Insomnia in 15 Month Old Daughter???

The two times my son did that was:

1) When my school schedule had me away for big chunks of the day... he started waking up in the middle of the night, aparently for "mommy time", because as soon as the new quarter started he went back to sleeping, and when another quarter was like the first there he was awake half the night again. And then back to normal when THAT quarter was over.

2) Whenever he hit a growth spurt. He'd wake up, and unless he was fed, he'd STAY up. As soon as his tummy was full though, he'd go back to sleep. Boy oh boy. Until I figured that one out, I was EXHAUSTED. My son is the "c*** up and shoot up" type, too. So his growth spurts were always heralded by him doubling his food intake. <Laughing> It was a pain when we had a substitute Ped. though. I was always having to tell them to look at his weight chart, because they were alternately concerned that he was grossly over or underweight.

It's my experience that non-traumatized children don't have insomnia the way that we think of it. They have a need that needs to be filled.

One of my favorite sayings:

Babies know what they need
Children know what they want
Adults have adgendas

A baby waking up in the middle of the night needs something. It could be food, teething (thank GOD for tylenol), or pure and simple "mommy time". Ahem. Mommy time is the hardest, actually. Once you figure out what it is, you'll be fine.

T.,

I've Googled insomia in toddlers and only found stuff about it being related to disorder of the nervous system and other things like that...but, doesn't sound like your little girl has those issues.

Waking like this can be normal if she's teething or growing, or like Julie said just not tired at that point. She may just be waking because she is simply 'awake'. If she's not hungry or crying from pain or discomfort or even seperation then I can't think of anything that would be contributing to this.

You might want to take a look at her sleeping times. My son's bedtime routine has always started at 7:30pm, but we begin out good night kisses and cuddles at around 8pm and then, he's usually out by 8:30pm. Like Julie, this is to give him time with me since I don't get home until 5:30pm but also so he doesn't wake up at 4am for the start of his day. For my little guy, the earlier I put him to bed the earlier he wakes and the earlier his nap is during the day.

At this age, you baby only needs 11 hours nighttime sleep and about 2 daytime sleeping hours (nap). Check out this chart that I found on Baby Center...so, since I'm not sure what time she wakes for her day, I hestitate to say she's getting too much sleep and is waking. But, this might be one thing.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-much-sleep-does-your-chil...

Also, my son did this when he began to become more aware of his surroundings and cruising/crawling. It might pass sooner than you think, so as long as she doesn't need you, I wouldn't worry about it. My son did this on and off for a few months...two weeks on and two weeks off.

Good Luck!!

... your baby is just hanging out... as you said, you just let her be, and she is fine. She is just not sleeping at these times.

BOTH my kids did that too... WHEN they were going through developmental changes... which includes hitting milestones, physical, cognitive, emotional development, separation anxieties, night-terrors, increased hunger due to growth spurts, teething, and an increase in their motor skills.

It's fine.. and she will go back to normalcy. Just not yet. When my kids did that.... I just let them be, as they were fine and just hanging out... fed them if needed, and they eventually went back to sleep.

I would not "worry." MANY kids/babies do this. Sleep patterns are never static in a baby or child anyway... and it ebbs and flows all the time.

Just keep to your same routine.

All the best,
Susan

Hi T., I'm not sure if it is normal for your 15 month old daughter to have insomnia. I do think that a 7:00 PM bed time may be a little early. I know when my 3 were toddlers their bard time was between 8:30 and 9:00, I mailnly did this time so that they could have more family time in the evenings sinse dad didn't get home until around 5:00 sometimes way after 5. he was in the Navy. I would try pusing her bed time back at least an hour and see if that helps, other than that, that she doesn't cry, maybe a good sign that there really isn't anything wrong. it's good you just let her be, this way you won't be creating any bad habits with her being up at night. J. L.

Try giving her some chewable calcium and liquid magnesium. Has been doing wonders for my son. :)