14 Month Won't Sleep Through the Night!

unfortunately this is rarely a quick fix, although it's a very common problem. CIO is sometimes appropriate, but not here. it makes total sense that you would take him into your bed when he was sick, but now that he loves it there you must make the transition gentle and peaceful. that is NOT the same thing as being inconsistent. if you absolutely don't want a family bed, then make up your mind to put him in his crib and have him sleep there, but resign yourself to what could be a long period of adjustment. put him in there at bedtime, sleepy but awake, and sit quietly with him, NOT TALKING, just rubbing his arm or back, maybe humming gently. no eye contact, no interaction, just your quiet presence emanating love. same thing when he wakes in the night. whether you feed him or not, when you're done with necessary activity lay him down and sit there with him quietly. it may take hours for a while, and that is a miserable long time for you, but if you can put yourself into a meditative state and wait it out, your overall time dealing with this will be lessened. every time you give up and pick him up, you are teaching him that THIS is the natural result. you don't want him to dislike his crib, which is what will happen if he feels abandoned and lonely there. but taking him out of it just keeps reinforcing that it is not the place where sleep happens.
in a few weeks when this is sorted out, i hope you get the opportunity for a day-long catch-up nap!
khairete
S.

I totally understand why you let him sleep with you during his illness. I would have done the same. But it also the cause of your complication now.

First, stop giving him a bottle in the middle of the night when he wakes up. Your giving him a reason to keep waking up. If the bottle is gone, he has no incentive to get up anymore.

Second, try putting him down between 7:30pm and 8pm. Babies and toddlers are hard wired to go to bed between 7-8pm. They generally sleep though the night if put down at that time and sleep a full 12 hours. Yes I know that means he will be waking up around 7:30am and that seems so early on a weekend day after a long week. But it's better for his little body.

By what you have written, it sound like he is no longer sleeping in his crib. Put him back in the crib! He will cry. You and your husband have to stay strong. Let him cry for however long it takes. You could try going in to his room, rubbing his back in the dark for a little bit. DO NOT TALK to him. Your silence is telling him it's night time. Walk out and go back in again in about 30 minutes if he is still crying. Repeat the process extending out the time you stay away by 15 minute increments. Sooner or later he will get it.

If you don't already have a bedtime routine. Start one. By taking a bath and reading a few books before bed each night. Gets him used to the idea that he is going to bed. Children starting as young as 3 months enjoy being read too. Plus it has a lot of benefits with vocabulary, verbal skills, memory, & early reading.

Good Luck!

what if when he falls asleep for a nap you move him.. is that possible.. so he will see where he wakes up. don't let him in your room to sleep. put him in the crib... and you lay beside it...until he falls asleep. when he wakes up at night.. pat him right back to sleep or use a pacifier.. do not feed him.. he'll get used to this - dont' take him out of the crib.. pat him and lay down again beside the crib.. each time he falls asleep.. then you move to your room.. try also maybe a radio on low.. this might help.. good luck.. don't give in..

Yup, don't give in. Keep in mind where you want to be in a year and behave toward that goal. (ie. do you want baby boy sleeping in your room/bed, on your floor, or in his own room). Pick a time where you know he is well, not sick. Then, you have to train. This is hard but it's good training for you when they get older and you still have to train them in different ways.
You already know he wakes up on the dot! When my little guy did that, I set my alarm and beat him to it. I woke him up 30 min. before his usual time, gave him water in a bottle, and put him back to bed. I did this for 2 nights and it stopped. Sometimes I would give a little tylenol if there was any question he was uncomfortable/in pain. I remember one time I stayed up with him for about an hour. He cried for so many minutes (pick your limit), I'd pick up to comfort about 2 minutes (watch the clock) and put him back down for 5 minutes more of crying. We were both tired of the game at the end, he quit and I never had to do that again.
I also had to determine he was sensitive to sound, street lights, blowing furnace, too hot in his sleeper (he was a hot baby) etc. He could not, and still cant sleep in a room with the T.V. on...it has a flickering light.
Lastly, I read a great book by Weissbluth, Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy child. I moderated some of it but it was sound advise for my fussy sleeper. Good luck.