I Have a 13 Month Old Who Still Wakes up at Least 4 Times a Nigh

What are his naps like? Lots of times kids get up at night because they've had too much or too little sleep. He may need a change in his daily routine.

My daughter loves to sleep with her nubby after she is finished drinking...it's empty..and she still might or will wake up once during the night and ask for a little more. So, I have adapted this method to wean her...it's called watering down. I add water to her milk and I have been doing it a little more until it now mostly water....and I only give her 4 to 5 oz. The idea is that she will not like the taste so much and be done asking for a refill.
I also agree with the "No Cry Sleep Solutions" by Elizabeth Pantley. I recommend it to every new mom. She has one for toddlers as well. It has helped me bunches!

Thats odd that he's waking up to eat that much during the night. Make sure he's got a full tummy before going to bed. My son goes down between 8:30-9:15 every night. We eat dinner at 6-6:30 and then around 8pm he gets a 6-7oz sippy of warm milk (just enough to take the chill off) and a snack(graham cracker, gerber cereal bar) something small, but filling. Like other have said, DOn't pick him up. He's got you trained and he's working you for all you've got. Let him cry a little bit, he may put himself back to sleep.

Maybe you could give him some cereal before bedtime. When my daughter was your son's age I did this and it worked and I've done it with my grandson if he wakes up in the middle of the night at 3/4 yrs old (Kix or some unsweetened cereal)and he settles right down and sleeps. If you eat an early dinner, he might be hungry again by bedtime. It may also make it easier to break him of the bottle completely. Good luck!

I would make sure he's not napping to much during the day, feed him closer to bed time, then sorry to say you will probably have to let him scream and cry a couple of nights. It's not going to hurt him and it will be much better for you and him once he realizes he's not going to get to get up and drink in the middle of the night.

Some might not agree w/ this but I would decided what day to start, cut his nap WAY down so he is really tired at bedtime and either feed him later or a snack before bed. THEN......make up my mind I'm stronger than a 13 month old and let him cry. It might take a couple nights, but you are doing you both a favor!

Once you get him broke of the late night bottles you can adjust his naps and supper time accordingly.

I got to a point where I had to go through this w/ both of my children when I completely took them off the bottle at 1 yr. My ped said that they should be done at that point or could do damage to their mouth and teeth.

Hard stuff, good luck!

Hi A.,

Like some others have said, I wouldn't give him milk overnight if you go in to him. If you want to give him something make it water even if he rejects it at first.

And the Cry It Out thing does almost always work within a few (excrutiating) days. I know not all people like that method - no 2 people ever parent exactly the same way - but if you're up for it, you can try that as well.

If he keeps this up his daytime appetite will diminish because he's already gotten so many overnight calories and it will become even more of a vicious cycle. Sound like I'm speaking from experience? I am... I went through this with my son at 7-8 mos old, and Lord knows I need my sleep and so does he!

Doing this helped him get the calories when he was supposed to (during the day) and helped both of us get a full night's sleep! He stopped waking for even water within a week. He's now 15 mos old and for many months he's slept from 7pm until 6am almost every single day.

GOOD LUCK!!! Hugs!

J.

I think I read somehwere that excessive thirst is a sign of diabetes, maybe you should check in with your pediatrician.

Hi!
I had the same problem with my first child. I asked my pediatrician what to do and she told me to make slightly less in each bottle every couple nights. Eventually he won't wake up with anymore. It really worked for me. Also make sure you keep the room dark and don't make it too exciting for him to be up in the middle of the night. Remember all the bottle feeding is bad for his teeth. Be sure not to put juice in his bottle. For my daughter the waking up was more habitual than anything else.
Good luck, Alli

I had the same problem with my daughter (who is know 14 months). We tried letting our daughter cry it out and it was worse on us then on her. We started giving her warm water at night. She took the bottle a couple times but has now realized that that is all she is going to get. We also do not pick her up at night. We just give her the warm water and lay her back down and close her door. It has really helped. Now, she goes to bed between 7:30-8:30pm and wakes up around 5/5:30am (which is when my alarm goes off). At that time, we give her a bottle of milk (as you figure she has slept at leat 10 hours).

Good luck to you!

