1 1/2 Year Old Not Sleeping Through the Night

When my oldest was young, our pediatrician at the time suggested weaning him from a bottle in the middle of the night at age 1 and pacifier at age 18 mths (or maybe those two were reversed, it's been awhile). In any event, she said to let him cry it out and under no circumstances to go in his room. She said each night we did this in a row, the crying would be reduced by half until it stopped. The first night nearly killed us - he cried for 1 straight hour and it was very hard to stand by and do nothing. However, she was right on the money. The next night it was 30 minutes, the next night it was 15 and the next night he slept through. He never bothered us with middle of the night crying again. I suppose the key was that we never walked into his room those 3 nights. Not sure if this will work for you but you could always talk to your ped about it too. Good luck!

This may sound off the wall. Have you tried praying about it and asking others to pray? I've been with a lot of kids through the years. It may well be 200-300 kids in all. Some are just this way and nothing helps. It sounds like you've tried so many things already.

You should be prepared to first pray that if God wills he show you the problem if there is in fact a problem. If not, and it's just a time you need to go through, pray for strength.

The world just seems to be falling apart in so many ways. These little ones can and do feel the stress around them. I have a little one right now that is only 10 weeks old. I am so busy in body and mind, even when I sit with him and feed his bottle to him he doesn't sleep well. I am too busy in my mind. I am always thinking of all that needs done or watching the other kids and dealing with the others. But my mother is different. She has always been slow, moved in a slower gear and somehow just never thinks about anything past the moment she's in. It can make me crazy being the opposite and wanting things to get done and get done fast! BUT, babies respond to her. We take them back to her room during nap time and without any special work at all they just fall asleep and sleep for hours. Your little one may be a worrier already.

Suzi

J.,

Some kids just don't sleep through the night! Mine are now 28, 26 and 23. The 26 year old didn't sleep through the night until she was almost 5 when we bought her a water bed. Wierd huh?!

Our 23 year old slept as long as she had her wankie (blanket) - she still sleeps with a wankie!

Does he have a favorite blanket or stuffed animal yet? If not you might see if you can find one for him, just having something like that there will often give them comfort. There are a lot of options out there with all the blankets and animals that are available, some babies like the silky feeling and some the fuzzy. You could even bring him some place with a variety of things to hold and see if one of them appeals to him specifically.

I have a shop on Etsy - it's www.lovems1.etsy.com. We make and sell security blankets with animals attached, they seem to work really well with the little ones, we use only the softest Minky for them to cuddle. I actually started making them for my Granddaughter when she was little so she had something to cuddle and drag around. Check out the shop and feel free to contact me if you would like to.

Hang in there - no matter what eventually he will sleep and so will you!

N.
PS - I hope if they are still taking naps that you are too!

My son didn't sleep through the night until he was 2 1/2. He is now 4 and sleeps beautifully - very rarely wakes up at all. I don't want to come off as disrespectful or judgemental at all - but I know that some will tell you that you need to just let him cry in order to establish a healthy sleep pattern for life. It really will happen regardless - you can deal with him in a loving way and not force him to deal with it on his own (cry it out), he will still sleep through the night when he is ready for it. Sometimes it can seem like that time will never come - especially when you are tired and thinking of all the things that you need to get done after he gets to sleep. Just do what seems to work best for you and what you feel best about - there isn't a set way that has to be used in order for him to be able to have a healthy sleeping situation throughout his life - it will come. Good luck!

Hey J.,

Just a suggestion, but I would have him looked at to make sure it isn't reflux or some other medical condition that is making him so restless. I have a 2 1/2 year old son that went through the same thing and it turned out to be reflux. He had been treated for it when he was younger, but then the doctor's took him off his medicine and we finally ended up with a specialist and sure enough that's what it was. They put him back on his medicine and a higher dosage and he slept fine. It may not be something like this, but it would be worth having him looked at to be sure!!!

T. Cogan
Work At Home United
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"Nothing is difficult to those who have the will." --Dutch Poet's Society

Unless he is sleeping in until 10am, he probably needs a much earlier bedtime. 8:30pm sounds pretty late for a child that young. You might want to work towards more of a 7pm goal. Maybe even earlier. Young kids can go to bed very early!

His sleep may be disturbed because he is chronically overtired - and he may be affected by sleep schedules differently than his sister even though they are twins. It doesn't take much to make a small child overtired. An hour here or there and they are thrown into a tailspin. Of course, it will take a few nights of the earlier bedtime to see results. Be consistent for at least a week before you try something else.

Also, you might want to ask the pediatrician just to see what he/she says and rule out anything medical/physical. However, in my experience, kids just go through various periods of sleep disturbances every once in a while. It might very well just be an inexplicable phase that will pass soon. Good luck.

You know, we used Hyland's Colic Tabs well into my son's 2nd year. They're natural with chammomile (calming), wild yam (anti-inflammatory) and bitter apple (anti-gas) in a chewable lactose base. Whatever it was that was keeping him from getting back to sleep - they took the edge off.

There were also times that I'd steep chammomile tea with a dab of honey, then cool it to room temp. and give it to him in a cup or medicine dropper (if he was too irrational to drink on his own).

Those helped. At some point it became a habit though... that's when we decided he would have to cry it out. It wasn't easy, but it took about 2 weeks letting him cry himself back to sleep - and then it was over. He sleeps thru the night all but on a rare occasion, and he's 3-1/2 now. But 12 months to 18 months was the hardest for us!

Maybe you can separate your good sleeper from that room and try the crying. It's not fun, but the sleep afterward - for everyone involved - is very rewarding! And, the sooner you do it, the less likely they are to remember it! :) It's just a good habit you've helped them create for life.

Best of luck Mommy. Maybe you have a friend who can let you get in a nap before you take on another night. Irrational happens for sleepless Mommies too! No fun!