My Son Still Doesn't Sleep Through the Night!

What does he do when he wakes? Play quietly on his own - let him be. If he lets out a mantra cry (deliberate wa wa cry like whining) Option 1: leave him for a while. The amount of time he spends crying should decrease each night (this most likely means he is waking out of habit and just wants you to come in.) Option 2: go in and lay him down and let him know it is time to sleep. If he stands back up, lay him back down (talk or pat his back to sleep. This will take a while to begin with but take less and less time each night. Interact as little as possible and try not to make eye contact (don't want to make it fun). If he is waking at the same time every night (say 3am), go in 30 minutes before the waking (2:30 for example) and stir him a bit. Often a habitual waking like this is because they are not able to transition well from one stage of sleep to the next. By stirring them (but not waking them) you are resetting the sleep cycle and they normally won't wake. Do this for three nights and then the waking should stop.

My daughter is 2 and has never slept through the night. So - while that isn't what you want to hear, at least you know you aren't alone!

My doctor asked me how my 4 year old was sleeping at night, and I said that he still wakes up at least once, but usually closer to morning. He laughed and said, "this is perfectly normal." I really wouldn't concern yourself over him waking up during the night. Kids do that, and kids need mom and/or dad's comfort when they wake up. Making a young child comfort themselves if they're obviously struggling with sleep, is almost cruel. I mean, if he'll go back on his own in 5 minutes, let him do that, but he's crying, go to him! He's only a year old and nighttime is scary! Even adults can get the creeps when they wake up in the middle of the night.
He'll sleep through the night when he's ready to sleep!
When he does wake up, don't let him out of the room. Sit with him in his room, lights off, no noise, expect maybe you singing. This is what I do with my son. No, it doesnt' work EVERY time. Sometimes kids wake up and aren't gonna go back to sleep so easily, but most the time it does.

Dear A.,
The BEST baby gift I ever received was a book called, "On Becoming Baby Wise" By: Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam. It is all about how to gently get your baby to sleep through the night. There are several series. That one targets infants mostly but the sleeping tips would definitely help you. The second edition that is more for your baby's age is called, "On Becoming Baby Wise Book Two" It targets 5 to 18 months.
There easy reads and short. You should definitely read the first one before you read the second one. The first one sets the ground rules.
My daughter was waking up every hour and a half for the first month of her life. I virtually got no sleep. Out of pure exhaustion I read the book cover to cover in one day. By the next night she slept 4 hours on woke up once and slept 4 hours again. With in two weeks she was sleeping 6 hours woke up and 6 hours again. By 4 months she was sleeping 12 to 13 hours a night straight through. It was truly a god send. I have several friends who swore by it. Some people are luck and have baby's that naturally sleep through the night and others were lucky enough to find Baby Wise!! It's Great!

When he wakes up, are you going into his room and picking him up? Or talking to him? When he wakes up go into the room, put your hand on him, but don't speak to him. Maybe give a shushing sound. Just let him know you are there and then leave. Yes, he may cry. Let him cry for 2-5 min, then go back in and repeat the steps. THen let him cry for 7-10, then go back in and repeat. Just no talking and no picking him up. Try it for a few nights, soon he will learn that "Mommy is still there and loves me, but now is not the time to hang out with her". Honestly it will be harder on you than on him. Maybe after a few night of this let him cry for longer the first time. Just do what you are comfortable with. Good luck!

see thats why I really dont care for some doctors. They seem to go by whats in season if you know what I mean. Dont let it bother you. He will start sleeping threw the night. all kids are diffrent. I wish someone would have writen a parents hand book so we as parents would know what to exspect from our children like the fact that after your child starts eating regular food then you dont get to eat anything alone. and when it play time you are the jungle gym. well thats what my hubby and I go threw.

Hi A.!! I had the same problem with my son who is now 20 months. Well for starters I realized that the reason he was waking up was because he was hungry. Yes, hungry. So what I started doing was making his feeding time ( NOT MILK) a little bit later than usual. I was a stay at home mom at the time and i use to feed everyone early, by at least 5PM. Well Chris is very active so he eats well. When I changed feeding time to 6-7 pm and gave him a little snack before bed time, he started sleeping through the night. It's been a blessing, you have no idea.

