8 Month Old Screaming at Bedtime and Not Sleeping Throught the Night

Sounds like you are very tired! Do whatever you can do to take care of yourself while your baby is going through this stage. Can you go to bed earlier? Start out the night with baby in bed with you? Are you breastfeeding? If so that can help. It is normal for babies to wake more at 7 to 9 months of age because of changes in their development. He may have what's known as "stranger anxiety" or "separation anxiety" which just means that he is more sensitive and more aware than when he was younger. He may be about to learn a new skill, like crawling, for example, and have more light sleep states and not know how to get back into a deep sleep. Babies brains are growing fast at this age and they are learning during light sleep states. He also may need a later nap and be overtired. Answer his cries right away before he he is fully awake and ask your mother to do the same.Try spending more time with him in the evening-he may miss you when you are at work and need more attention from you. Maybe you and your mom can carry him in a sling or cloth carrier during the day. He sounds like a normal 8 month old to me and I am an RN who has taken care of babies for many years.

Put your baby on Babies magic tea and you'll see the difference. I have been giving the tea to my sleepless baby and it gave me very good results and now our child sleeps through the night except feed time.

Here is the strange thing about babies: the less sleep they get and the more overtired they are, the more difficult it is for them to fall asleep and stay asleep. For some reason, when they are overtired they can't calm themselves down or soothe themselves as well. It took me 2 yrs to get my older one through the night because she was so overtired. I read the Healthy Sleep Habits book with my second and it helped so much. First nap should be 1 to 1 /2 hours after he gets up and then a nap every 2-3 hours after he wakes from that nap. sleep begets sleep. So get him good and rested during the day. Once he is sleeping well through the day he will sleep so much better at night, then you may have to do some cry it out. good luck.

Also since he is in the same room w/ you, you may want to rearrange your room so he cannot see you when he awakens. If he sees you, he is going to want you. Or you are going to have to leave the room or something. I had to let my oldest cry it out at 8 months and it took 3 nights but after that he realized I wasn't going to comfort him anymore. He slept through the night after that with no problems. Best to you, A.

Many babies wake during the night. They just have learned that there parents will not respond to them no matter what at night. You might trying laying down with him to start and see if you can skip the screaming thing. At 8mo. He is probably very interested in the world and does not want to miss anything so if you show him a book or sing to him then he may feel like he is getting special attention instead of missing out on something. The cry it out thing is hard on everyone and at the end of it all you may loose more than you imagine you gain.

i agree with PP about naps. Have you read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child"? I highly recomment it. Basically your son needs a morngina nap about 3 hrs or so after waking and an afternoon one, about three hours or so after that. I followed this with my now 11 mo and he takes 2 1.5 hour naps a day and sleeps 10 hours at night. Good luck!

It sounds like he's overly tired. Babies are funny that way, when they're super tired they have broken sleep. My son did a similar thing until I realized that he shows very few signs of being tired, and when he starts rubbing his eyes and yawning, I'm about 20 minutes late putting him to bed.
I started doing morning nap within 1.5 hours after he gets up in the morning, afternoon nap 2 hours after he wakes up from morning nap, and until recently (he's 16 months now, so until he was about a year) he was taking a short 3rd nap, too, about 2 hours after he woke from 2nd nap. He started sleeping at night soooo much better, and not freaking out as much when putting him down.

Your baby is soooo overtired. You need to do the exact opposite of what you're doing in regards to sleep. Most people don't know this, but sleep begets sleep. The better your little one sleeps (naps during the day), the better he will sleep at night. At 8 months he should be sleeping a total of about 14-15 hours a day (that includes naps). Most 8 months old wake up, are awake for about 2 hours, then nap, then wake up and have lunch and play, then nap again, then are up eat and play then go to bed at night. The 7 pm bedtime you have is perfect... stick with it! Even if he naps till 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon, stick with the 7 pm bedtime. It sounds like he's working with a sleep deficit right now so it's going to take a few weeks for him to make up for lost sleep, so be prepared for crying and fighting at nap and bedtimes. The most important thing is to teach him to soothe himself to sleep and give him opportunities to practice putting himself to sleep, and even let him cry if necessary. You are NOT doing him a disservice by letting him cry in his crib... you are helping him learn a life long skill of putting himself to sleep and you are also teaching him that sleep is an important thing in his daily life. Sleep is directly linked to development and behavior with children. You mentioned that he has a ton of energy... it's because he's running off of adrenaline because he's so tired... it's the same thing that happens when we get "our second wind". The book Healthy sleep habits happy child by Marc Weissbluth is a fantastic book and will give you great tips on how to get him back to an appropriate sleeping schedule, and will help you get your sanity back!! The book also goes over how long kids at each age should be sleeping and why. It totally saved our lives when my son was 4 months old. My son is now 20 months old, sleeps in his crib and happily waves bye bye to me each time he is put in there to sleep. He continues to sleep a total of about 14 hours a day and is a very happy and energetic little boy.. and I truly believe his tantrums have been kept to a minimum because he is very well rested and doesn't get frustrated as easily. Happy sleeping!!

You need to make sure he gets more sleep during the day if you want him to sleep more at night. Your mother is not helping by keeping his daytime naps short. A baby his age should sleep for 1-2 hours 2 times per day and then 10-12 hours at night. Good luck!

Hey hunny! I agree with everything Angie said- your son is overtired. Babies work the opposite of adults- If we stay up late we sleep better because we know that tired means I need sleep. But babies don't know that. They have to be taught that connection. All they know is they feel crappy and don't know why! So as the mom, you need to teach them that every 2 hours it is time to go to bed. Every day must be the same - if he wakes at 6, then nap time is at 8:30am and 1:00pm, with bedtime at 6 or 7pm. Naps should be about 1.5-2 hours. Tell your mom that she needs to create the exact same routine for him each naptime, and to be firm about it. Whether or not you choose to let him cry (i did, but i would go in every 10 min and give kisses, then lay my daughter back down, and then leave) you need to be consistent. The more sleep he gets during the day the more he will sleep at night. Sounds crazy but it is TRUE.
Since he's SO tired, it will probably take about 10 days or so to get him back on track and for him to understand that naptime/bed time is sleepy time, but with the same routine (we did diaper change, cup of milk, read a book, then lights out with her lovey) every time, he'll figure it out. good luck! let me know if you need more help. :)

Our 8 month old is doing the same thing. She used to only wake up once in the middle of the night up until about two weeks ago. She started teething REALLY badly when we recently went on our first 10 day vacation with her, and once we returned to our normal workday schedule, the teething has continued and sleepless nights have begun for the first time since we have had her. We are investing in a room divider so that when she wakes up she cannot see us right away. I think she will still know we are in the room, because babies are smart, but I think it will help. Sometimes stress can induce the sleepless nights too (like having you there for 10 days 24-7 then all the sudden not). As it was mentioned above... Sleep does beget sleep and a baby that naps well will sleep well... in most cases. My daughter takes up to 3 naps daily; up to 2 hours each nap, and is also waking up almost every hour after a 4 hour stretch... so there is clearly something else going on. She is not ill either; maybe teething is the issue but try extending the naps, invest in a room divider, and take care of your baby with the teething because he is in need of your care in times like these. He wont teeth forever, so it is not a normal let him cry it out kind of time. Babies need you when they are in pain so make sure he is not in pain before you let him cry it out. P.S. I do let mine cry it out if she is clearly not in pain, doesn't need a diaper change, and is not hungry. I will let you know how the room divider works and how she is doing once she pops some teeth!!!