My daughter is 8 months old and has started waking up during the night 2 to 3 times. She was sleeping through the night before this started. I remember reading somewhere that this might happen around 8 months of age. She wakes up very upset; screaming and crying. I have tried letting her cry, but she gets very upset, crying so hard that she is gasping for air and arching her back. I do not think she needs to be fed because she was sleeping through the night and I'm not sure I want to feed her and start a bad habit. Is this a time for a growth spurt? I know this is also a time for teething, but her sleep problems have been going on for about 4 weeks now. Does anyone have any suggestions/advice? Thanks!!
It is hard at this age. I would guess that she is starting the separation anxiety and wants you to comfort her. Unfortunately, if you get in the habit of comforting her in the middle of the night, she will come to expect it and you will never get her to sleep through the night.
As far as the teething possibility, if she is working on the first tooth, this could take several months.
Sorry, I couldn't give you more. Good luck.
I have an 11 month old son, and we definitely went through this around 8/9 months. He was sleeping through the night and then started waking up again. He had a cold (stuffy/runny nose) at the time, so I didn't let him cry himself back to sleep, since he would end up with a runny nose. But, this then led to us getting up again with him and rocking him to sleep, and I feel like it went on for a month or so. He was teething during this time also - ended up getting 3 teeth at once! And then he might have gone through a growth spurt, because he nursed twice a night for about a week, which he hadn't been doing for a few months. So, I felt like all the sleep training had gone out the window at this point. After we realized that he was waking out of habit and all his issues were over (cold, teething, growth spurt), we decided to let him cry himself to sleep because nothing we were doing was helping. The first night he cried for 15 minutes, the next night 10, the next night 5 and then literally a squeak the 4th night. He sleeps all night again! So, yes, this stage will pass. But, it was a tough one for me! Hyland teething tablets seemed to help him out. Could also be separation anxiety like someone said, because he would also seem to be crying in fear sometimes. I've also heard that babies go through a sleep regression when they are learning new things, and they learn so much around 8/9 months. The stage passed! Hang in there!
Teeth can take a long time to break through, so maybe it is teeth. Is she warm at all? Fever?
If it's teeth you could try Hyland's Teething Tablets. I think she's most likely pulling up/standing by now and there seems to be a lot of more exciting things to do than lie down & sleep. Strange as it may sound, how about putting her to bed (full belly) a little earlier? Sometimes they will actually sleep better and for longer. I would also suggest you buy a good sleep advice book. Also, cry-it-out will take several (3-5) nights for her to really get it if that's what you decide to try.
I recently went through a very similar experience with my 8 month old daughter. She had been sleeping through the night then, at about 5-6 months of age, she started waking 4-5 times each night. She wasn't hungry and, after a while, we figured out that the more we went to her, the more she would fuss for us. But we couldn't let her cry it out - we just weren't ready. In hindsight, I think it was probably teething (her first tooth just popped through last week). This went on for about 5 or 6 weeks and then, like magic, she just started sleeping again. So while I don't have any exact advise, and our response was to just manage with less sleep, I'd say that your daughter may very well be teething. Does she sleep with a paci? That may help as an alternative to medicinal teething aids. Everyone has their own opinions on both pacifiers and medicine, so I'd suggest trying to address teething as the issue in whatever way you feel most comfortable and see how that works out.
I agree that it is most likely a stage that will pass. It could be caused by teething, by separation anxiety (which is common at this age), or both.
My daughter did the exact same thing. We changed her routine around in several ways:
-She was getting her four top teeth, so we started her on Hyland's teething tablets, 4 times a day, everyday and if it was really bad, baby motrin before bed.
-We delayed her bed time by 30-60 minutes
-We started eating dinner together with her at 6pm most days that we could
-We changed her play area around so that she had free range to choose toys and we were sure to limit her toys so that she wouldn't get overwhelmed with too many choices.
-We watched her diet and found that she was sensitive to corn and that it made her skin itch, so no more corn!
-Finally, we started pediatric chiropractic treatments once a week for four weeks to get her system back in balance. This idea might seem a little strange for people, but this and everything else worked like a dream and after four or five days (one night not good, one night good, etc), she started sleeping through the night again and has been for about 7-8 weeks. She still goes but only about once a month now for maintenance.
We're hoping this lasts and trying to pay attention to her becuase she seems to change faster than we can keep up!
Anyway, I've found approaching it like a program issue and trying to keep up with her development has really helped us understand her more.
Hope this helps! Good luck and it will end, I've heard lots of moms go through it and tell me they survived too!
before she goes to bed give her some infant tylenol. she may be waking due to teething. has she gotten any teeth yet? my son was about eight months old when he got his first teeth and then he got two at a time. i also do the hylands teething tablets.he did not like the taste of ambesol. my son would wake up screaming also. i do not do it all the time but sometimes i would give him some baby tylenol and put him in the bed with me until he fell asleep,then put him back in the crib. good luck
All 3 of my kids did this at one point or another. It stinks, but it does pass eventually. Patience runs thin during this stage, so be forewarned. Good luck.
Hi J., Your daughter may be experiencing separation anxiety. Somewhere between 8 and 10 months this can occur for the first time. The baby will stand up and cry and scream for you in their crib suddenly in the middle of the night, just as your daughter is doing. The best thing you can do is go in for a quick hug and kiss. But remind her it is bedtime, you are close by, and will see her in the morning when Mr. Sun comes up. The longer you take the harder the separation is for both of you, so do make it quick. She may fuss after that still but try to let her cry it out a little and she will probably go back to sleep pretty quickly. Also, if you really think it is her teeth she may need tylenol, a cold teething ring, or a cold drink before going back to sleep. good luck
W.
