Sleeping Trouble-- Need Some Encouragement

I have heard that at 6-months-old and at 9-months-old growth spurts are expected. Growth spurts do not necessarily mean that your child will gain weight; don't forget that she is growing taller too!

My boys really responded to tummy rubs while they went to sleep; forehead rubs (a gently wave down the face as if a gesture to close those eyes); or just laying my hand (or arm, etc) beside him - just "being there" for that falling asleep part of the night.

I remember that by the age of 9-months-old, it's time for introducing solids: banana, cheerios-type of cereal, applesauce. Maybe you are already doing that. (Just can't tell.)

I highly recommend the style of parenting called Attachment Parenting (take a look at http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/T130300.asp ).

Good luck!

I browsed other mom's replies, but did not see any suggest the book by Ezzo titled "Babywise: Giving your Child the Gift of Sleep" (something close to that). My 9 month old had not slept through the night once, but then I got this book, read it, and within three days of implementing it's suggestions, he slept through the night and has ever since (He's 22 months now). I don't know anything about Ferber, nor co-sleeping, as our son's never slept the night in bed with us ever. The biggest things I learned from this book were 1. allowing the baby to put themselves to sleep, which may mean a few minutes of crying. Put them to bed drowsy, not zonked out and 2. the order I was doing things was wrong. I was feeding him before each nap/bedtime, and I should have fed him once he woke up. The book says that there's a "45 minute intruder" and they basically say that our sleep cycles change after about 45 min or an hour, and often babies wake up when the cycle changes. Perhaps research that more (sleep cycles) to see if there are suggestions. Ezzo's book says also that they don't NEED to eat when they wake up, but its become a habit for them, so they want to wake up to eat. So I'd let her cry a few minutes, if she doesn't fall back asleep, rock her, but don't feed her. Eventually she'll not want to wake up if she's not going to get any food.

We did the Ferber method for both of our kids, and it has worked out great for us. At 9 months, she should be ready to try it. I'm always surprised that people think Ferber is the cry-it-out method - it's not. Ferber is a series of visits, spaced further apart. Put your little one to bed awake but drowsy, then visit after 3 minutes, then again after 5 minutes, then 7, etc. We capped at 9, and visited every 9 minutes instead of continuing to 11, but where you cap is a personal decision. It will take three days.

The night wakings are normal. Everyone, even adults, wakes up partially about every 90 minutes or so, but usually not completely unless something is wrong (you have to use the toilet, your spouse stole the covers, whatever). If you are putting your child down AFTER they fall asleep, then she is waking up in a place different from where she went to sleep, and that is "wrong," so she is waking up entirely. Around 6 months, she was not only going through a growth spurt, but was becoming aware of the world around her, and that it had changed when she went to bed. Whether you weren't there anymore, or she had lost a paci, or whatever. Now, it's just become a habit.

Our almost 9-month old sleeps very well for us - occasionally, she'll wake around 3, but for the most part, she sleeps in her own bed from about 9 to 5:30. I nurse her to the point of nearly being asleep, brush her tooth, and then put her down almost-but-not-quite asleep - with no paci. If she wakes in the night, I nurse her again. When she wakes in the morning, she gets a little snuggle time until she indicates she's ready to eat, and then goes straight to breakfast. Sometimes it's right away, sometimes she lets me snuggle with her for half an hour or so. But she has been really enjoying her "solids."

I seriously recommend the Ferber book "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" - even if you only read it for the chapter on sleep science. It also has some advice about night weaning - we never had the issue of waking quite so frequently, so I can only give you limited advice, there.

Hang in there, mom! You can do this! Whatever method you go with, it'll be okay! And every baby is different, so don't worry if this doesn't work exactly for you the same way it did for us.

go to the bookstore and pick up the book " The no cry sleep solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. This is a mom of 5 kids and she gives you several suggestions for getting babies to sleep with out having to result to CIO. ( cry it out)
She may be getting a growth spurt and may truly be hungry. I'd up her before bed food intake, make sure she's reall y full before you put her to bed and pick up that book.

Sounds exactly like my experience. My little guy was a great sleeper from the start. Just after 6 months he suddenly had a hard time sleeping and would wake through the night. I just got up and consoled him and he went back to sleep. All I can say is hang in there!!! at exactly ten months, like a light switched on for him.... he went back to sleeping through the night. I have no idea what changed and was in absolute shock when it happened. Then I was the one getting up through the night checking to make sure he was okay :o) Sometimes it really is just a phase they go through. I hope that is the case with your little one and she reverts back to being a good sleeper.

Have you talked to your pedi about this yet? Or your parents or other relatives...they really can offer some great suggestions. Keep trying with the solids and bottles. Yes, she should be able to go 5 hours or more sleeping at night. But, if she's not eating enough during the day, then she could be hungry at night and this waking her up.

I agree with cry it out, we tried it 2 times with our son and it was too excruciating to do. The 2nd try he cried so much he made himself throw up. That was it for me. When he was 2, I went back to school at night. My husband started putting him to bed with him. Then when I got home I was so tired and guilty for not being there for him, I left him in bed with us. He is 7 1/2 now and is just now getting to where he doesn't come in our room almost every night at some point. We have battled it, but in the end agree that he won't still be sleeping with us at 15, so we should enjoy the closeness we are getting right now!

Good luck and stay calm and patient. Babies are tough, they don't come with instructions and can't tell you exactly what they want.

We had the same issue. What I did is to start putting him in the crib awake after a nightly routine (bath/books/nurse). Sometimes he would cry, but I would gently pat his back/rock the crib until he went back to sleep. I also slept in his room for a few days and when he started stirring after 1.5 - 2 hours, I would again pat his back or rock his crib to get him back to sleep, rather than picking him up and nursing him. After a few days, he dropped the first wake up and started sleeping longer so now he only wakes up after about 6 hours. At that time, he is pretty frantic, so I pick him up and nurse him (even though he is now a year old) and put him back in the crib. It was a long transition, but we've finally gotten him out of our bed a sleeping better. I tried letting him cry one night but he got so frantic and it broke my heart and then he got sick and I haven't been able to do it again. So, we're using this gentler approach. Good luck!

Hi,

I think every parent goes through this at some point. I did and I gave up on the crib for the sake of sleep. We got into a routine of when to go to sleep and I had everything ready for the night feeding so it would take seconds to get a bottle and would co-sleep with my son. I also would give my son cereal in his bottle to help him sleep longer or feed him cereal. On the weekends my husband would co-sleep and I would get a great night rest and nap etc and during the week I would co-sleep with my son. He grew out of it on his own, plus the extra food helped.

Good Luck! It will get easier!! Take naps whenever you can even if it is 5 minutes, just close your eyes and rest, no caffiene, lots of water, juice, you know the good stuff in your body.