Up until a week and a half ago, my daughter was the perfect sleeper, bed at 8p and selpt through the night without barely a peep until 7 in the morning, she had been doing this for a good 6 months. Now all of a sudden she is waking up two to three times a night screaming her head off. At first I think it was teething, but now it just seems to be temper tantrums. We've tried to let her cry it out some, which was working at first, but now her tantrums are getting worse, she's standing up in her crib throwing a fit. Once I pick her up and walk out of the room with her, she stops crying and wants to start playing with something (this is how I know it's not teething anymore). One night I gave her a bottle of Milk (we just switched from formula) and that made her happy and she slept for a good number of hours, maybe it has something to do with not drinking formula at night, is she hungry? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, my husband and I are dragging ourselves into work like zombies!
Thank you everyone for all of the responses, it's very comforting to know that so many other Moms have experienced this. All of your comments and suggestions have helped. My daughter is doing a little better, still waking crying, but I've not given in to her playing. I do think it's still teething, not that she's in that much pain, it's just uncomfortable, and in her crib she has nothing to take her mind off of it. I'm crossing my fingers that this will pass soon! Thanks!
My daughter is 11.5 months and is teething (2 front teeth at once) and has a sniffle. I just give her the bottle if she wakes up at 1 or 2 in the morning. If she has been crying or fussing in her sleep sometimes I give her tylenol or motrin as well. That and snuggle with lights off usually works. I am exhausted as well so I think tonight I will make a tiny 2oz bottle with tylenol and give it to her before I go to bed.
Hi, I went throught the same exact thing with my son....and it seemed to be a phase and the cry it out did not work..he would stay up fro 3-4 hours at a time....then after about 3 weeks it passed but now he is 21 months and it is starting again,,,,,i wish i could be of help i know how you feel i was only getting 3-4 hours of sleep per night and felt like a zombie!! i tried so many different things and nothing seemed to work.....the dr said it may have been night terrors or teeth pain....i just figured i would write to you and let you know your not alone!!!
good luck and let me know if it phases out.
D.
Hi There,
I doubt that a 12 month old is waking up due to hunger... Could it be an ear infection? Sometimes they hurt lying down, but not so much when in an upright postion... maybe why she wants to be up playing. Or, could she be having night terrors?? (although most kids with night terrors wake up screaming, but not truly awake). My daughter had night terrors, and we would just go in, leave the light off and pat her back and she would go back to sleep... maybe dreams could be waking her? Also, what is her nap schedule? If she isn't sleeping enough during the day, she could be over tired and that could also effect her sleep. I would suggest ruling out pain first, and if that is not the case, just be consistant and don't let her get in the habit of being allowed to get up and play!! Good luck. These phases are never easy.
T.,
If she wakes up and cries and a bottle of milk makes her go back to sleep for "a good number of hours" I would guess that she was hungry. She might be going through a growth spurt.
If she doesn't talk crying is the only way she can communicate with you, so trying different things until you find something that works is the key.
Good luck,
R.
Check with your pediatrician to make sure she isn't lactose intolerant (allergic to milk), which causes gas and awful stomach aches. If she's okay with milk, it could be nightmares - she's about the right age. If you think it's bad dreams, she needs comfort and maybe being held or rocked, but I wouldn't get suckered into playing with toys in the middle of the night. You can always tell her, calmly but firmly, that it's nighttime and time to sleep. But hold her awhile first, reassure her. Good luck.
I just had to chime in and say that my 21 month old son is also screaming all through bedtime and the night, and I wrote in about this a week ago and so it is nice - on some level - to know that I am not he only one suffering through lack of sleep at this age!
I tried tylenol and motrin because I'm sure teething is part of it, but that doesn't solve the problem. I don't think it is night terrors because he is awake when he screams, but after camping out on his floor last night I think it might be partially nightmares/separation anxiety. He would fall asleep, and then suddenly in his sleep start thrashing and screaming. I do NOT want to make a habit of sleeping in his room with him, or picking him up and sleeping together, but I am starting to think this might be the only solution for now. This has been going on for over 2 weeks, so am desperate for sleep!
