Insomniac 8 Month old...HELP

My almost 15 month old daughter has been going through this the last maybe 2 months, but seems to be getting better. Has your son become more active and mobile lately? My daughter started her phase after she got pretty good at walking. She went from being sooo easy to put to bed, to screaming as you say your son does. I used to be able to tell around 8:00 that she was getting sleepy, lay her down in bed, say goodnight, & walk out. She would still be awake, but not fuss & would go to sleep on her own. Then all of a sudden, she would scream when we tried to rock her or put her in bed! We would struggle with her until sometimes 11:00 before she would finally go to sleep. After about a month of this, we started putting her in bed at 8:00 and would shut her gate on the door. She would get out of bed (toddler bed) and cry. We would wait 10-15 mins, then if she was still crying we would go put her back in bed, calm her down (without holding her!), then leave again, repeating the 10-15 mins if she still cried. After a few nights of this, she crawled back into bed and went to sleep after only 5 minutes!

So, maybe your son is just in that phase. Perhaps you can try the 10-15 mins rule. I assume he is sleeping in a crib, so when you go check on him after 10-15 mins, just lay him back down, cover him up, make sure he has his pacifier/bear/etc. I would talk to my daughter and rub my hand through her hair, and sometimes sing to her to calm her down. Good luck!!

Edit-- I just read the other response. I personally don't agree with finding some sound to help him go to sleep. My parents did the fan thing with us and we always had to carry a little fan with us if we stayed somewhere else! You can get so used to the sound that you have to have it all the time! Same goes for complete silence though too. My dad has to have the room quiet and dark for him to sleep...

I know this may sound insane, but a friend of mine had the same problem and she put the vaccum cleaner outside her sons door and turned it on until he was good and asleep. I guess the noise drowned out his crying, giving her more peace, drowned out the noise her and her husband made, making her son feel less like he was missing something. I also think there is something about that noise going to sleep. I can't sleep myself without my huge box fan on high. It's not because of the air, it's the sound. Put a baby monitor in his room, but your monitor off at first, then cut it on every now and then just to check on him to make sure he's alright. It worked wonders for my friend. It just might work for you! If not, other than prayer, I don't know what to tell you, lol. Hope this helps!

My 10 year old had major sleep problems like this a s an infant and still does. He requires alot less sleep than the rest of my family. We went through all of that when he was an infant. He would only sleep sometimes five hours a night broken up. The doctor gave me something to help him sleep once and of course it had the opposite affect.

Dear T.,

After reading your story, a bell went off in my head. I have a four year old daughter who had reflux from birth, so I had to hold her or let her sleep in a carseat or swing until she was 6 months old. I also have a niece who developed the problem after she turned one. She had a very strict bedtime routine and would begin to scream and cry after being put in her crib. She too would vomit from screaming. My sister, being a first time mom, thought her daughter was doing it to get attention. I convinced her to talk to her doctor and sure enough, she had reflux too. Once she learned this, they changed her bottle routine and used a prescription to calm her tummy. Now they are back to having a nice peaceful bedtime routine again. My advice...talk to your doctor right away.

Best of luck!
A.