My Daughter Is 13Months and Isn't Sleeping Through the Night

She could be teething. My daughter did the same. It passes.
Try looking at her mouth for red or swollen gums. IF so, rub on some infant oragel or try some tylenol

Good Morning J.,

There are a ton of books available as well as articles in parenting magazines that address this very same issue. So take some comfort that you are definately not alone. I will only tell you what worked for us. It was awesome, but it isn't for every famiy. So If you read this and think, Hmmm, I couldn't do that, then find the method that does fit your family.

We "ferberized" our son at 6 months. Richard Ferber is a doctor from Massachusetts and his theory is that we get into the habit of putting our children to bed asleep once they have finished eating (usually drinking from a bottle). He talks about the idea that the babies go to bed in their mother's arms comfy, cozy and then a few hour later awaken all alone in a dark room and are distressed by two things. First, the thing that woke them (digesting food and being "habitually hungry" followed by Second, having a sense of fear b/c where they are is not where they fell asleep.

He says that children should be put to be awake and learn to soothe themselves. The idea is you increase the time between going in and checking on your baby in 5 minute increments.

So - the first night, you let your baby cry for 10 minutes. Then you go in. You don't touch her, you just reassure her that she is ok. Then you wait another 15 minutes before you go in to reassure her. Never touch her. Just soothing words. Then you leave. Then you wait another 20 minutes. From then on, you go in every 20 minutes to soothe her (and yourself) until she is asleep.

The next night you do the exact same thing except the first time you go in is after 15 minutes. Then 20 minutes, then 25 minutes.

The third night, the first time is 20 minutes, then 25 minutes, then 30 minutes....

Now, the first thing you have to remember. You don't ever go in if she isn't really truly crying. Then you should not be spending more than 5 minutes in the room at a time.

We went in for two nights in a row....each night he was asleep by the third round of visits and by the third night he slept through and has every night since. He always goes to bed awake and doesn't eat/drink anything for probably an hour or so before. Well, I should admit, he is 2.5 years old now and just about a month ago, he started asking for water when he goes to bed. As I am someone who always takes water to bed with her, I couldn't say no. However, he went a strong 2 yrs before that happened.

It was hard but we were committed to doing it. Everyone needs their sleep. I am a better mommy, wife, and teacher if I am well rested. The second night was my night and when I went in he looked so distressed I was weeping on the floor of the bedroom. My husband came in and said, "cry as much as you need to, but don't you dare pick him up!!" and then squired me out of the room reminding me it was ok. The next night was a glorious 10 hours of solid sleep.

Do what works for your family, but be consistent and committed. Help each other through it because it is so taxing. Good luck and enjoy that first night when it comes!! You deserve it.

If you wanted there is a formuula that is for 9 to 24months old so if that works then try that. She should not want to eat at night what can also do is every nite give her less and less untill she dont need it

I have a 2 1/2 year old who still wakes up 4 or 5 times a night, so don't worry, you're not alone. If she is having stomach problems which are waking her up, the switch back to formula might help, or you could try rice milk, or almond milk, if she's sensitive to cow's milk. If she's eating well, she really doesn't need the formula, but it can't hurt.

J.,

I have read somewhere that milk can sometimes cause some allergy that interrupts their sleep -- I wish I could remember where I read that so I could be more helpful to you.

But, what about soy milk? My pediatrician feels that it has the same health benefits as regular milk. My 18 month old developed a rash after switching to milk so we put her on soy and after a few tries she loved it! She didn't hate it at first, but it took a few days for her to "love" it. Now she drinks both.

If the sleeping is not a milk issue, I am a big fan of the book "The No Cry Sleep Solution". It is big on creating a very specific night time routine. Another suggestion from the book it to make a Night-Night book (that's what we call it). We took photos of our daughter doing each step of our routine -- eating dinner, taking a tub, getting jammies on, reading a book, nursing and sleeping.

