8 1/2 Month Old Doesn't Want to Sleep Anymore.

Hi R.,

It sounds to me like he might be getting too much sleep during the day. I know it is very hard to wake up a happily napping baby, but you might try shortening his morning and afternoon naps. For example, if he usually sleeps for more than two hours, wake him up after 90 minutes. And do not let him nap past say 4:00 in the afternoon. That's what we had to do or our son had similar problems to yours.

And when our son got to be about 1 yo, we had to switch to just one nap. Now at 2 yo, we have to be really disciplined about waking him up from his afternoon nap after 1.5 hours. If we let him sleep as long as he wants, he stays up until 11:00 pm or later.

Good luck!
D.

An interesting thing I learned about babies is the more sleep they get, the more they will sleep. Sleep begets sleep. I had three kids, all good sleepers. But I was putting my kids down for naps constantly. We don't realize how much a baby needs sleep. But think about it, humans sleep to regenerate and they sleep when they grow. A baby grows at a faster rate during the first 12 months than he will for the rest of his life. So he needs a LOT of sleep! I think babies that are up too long during the day get sleep anxiety and stay up even longer. You got to break the cycle so that they are not passing out from exaustion.
Here's what I did with my first born when she was at 6 months. I wrote it in my daughter's baby journal:

Up 7am. first feeding.
naps 8:30- 9:30/10:00
up to eat lunch.
naps 11:30- 1:00.
naps 2:30 -3:00.
3rd feeding.
naps 5:00 - 5:30/6:00. 4th feeding.
5th feeding, then down for the night between 7-9 pm.
sleeps through till morning. (6 to 7 am)

Babies need to be put down to rest in a bed, not walked, swung, juggled, etc, or they will develop problems sleeping.
Walking ,juggling, swinging, patting, will keep a baby awake ans stimulated until the point they will pass out. All babies will cry when they get laid down for a nap.This is NORMAL and a baby might be considered abnormal if they didn't! Our society has to get comfortable with allowing a baby to cry for a few minutes to unwind. If they have been allowed to do this from the beginning, they will fall asleep quickly and without needing intervention. I used this teqnique after I learned it in an older baby book.The author (wish I could remember the name) said most colic(persistent crying) in babies is the baby telling the parent his need is not being met and the two top needs are food and sleep. Much more rarely it will be pain. most often it is fatigue.

R. dear, I'm sorry to tell you that a child his age can't be 'made' to go to sleep any more than he can be 'made' to poop or eat. When my husband and I had one that did something similar, we took turns being the one who stayed up with the baby. That way at least every other night you might get a good night's sleep.

This too shall pass. I suggest you get him soon after he awakens, sit in a warm, dark room, don't talk to him, see if it was just a drill. If not, go somewhere else (not near the sleepers), if possible, and let him play or read to him and don't feel so desperate. He is his own person, just like you, and he is beginning to follow his own instincts.

And there is no possibility of forcing any child into a schedule that works for you. Not at this age.

Good luck.

They do have the knack for changing their routine on us, eh? :)
Some ideas that may help. Of course, you will figure out what your particular baby needs, but here are some things to think about.
*Check the temperature. May need to increase or decrease.
*Naps. May need more. 2-3 a day. Babies need lots of sleep, and sometimes they act more awake the more tired they get. Pls don't shorten naps if he is already sleep deprived. My family always said "they grow when they sleep" :) You can't make them sleep, but you can give them the opportunity and give them some time to take it.
*teething?
*the time between 8pm and 1 am should be in the dark, right? Don't play with him or have lights on. Otherwise, you are encouraging him to stay up. He likes you and wants to see you and will stay up to do so!
*You didn't mention if you have let him cry for awhile when he wakes up in the middle of the night. If not, you may want to try that. Babies go through normal patterns of light and deep sleep and may wake up during a light session but often will fall back to sleep after a few minutes of crying. My daughter always wakes up about 30 min to an hour into her naps and sometimes in the middle of the night, but after a couple minutes of crying she goes back to sleep. I think of it as the mumbling and groggy protest that I will do if someone wakes me up or if I wake up int he middle of the night to change positions. To not let them cry a little bit, is to deny them their one mode of communication. If you go to them too early it can actually wake them up. I don't do Cry It Out, but I do know that I don't want to wake her up further if she is just resettling. It can be irritating, but anyone living in a house with a baby hopefully will understand that there will be some crying involved.
*read the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child by Marc Weissbluth
*consistent bed time schedule. We do dinner at 6, bath at 6:45 or 7, massage, read story, and bed with lights out and music on between 7:30- 8:00
*does he have a small blankie to hold on to? Not a big quilt but a small square of fabric to hold and snuggle. My daughter learned to fall asleep much more quickly when I gave her a small teddy bear blankie (this isn't the one I have but a picture I found online to give you an idea) http://www.findgift.com/gift-ideas/pid-79862/
Good luck!!!

