Seeking Advice on Getting My 9 Month Old to Sleep Through the Night Again

The method described by Tanya W has worked wonders for me as well. I agree that at 9 months, waking up is not about being hungry. Just to add an additional thought, I had a hard time waiting & listening to my baby cry for 5 whole minutes the first time. I started at 2 minutes, went in & comforted & then left for 3 minutes & went up in one minute increments each time. The time in between doesn't really matter - the important part is that the intervals increase each time. I do it if my kids cry going to bed, or for naps, or any time they wake in the middle of the night. It doesn't take long before they stop crying in the middle of the night & they just go back to sleep by themselves if they wake. Good luck!

Hi L.
My daughter is 16 months old and has always been a very good sleeper as well. But every once in a while, she'll go through a phase where her sleeping habits temporarily go off track. (This last one was almost a month.) When I would go in, she'd stand up and want me. No matter how many times I'd lay her back down, she'd get back up and get more and more upset. So I would pick her up with her binki and blanky, and we'd go lay on the couch (not the bed. I did not want to get into that habit). She'd still be so tired that she would just lay on my chest and fall back asleep so I could lay her back down in her crib. Even though it was frustrating,it seemed to work. Plus, I'd still get to lay down as well. . .sometimes I even fell back asleep with her on me. That might be something you want to try rather than giving him another bottle. Again, this should just be a phase, so be patient, and he'll get back to the way he used to sleep. Good luck.

Does he have a nightlight? I know that may sound silly, But the same thing happened with my 1st baby. My husband & I were pulling our hair out & it turns out he just needed a little light. They may not be your situation at all but I've been gently kicking myself for the last 8 yrs over what a simple solution it was & I thought I'd pass it on just in case. Good luck... it might just be a growing spurt too.

My son is the same age and what seems to disrupt his sleep often is when his daytime naps don't go well. We have a 3-year-old daughter and sometimes she or something else random will cause him to wake up earlier than he should, or perhaps we'll be out and he'll stay awake longer than he should, etc. Anyway, take a look at his daytime nap schedule and make sure he's getting put down before he gets overtired and his adreniline kicks in and that nobody is accidentally waking him before his little body was fully rested. I know all babies are different, but typically you know the timing is right at the beginning when you can put the baby down still awake and they soothe themselves to sleep and when he wakes he will be happy, not fussing.

I would also consider the idea that he is teething... try giving him Hyland's Teething Tablets (homeopathic remedy that treats inflammation/soreness and has chamomile to calm restlessness) at bedtime (around 7p?)and then give him two more as he sleeps at around 10p. They dissolve like powdered sugar upon contact with moisture, so just gently open his mouth and drop them under his tongue or inside his cheek. If there is teething pain, the tabs will help stave that off and let him rest better.

Good luck!

Hi L., I feel your pain. My 2 year old son has gone through all kinds of sleep changes. What I tried was letting him cry it out for a little while and then hold him to go back to sleep and would try to extend the crying time a little each night. I would also stay in the room until he fell asleep. He would stand up and I would just lay him back down. The hard part is being able to stay awake yourself and some nights I would just put him in the bed with me and my husband. He eventually just stopped waking up at that time. At the time he was the only little person in the house, so I didn't have to worry about him waking other children up. Do you think he's teething? If so once he goes through that, he may sleep again all night. Good luck!

It must be some stage all kids go through. I would suggest letting him cry until he goes to sleep. That is what we did and it works. May take a few nights, but he'll catch on that he's not going to get his way. I would guess he cries louder because he knows you will come. Babies are way smarter than we think. Also, is he hot or cold? We have three children ages 4, 3, and 1. They have all had this stage and we did the exact thing with each one. The crying won't hurt them. He will figure out to go back to sleep.

Hi L., I have a 20 month old and he did the same thing to me, I really think its because he is growing and whether its because the teeth or just trying to see what they can get away with:) Just continue to be consistant, thats what I did. I admit there where a few times I would hold him or let my son fall asleep with me in my bed, but I than always put him back in his bed, and it wasnt long, he stopped and sleeps again all through the night:) So be strong,dont give in and if you do give in just dont do it for long!:) Zor

Your son is at the age where he doesn't need night time feedings. There are a few variations of helping him learn to sleep through the night. My sleeping program has worked with all 3 kids and even when there has been a regression due to teething or illness.