We read it to her for several days before we began. The first night was hard!!! We chose to do the routine and once she was in the crib, she stayed in the crib. However, I sat with her in the rocking chair right next to her bed and talked to her and rubbed her and read stories to her. She cried ALOT. But she figured it out and laid down and feel asleep while I read to her. The next night was soooo much easier. And during the day we would see her reading the Night-Night book to herself -- I truly believe that book helped her understand what the plan was. Now she tells us what the next step is!

We struggled a great deal with getting her to sleep through the night -- if you want to echat about it more, just let me know.

Good Luck!!!1

i feel your pain!!! my now 19 month old son wasnt sleeping throuth the night at 13 months either - until i went into the hospital to have my 3rd son and left my husband in charge. i was totally desperate and exhausted, and it was taking a toll on my marriage, as well as the patience i had for my then not quite 3 year old son. and to top everyting else, i found out i was pregnant again when the non-sleeper was 4 months old!! i searched and searched and tried ferber and all the other highly touted programs - all failed. the problem with a child that age is that they are simply too smart to allow those plans to work; compounded with the fact that you have not had a good nights sleep in over a year, it is easier to do whatever it takes to get a little shut eye!!!

when i came home from the hospital this past april (after 5 nights) i was so thrilled to find that ryan was now sleeping through the night. the ONLY thing that worked was for my husband to let him cry it out as long as it took - and the fact that i was not there i think was a huge plus. i would see if your husband is willing to let you sleep somewhere else for a few nights if you cant handle the screaming either, and have him be totally in charge of putting her to bed and being there throughout the night! or you could always have another baby! Good luck - i feel you pain!

ahhh i remember that period of time! I am a mom of a 3 yr old and a 6 yr old. heres what we did and still do to this day.. you know how you have a hankering for a lil something before you go to bed but not right before? but well after dinner time? We give/still give somw cereal. yes its light and sits just the right amount and actually they will sleep longer too..no empty belly. we gave them each at your daughter's age a 1/2 to whole pkg of apple cinnamon oat meal and they would scarf it down..(my darling 3 yr old to this day is in the exact routine. my son has ventured to honey nut cherrios or rice crispies and banana.) just a thought. We also don't give much water at that time to reduce the bathroom (or in your case wet diapers)maybe atad water to wash it down like 1/4-1/3 cup
hope this idea helps,...

When you switched her to whole milk did you do so gradually or all at once. She might just have an upset stomach. I would suggest trying again, but do only 2ozs of milk and the rest formula for 3-4 days. Then continue on to 4ozs/4ozs milk formula for 3-4 more days and keep doing it until you have gotten her on full milk. If there is still a problem speak to your doctor, she might be lactose intolerant. Good luck.

you have to watch her weight, keeping on formula can creat overweight and later on you probably will have a hard time to change it to regular milk.
Why don't you try giving her some solid food before bed? some cherios or banana maybe?
Some times some babies take longer to adjust to changes but...it's always better to keep your feet down and not to give up!
Good luck!!!

I feel so bad, my daughter is 14 months and if she wasn't sleeping thru the night I'd be pulling my hair out. One thought have you considered Enfimil's Next Step formula? It is formulated for babies 9 months to 24 months. It is expensive (like regular formula) but if it helps you get some sleep it's worth it. Plus you can get on Enfamil's mailing list and they send you coupons. I actually have some left over from my daughter that I would be happy to give you. If you are interested just give me your mailing adrs and I'll drop them in the mail for you.
As far as your daughter sleeping. I'm curious what you do when she wakes up? When my daughter wakes up (not often) I usually check on her change her if she needs it otherwise I don't pick her up. I give her a bottle rub her back for a minute and tell her it's sleeply time. If she cries I let her cry (usually she doesn't). She tried crying a few time when she was younger but now she just goes back to sleep. I hope she knows that if she needs me I'm there but just becuase she cries she will not get to sleep with us. I have a 2 1/2 year old also. We were not strict with the sleeping thing and he STILL wakes up and cries. But now that he's 2 he can simply come into our bed. Much better to get them over it when they are still in the crib (a lesson we learned a little late). Good luck with everything!