Night Waking in 9 1/2 Mo. Old

Updated on August 20, 2009
T.C. asks from Mundelein, IL
4 answers

Hi. My 9 1/2 month old daughter still wakes 2 times per night. I'm pretty sure it's out of habit. I'm still nursing, and since she was born, I've nursed her back to sleep in the middle of the night when she wakes. She wakes at roughly the same times. She cries on her tummy, I wait a couple minutes, go in, pick her up, nurse her (she falls back asleep immediately), then comes off, I put her back in her crib & she stays asleep. I'd like to get her out of this habit b/c I'm only going to be nursing for about 2 more months. We are anti-cry-it-out. I read The Baby Whisperer & did the pick up/put down method w/ her & it worked (it's great for parents who don't want to let their baby cry themselves to sleep alone in their crib). She falls asleep on her own in her crib, for naps & bedtime (most nights) with no crying at all (thank God for this book)! Any advice on how to stop the night wakings? Today I decided to only nurse her once at night (instead of stopping cold turkey). The other time she wakes I'm going to put my hand on her & soothe her with my voice, but try not to pick her up (this is per the book I read). I am confident after a few nights of resistance from her this should work, but I'm scared of being in her room for an hour or two while she gets acclimated to this new routine. Any other ideas?

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T.B.

answers from Chicago on

T.,
Please check out this book- http://www.amazon.com/Sleepeasy-Solution-Exhausted-Parent.... The Sleepeasy Solution was suggested by a friend. What I love about it is that you keep track of your child's waking times, then WAKE THEM up an hour before they would normally wake up, nurse them, put them back down, and eventually you can wean them off of waking up. We used a bit of it to help us get my son to sleep through the night. We tried EVERYTHING gentle because we were anti-CIO too. In the end, it was this book that really helped us, though we did end up having to do some CIO because I wasn't functioning well on such little sleep for so long (my son was 8 months old at the time). I'm still nursing him before bed, but he is a great sleeper now. I remember those nights though! Is there any way your husband can go in to soothe her at night instead? At least for one of the wakings, until you get her down to one, and then with the one?

Just a suggestion...

T.
www.ReadandGrow.com

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J.V.

answers from Chicago on

My little one didn't stop waking at night until she weaned. I think that is common. As a general approach, get her to stop the first waking first, and then worry about the second one later....

A few options:

1. send dad in. This didn't work with us. It just upset my daughter and she would cry her little eyes out and not stop. Hubby gave up after 5 nights.

2. Offer your daughter a sip of water, and after a few days, she won't wake for it. This did work for us, but there was a bit of crying involved. She would protest and ask for milk. I would kindly refuse her and tell her she only got water.

I think offering the water on top of you comforting her might be a good combo, that way you have a second thing to offer. It's going to be rough, but hang in there, she will sleep, and then you will finally get some sleep!

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M.P.

answers from Chicago on

I have no advice for you on the sleeping front but just wondering if someone is pressuring you to wean your daughter at 12 months? There is no reason to wean then, contrary to what some people tell you. Cow's milk CANNOT replace human breastmilk!!! Enjoy them being babies as long as you can.

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E.C.

answers from Peoria on

Another great book is The No Cry Sleep Solution. Good Luck!

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