Hi R.,

I think this is fairly normal. It may be that your little one is just about to crawl. if so, he may have some excess energy that will help him accomplish this milestone, but he's not burning it now because he's not quite there yet. My guess is that as soon as he starts moving he will exhaust himself enough to get back into his normal sleep pattern.

My son's sleep was interrupted before he started to crawl and also just before he started to walk.

Good luck and take care. D.

He could be teething. Try some Infant Drops Tylenol. Or teething tablets.

Hi, I would agree that your son isn't getting enough slepp at this point and that makes it harder to go to sleep. Get him on a schedule. Naps close to 10 am and and 2 pm and bed time around 8. Hold him, love him and (I find soothing music helps) put him down and walk away. If need me go back and pat him but not all the way to sleep. Just enough to let him know you are there and you love him. After a few days of your consistency, he should go down with no prob! Good luck and God Bless!
T.

It actually sounds like the problem is that your son is not getting enough sleep. When babies become overtired, their adrenaline kicks in, making it almost impossible for them to sleep. Try putting him down around 6:30. Starting at about 6:00, look for any sign of sleepiness (rubbing his eyes, zoning out, yawning) and get him through a quick nightime routine and into bed. This routine should be no more than maybe 10 minutes. Most babies do not wake up earlier when you do this. As the sleep expert (doc who runs a sleep center at a highly respected medical school) says in his book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby," "sleep begets sleep." An overtired baby does not sleep well. A well rested baby falls asleep far more easily. Please pick up this book. It has all sorts of immensely helpful facts and advice. Also, is it possible that your baby is teething? Your baby needs to go to bed earlier, but if he is also teething, the early bedtime won't necessarily fix his waking up in the middle of the night. He might need children's Motrin and/or a topical such as Baby Orajel to get him through bad teething nights. Again, please pick up the book I'm recommending. You can easily find it on Amazon or in decent sized baby stores.

Hi my son did that i would take him for a car ride even better after a bath with lavender baby soap give him his blanket and bottle or sippy cup along for the ride also feed him some baby rice cereal before bath make sure he is nice and full i said rice cereal because thats what i used some reason my son would be more sleepy.Good Luck

I realize that you will have to try many things before you find something that works for you. With all the great advice here, you're sure to fix it!

I'm kinda in a similar boat, my baby is a "never wants to sleep" too, and I'll tell you what my pediatrician recommended and what's making progress for us:

The doc told me to make sure she naps well during the day, and this is true. With my kid, keeping her up during the day so she'll sleep at night is very bad news. Sleep induces more sleep, and there's nothing more exhausting than a restless, overtired, cranky baby.

Since my little diva gets super upset if she gets too tired, the doc recommended trying to get her to sleep EVEN if she doesn't look sleepy, but you know the baby's been up for a while. My little one puts up a bit of a fight at first, but it turns out doc was right and she does fall asleep.

Having a "winding down" routine at night helps too. Like going from room to room with baby switching off lights, speaking softer, humming, just feel peaceful and zen, and baby will probably feed off your vibe.

I know some of this may or may not work, but just remember that every baby is different. Find what makes you both happy and what your mother instinct is comfortable with.
Good Luck!

Dear R.,
I can tell how much you adore your little guy. I know the feeling....I have a son who is such a joy to me.
Honey, I hate to tell you this, but kids sleep patterns change. For instance, my kids, who were not picky eaters, would all the sudden not be hungry and slept MORE than usual for about a week. It was always just before a growing spurt. Every single time. My nephew was the exact same with the eating part, but slept very little all the sudden. Then, things would go back to normal. Keep track of what and when you are feeding him, try warm soothing baths and lay him down at the same time every night. Keep in mind that sleeping from 8pm to 8am is a 12 hour stretch. You may want to adjust nap times and he may be over-tired or over-stimulated if he's staying awake until 1am. He could be teething too.
Don't take this the wrong way, but you mentioned nerves being frayed. He may be picking up on that. So, when you put him to bed, as much as you can help it, try to have the household calm.
I wish you the best! Hang in there!