1) (My favorite), When he starts to cry, let him cry for 5 minutes. Go in and give him his binkie (don't talk to him or pick him up as this is reinforcing his waking up... he may continue to wake up just to get a little love from you). If he cries again, let him go 10 minutes and do the same thing, then 20 minutes, then 40 minutes, then 1 1/2 hours (set a timer for yourself so you can go to sleep in between (if you can sleep with him crying). My three children have all transitioned very quickly (in 3 days or less) with this method, I have allowed my 6 month old to regress and have one night time feeding when he was teething (some infants still need a quick feeding after 4-5 hours sleep up to 9 months old).

It's so hard to listen to a baby cry, it will be tempting to not work with him to get him to sleep through the night again. Stick with it, his body and brain need uninterrupted rest. If your husband encourages you to just feed him, don't give in... it's not good for you or your baby. Two excellent books which provide more information about this are: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Mark Weissbluth and Sleeping Through the Night by Dr. Jodi Mindell

Another method is just to let him cry and cry... it will have the same results (I personally think the other method is a little more compassionate).

Good luck! T. : )

Have you tried having a bedtime ritual? With my daughter, every night, we take a bath (you don't always need soap). The warm water helps relax her and it's something we always do before bedtime. We have done this with her since she was about 2 months old. She has been sleeping through the night since she was about 4 months old. It seems to work. If you don't want to do the bath thing, try reading books and dimming the lights. Good luck!

That is very interesting-my question would be is he currently teething because that could have something to do with it. You may have already looked into this but maybe that is why and then if you are able to put something on his gums maybe it will help.

It's been my experience that this sort of thing goes in phases. Most of the time, my son will sleep through the night with no problems. But every once in a while, he will go through a "phase" where he will wake up in the middle of the night. My advice is to not give him a bottle, but to hold him as much as he needs. Check to see if he's teething -- he may be in pain, and that's why he's waking up. Hold him as much as he needs it -- but put him back in his crib if he starts wanting to play. Oh -- and only go in to comfort him if the crying is "wide awake" crying -- otherwise, wait the 10-15 minutes to see if he soothes himself back to sleep.

hi, i made the mistake of just putting my son to bed with me, and he is now 5 years old and still come to bed in the middle of the night. i would suggest leaving him in the crib and maybe rub his back or sing to him, it will probably take a long time maybe 6 months or something, but if you dont want him to end up in bed with you that is my suggestion. good luck.

I have the book "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems" and the BEST advice I got from this book was the Pick Up/Put Down method. It solved my then 10 mo old son's sleeping issues in 3 nights. Truly amazing.

Just offering empathy here... my son does the same thing. Maybe it's a phase. We tried to let him cry for a couple of hours and he fell asleep. It worked for a week, but now we are worse than before. It's like he feels like his crib is a punishment and he hates being in it. He's always screaming now. SO.. I'm not a fan of the cry it out method. I'm buying the No Cry Sleep Solution book. Good luck to you too!

We had the same problem only at seven months. We did the Ferber method. He has a book called solve your childs sleep problems. Worked like a charm.

All the environmental, antibiotic, vaccines, chlorine and fluoride attacks on a little body add up to a really disturbed system. Try raw milk ( www.rawmilkcolorado.org ), give up the cereals in place of egg yolk, grassfed liver, and for pete's sake stay away from soy formula.
If you breast feed, eat yogurt every day. If you have quit breast-feeding, investigate Gut and Psychology Syndrome, by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. Keep believing that sound sleep is a sign of a healthy baby. You are absolutely on track.

I completely agree with Amitra S.
She said "It's been my experience that this sort of thing goes in phases. Most of the time, my son will sleep through the night with no problems. But every once in a while, he will go through a "phase" where he will wake up in the middle of the night. My advice is to not give him a bottle, but to hold him as much as he needs. Check to see if he's teething -- he may be in pain, and that's why he's waking up. Hold him as much as he needs it -- but put him back in his crib if he starts wanting to play."

I remember so many times being so worried when my LO's sleep habits would change. Al always thought that it would be like that forever and I would start obsessing about how to "fix" it. She would almost always revert back in a few weeks. Maybe try giving your baby some Tylenol tonight, in case he is teething, and see how things go. Hang in there!