My 16 Month Old Still Won't Sleep Through the Night - Any Suggestions?

Neither one of my kids slept through the night until they were well over two. By the time my second child was this age, I was exhausted... my friend (mother of 5) finally convinced me to ignore him, to stay in my bed, and not be seen or heard. He cried so hard the first night that I was laying in bed bawling myself, the second night he only cried for about 30 min, and by the third night I never heard another peep. He's been sleeping all night since. (9 yrs old now!!) If I EVER have a third child, I will do this at 12 months, no doubt about it. Oh, the sleep I coulda had.... LOL

I have a boy and girl (twins) and both seemed to take forever to sleep through the night. We did everything right too...all those little things that they say stop them from sleeping through the night. :) Ugh! I know what you are going through. Hang in there. My daughter was less likely to sleep through the night. She eats a lot less than my son too. Hopefully, she will grow throught it. Mine did. I thought they never would!

One thing you might want to check out is ear infections. I had the same problem with my little girl at that age. Even when an ear infection is cleared up, the fluid can still be trapped behind the eardrum. The only time it really bothers them is when they lay down. I actually had to put my daughter in her car seat sometimes to sleep because she didn't have the pressure on her ears when she was sitting up. I figured that out after many nights of holding her in the recliner while she slept. If the pediatrician says that her ears are clear of infection AND fluid, then you can try the "let them cry it out" method. When I did that (before I knew it was her ears) My daughter would scream and cry until she threw up all over herself and her bed. That's when I had a long talk with my pediatrician and we figured out it was her ears and the pressure from the fluid. She got tubes in her ears and slept all night after that. I hope this helps. Good luck!

She knows that you will come in and get her. She has to figure out how to console herself. I give my 17 month old girl about 10 minutes to try to go back to sleep by herself in her bed before I go and check on her. You can tell by her cry if she really needs you or not. She definitely isn't hungry; she just misses you. I've started giving my girl a security blanket or bunny to hold while she goes to sleep. It seems to be helping. She still wakes up 2-3 times, but she goes back to sleep faster.

You gotta get tough mom :) I echo the comments about letting her cry it out. A 16 month old can have lots of determination --- but that only increases --- so do it now. That's my 2 cents anyway. I let my children cry it out at 8 weeks. It took about 3 days and they have been wonderful sleepers ever since. It definitely isn't easy. There are rescources out there to help you figure out how to implement it realistically. Super Nanny does something like it. You can also look for the book Babywise --- its for infants but there is a version for older kids too. The Babywise materials can be a bit "extreme". I took parts of it and just ignored the rest.

The basic idea is to let them cry longer and longer periods of time. Tell the child she needs to go to sleep and that mommy needs to go to sleep. That we all sleep in our own beds and stay there until morning. When they cry the first night you go in and pat them on the back -- tell them they are okay and to go back to sleep. You then let them cry for about 10 min before you go back in. Repeat this time staying gone 15 min. DO NOT pick them up. DO NOT make a big deal about going in the room. Stay calm, pat them a couple of times and say "its night time the sun is asleep and its time for all little girls to sleep too". Plan on it taking a while on night #1. Have a timer you can set so you can make sure to not go in too early. Its not easy --- but I think it is really best for everyone in the family. Sleep deprevation is not healthy.

One last thing -- a bedtime routine is super important --- but I tried to make most of the routine happen outside of their room. We read stories on the couch. When we went into the room at night it was pretty much all business. If they are used to extended singing, cuddling, laying down with them, then when they wake in the middle of the night they may want that same attention in order to go back to sleep. When they are older and have the sleeping thing down, you can move all that back into their room.

That's my experince for what its worth. My girls are 3.5 and 5 now and almost never wake up at night.

Our pediatrician says to turn off the baby monitor and let them cry. I know it is hard.... but it does work. Good luck. M.

And... congrats on the Masters!

Have you tried to put a loud constant humming fan in her room?

We like the book, "THe No Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers." It has lots of ideas to help your kids sleep.
- P.

I think you have tyo stop going in. It will be tough to start with, but it does work. There is a book, healthy sleep, healthy baby, something like that which expeains how much sleep babies need and how to deal with sleep issues. We just stopped going in unless the crying sounded like they really needed help - foot stuck out the cot, diaper change, that sort of thing. It is hard but they breally do stop crying if there is no response to their efforts! Good luck
D.

You will probably get all kinds of advice, but my doctor told me to let them cry it out. I know it is very hard to do and my 11 month old is having that same problem. I hate to let him cry, but I have for the past two days and he stops and goes back to sleep. I think it is much harder on us to let them cry. She has to learn to self soothe and the only way she will is for you to let her. I started by just going into his room and not picking him up, but standing by the bed and rubbing his back. Then I would just stand by the bed now I am not going into the room at all. It seems to be working it will take a couple of more nights to know for sure.

When you say she only drinks a small amount I'm assuming you are breastfeeding her. My daughter is 16 months old too and I am still breastfeeding her. I am having the same problem you are except when I go in at night to soothe her I started telling her no boobie(that's what we call it)and she is starting to get the idea that I am not going to feed her when I go in at night. Now I just have to get the guts to let her cry it out so she can soothe herself back to sleep. So my advice is it first try to wean her from breastfeeding at night or bottle feeding, I am just assuming you are breastfeeding her. Then when she knows she is not going to get "boobie or bottle then you can let her cry it out. I think it is just cruel to try to do both at the same time. So first wean her from drinking anything which should only take a few nights then go to letting her cry it out which should only be another few nights. Good luck!