My daughter didn't start sleeping through the night consistently until about 13 or 14 months of age, but she still has plenty of inconsistent nights (she's 17 months now). I wouldn't worry about it. I read every book on sleep I could get my hands on trying to "fix" her and nothing worked. As soon as I decided she wasn't broken, it was easier to deal with. It could be any number of things waking him up--teething (a big one for us), tummyache, nightmare, learned a new word today, missing mom etc. One day soon, he'll be able to tell you why he's waking up. Until then, try not to let it make you crazy--some kids are just difficult sleepers. All your friends with the kids who have been sleeping 12 hours since 3 months old are either lying or will eventually have a major issue with their kids that you don't have!!!

My daughter didn't sleep through the night until she was about 1 and a half. I kept waiting thinking that day would never come. But eventually she did great. It was difficult but, I stopped going to her everytime she woke up. Initially, you just want to attend to them so that they'll hurry up and go back to sleep. But once I stopped running in there everytime she called out, she learned to just fall asleep. The crying lasted about 3-4 days but then it was over. My next baby is due in a few weeks and this one is learning to comfort itself from the get-go! BABY BOOT CAMP! : )

you didnt say whether he might be having nightmares or how old zachary is. comfort is the only thing that calms a nightmare...or does he just want to play in which case id cut out his afternoon nap and see if that helps. sleep patterns are learned early and sometimes they just need a nudge to make a different pattern. good luck...hope this helps.

I really like this book: http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Child/dp... It tackles a whole range of sleep problems at different ages and discusses different approaches. Dr. Weissbluth really knows what he's talking about. You'll likely find our best answer there.

All the best,
A.

I have to agree with the Moms who have suggested a snack before bed. Active little ones burn calories so fast! The little body gets hungry in the night and the grumbly stomach wakes them. A little bit of ceral with banana as a snack, plus a nice warm bath to relax, and most babies will sleep through the night. The bath before bed is very relaxing and helps them to sleep.
After he is alseep, you may have time to treat yourself to a soothing soak too!
Best wishes,
Grandma Bev

My son didn't sleep through the night until he was about a year old, too! You know what finally got him to sleep through? My friends babysat for me while I went on a trip for the weekend. He woke up in the middle of the night expecting me and when he didn't get me, he cried for a little bit then went back to sleep. The next night, he didn't wake up again, I guess he figured he wouldn't get what he wanted so it wasn't worth it! LOL I was thinking, I should have had my friend do that sooner!!!!!

As for the ezcema...the company that I'm partnered up with makes and sells all natural products made from organic ingredients. They have a lotion that all the moms are gushing about. they had kids on prescriptions for their ezcema and when they used this lotion, it cleared up in 3 day!

J.

Do you make sure he has eaten enough a little before he goes to bed. That is what i do with my 5mo. old daughter and i usually try to have a schedule for her bedtime to be around 8:30 or 9:00. She will usually wake up between 4:30 am to 7:00.She also has eczema and a friend told me about this lotion that i put on her arms and it healed it up in a few days and you can also earn a paycheck.It is really a great product, I was amazed after i used the lotion and how fast it had cleared up. Now I let people know about this product to help others. To give you more info you can either call @ ###-###-#### or email me at ____@____.com Talk to you soon! T.

If it is his eczema then try and oitmen called gentle naturals. It has lavendar in it and I used it on my son for it and he slept all night long.

The first thing I'll ask is: does he have a schedule or have you tried to implement a schedule? It seems (from what I've read and personal experience) that if you put your child down for a nap every day at the same time, put them to bed at the same time and wake them up at the same time, they will sleep. Most of the problems tend to stem from your child not getting enough sleep because a schedule hasn't been imposed and since your baby is over 1, you can diffinitely do that. Also, make absolutely sure he's getting a decent sized nap during the day. It is proven that children up to age 5 (!!) still need naps. I would recommend you check some of this out on my favorite website: www.askdrsears.com
I hope this helps!

Don't take this the wrong way...but I don't know any 1 yr olds that sleep through the night. My son started sleeping through the night at 5 months, then at about 11, started getting up again. He'll be 2 in May and has now slept through the night for 2 nights straight. To help, I strongly recommend the "NO Cry Sleep Solution", it's a book you can get on amazon. Try to keep a very consistant routine, (when you can, we can't always be on schedule). Include some reading time, we do ~3 books, just because it's about 10 minutes of quiet time to calm them down, then we turn all the lights off and rock for a little bit, (the only light is through the window blinds from the street lights). Always put the baby to bed a little awake, try having some thing musical that will shut off its self after 10 minutes. No child sleeps completely through the night, but you want to train them to fall back to sleep without you (this doesn't mean wide awake, but all people awake slightly during the night, children tend to want someone to put them back to sleep if that's how they're used to falling asleep). I hope this helps and don't feel bad.