Hi A.,
Everytime a mother posts a question about sleeping issues I always refer them to the book called "the no-cry sleep solution" by elizabeth pantley. It has all kinds of information about baby's sleep pattern and great suggestions for all kinds of situations... the bottle-fed baby, the breastfed baby, the co-sleeper, the independent sleeper...
It has helped me greatly and may help you in your situation!! Good Luck!

Make sure your child getting the correct supplements of fruits, vegetables and cereal. Cereal should help fill them up. Good Luck.

hi A., I would say check his routine like nap's make sure he isn't taking to long of a nap or too short of a nap. Also check dinner time i've noticed with my kids if I try to have dinner early they are hungry by 8 pm, so im gonna fix dinner around 5:30 so we eat at 6pm or so. Instead of putting milk in the bottle put water in it. then he wont want to wake up and have a bottle in the middle of the night. also I would make sure he's getting enough liquids thoughout the day. after he drinks his last bottle before bed,lay him down and put a bottle in there of water in the middle of the night he will find it. he will probably be mad because it is water but after a few nights he'll get the idea and probably wont wake up at all. with this you are solving and not creating new problems such as with water in the bottle you dont have to worry about his teeth, you dont have to get up and go give him the bottle and he will learn to fall back to sleep on his own and he will be less likely to want you to pick him up if you were to go in there. good luck W. mom of 4

Sorry but I would let him sceam and cry it out. I totally understand giving him a bottle to lay down with..we do what we have to do to get some sleep. I, however, don't think that is any reason you should be giving him that many bottles through out the night. It sounds to me like you will be setting yourself up for many more nights without rest if you keep doing this.
I would lay him down early and when he starts screaming go in tell him he's okay to go nite-nite. When you go in don't act like you feel bad for him or pick him up. Just be firm. It's hard my three year old goes through this every few months since she's been little. She doesn't want to sleep in her bed so she'll cry and throw a fit and want to come in with us. But if we are firm she'll eventually gets used to it.
From reading your prior response to someone..No wonder you have no desire for sex! You're exhausted from being up so much at night!
Good luck!

If it helps, the book How to Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems by Dr. Ferber decribes this exact situation and how to slowly change your child's night time feedings. I know it is a controversial book because it is the "cry it out" book, but it really does have some good info on the reasons WHY babies wake up at night. The method talks about slowly dropping a feeding at a time by reducing the time between them and the amount given to train the appetite to not be so demanding at night. Hope it gets better for you!

One of my daughters was the same way. Does he eat good during the day? Mine wouldn't, so at night her tummy was hungry and she wanted a bottle. The bottle is also a comfort mechanizim. Does he take naps during the day? If so, you might cut back on those especially the afternoon nap. This will make the day a little bit miserable, but it should (hopefully) make him sleep a little better at night.

been there. I hate to tell you but your going have to deal with some fussing you can come in comfort him or call to him and say im here baby but its sleeping time. You will have a couple of hard nights ahead but your child will learn much needed coping skills that will help your child to comfort himself. It took me two or three nights for my daughter to quit crying for a bottle at night. I waited too long to do this and her teeth suffered from it and it cost me 1400 dollars to repair the damage from her nightly bottle. good luck

I have to say that I can't stand to listen to my daughter scream, she's 11 months old and I rock her to sleep every night. She has me trained too, she will lay down for naps wide awake for the sitter and never make a peep. She does wake up on occation and if nothing is wrong with her I leave her for at least 5 minutes. If she's still screaming I go in and rock her back to sleep. This usually only happens when she's sick. I won't leave her every time because if she gets too emotional she will poo her diaper and I have to change her anyway. She has learned that she can't have a bottle after her last feeding and doesn't expect one. I will say that if my daughter isn't ready to go to sleep there's no putting her down, she has to be ready and then she's out for the night.

good Luck, do what works best for you and what you feel in your heart is right.

have you tried giving him a little bit of sugar water or juice? that is what i did with my two and it seemed to work. it kept them satified because they had a drink throughout the night. they didnt like it at first but once they found out that they werent getting milk they settled down. you might try it. let me know if it works. R.

I have a 12 month old that does not sleep through the night either. But she only goes through 1 8oz bottle a night. How long after dinner time does your child go to bed? Could it be that he is actually hungery? Try giving him a snack just before bed time and see if that helps.

W. M