I would make sure she doesnt have an ear infection. My daughter is 16 months and the exact same kind of sleeper as your daughter...thank God!! She recently got a sniffle that seemed to be nothing major..just runny clear liquid. She started waking up a few times a night whining, and after a change and a snuggle would go back to sleep..THEN after the second night of that she awoke from her afternoon nap SCREAMING..in consolable..I took her to an urgent care place and she indeed had an ear infection. Doc said not all kids run a fever or have major symptoms for there to be an infection. She's on antibiotics and motrin now and getting back to normal.
Hi T.,
One year olds don't need milk feedings at night. If you do this, you'll start a bad habit. IF you suspect she is hungry in the middle of the night, at a year old, food becomes their primary nutrition, and milk becomes a drink. I'd look at what she is eating during the day. It could be that she needs bigger meals and/or a healthy but filling before-bed snack.
My daughter will sometimes wake at 4am standing up and crying. I do not pick her up. Instead, I go in her room, whisper to her to go back to sleep. Uually, she will lie back down and I wil gently rub her back for a few moments. She then goes back to sleep. By picking her up and taking her out of the room, you are sending her a signal that it's time to get up.
I wouldn't give her a bottle unless you don't give her one before bed. I always give my daughter a 7oz bottle before she goes to sleep (I brush after that though). Have you checked her diaper. Maybe she is getting up because she is wet.
We are going through the same right now. Our daughter 17 mon. Has done this twice (lasting around 7-10 days.) Once at 15 months when she got the flu shot and now she has a cold/terrible cough which is waking her at night. The ped says she just isn't feeling well and deserves the extra attention. We also tried the "cry it out" to no avail. She would either scream at bedtime for two hours while we did everything we knew how and were in and out of her room several times or she would fall asleep but wake up for several hours in the night. I do not think that your daughter is hungry, babies of this age should be able to sleep through the night with no need for food, formula or otherwise. In our case our daughter seems to do this when she isn't feeling well, but it also could be teething, separation anxiety, or nightmares. If she isn't feeling well... we have done everything to address our daughters cold, cough syrup, vick's, humidifier, ect... Beyond that all we can do is comfort her. Which we did but she wouldn't let us put her in bed or leave her room after two hours in the middle of the night and against my better judgement I brought her into our bed. She feel right to sleep, and the better for all of us. The ped. says give it five to seven days, once the cough is gone, then she needs to get back to self-soothing if she wakes at night (Which she is good at normally, no sleep issues aside from these instances.) Have you tried motrin, in case it is teething. Teething is most painful before we ever "see" any sign of teeth. So it is hard to rule that out. Try motrin/tylenol and see if you notice a change. I also talked to our ped about when they refuse to sleep, when you do go in they smile, stop crying, want to play... You know. When this is the case, and I can tell b/c she isn't sick, and she will start talking to me when I open the door, I go in DO NOT pick her up, hug, say firmly "It is bedtime, mommy is right outside the door, I love you (or something similar, but keep it short, just to reassure her that you are there)" lay her back down, tuck in, paci... and walk back out. Less than a minute. The ped says do this over and over, first wait five minutes before going back do this a few times then wait ten minutes a few times then fifteen. If this does not work you can do what I have seen on SuperNanny. Put the baby in bed, crying/upset, do not talk or take the baby out of her bed. Stay in the room with your back to the crib. Baby can see you, know you are there, ect... You will have to listen to them scream for you and reach for you. I am skeptical of this b/c if they do fall asleep but wake later and you are no longer there wouldn't they be even more upset. Thinking mommy leaves me. Ask others about this technique. I have also read from other moms that they placed a mobil back into the crib to help soothe baby back to sleep. I just unpacked our old cribside mobile. We will see how it works. If she wakes up scarred she will be able to turn on the music. I think that once you have exhausted all possibilities then the best thing for everyone would be to give in for the time being. This will pass, for now everyones comfort is at stake. We are going to give it 5-7 days as the ped recommended then she will have to figure out that it is time to fall asleep or fall back to sleep on her own. These things usually happen during a transition for them, when they change and grow. It will pass. As my ped said "suck it up."
sounds like my 14 month old. shes getting teeth though. the eye-teeth and molars take longer to come in and hurt more because there isnt a sharp point to cut through as easily as those front ones. good luck.
