's sleep *WITHOUT* having to listen to her cry alone for hours and hours until she "learns" that no one is coming back for her (NOT a lesson I want to teach my baby!).

I just wanted to say you are not alone. I have an 8 month old who also will not sleep through the night. He is the most beautiful baby boy but at 4 am it is rough. He goes to bed great usually after his evening bottle 6-7 oz around 8ish. At about 5-6 months old i stopped feeding him when he would wake to try to break that habit, but instead I started a new bad one. To make sure he would go back to sleep i started bringing him into bed at 4 or so when he would wake up, now it is the only way to get him back to sleep. I dont know what advice i have b/c i am in same boat, my husband wants him to cry it out but i cant do it.... i also have the same problem when my husband gets ups with him i cant get back to sleep call it being a mom i guess. i just wanted to say you are not alone i am right there with you awake in the middle of the night for the past 8 months. And the one night he did sleep through i couldnt--go figure:)

hang in there girl, i hear it gets better.......(not so sure though hehehe)

My son didn't sleep through the night until he was 9 months old. My daughter started sleeping through the night when she was 6 weeks old. With both kids we did the cry out method. It was miserable with my son, but he was colicy and had reflux as a little baby. It was my last option and I was not happy about it. But now as a 2&1/2 year old he can be put down without us in the the room. It has gotten a little harder as he has gotten older, but that is just because he is very verbal and asks for water or needs to be covered up as his excuses not to go to sleep. With both kids it was hard but well worth it for us. The Cry It Out method is not for everyone. You just have to find what works for you and your baby. Whatever you chose you may have someone that will tell you it's wrong. Just go with your gut. Good luck.
G.

Give her some cereal before bed I have 3 month old twins and they sleep from 9 pm to 4 am easy then they take a bottle and I have to wake them up to take my 3yr old to school that is at 7:15 am, try it and let me know OK If you need any thing please feel free to email me ok I have 3 kids
Let her have the cereal and then a bottle put her to bed half awake and she should sleep for you ok