Nooooo Sleeeeep

Get a copy of the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. He's a sleep expert and this book has made my life a million times better! I can't recommend it enough! I bought myself a copy and it's covered with my notes and highlights because I've read it so many times! :)
Good luck!

You baby sounds overly tired... it might just take you letting him work out all of the pent up energy so that he can finally settle down.

Is he napping well? That affects night time sleep. Is he teething. May be getting in molars or eye teeth. Those are very painful. If he is Motrin (ibuprofen) has worked better for us than Tylenol and lasts longer. Sometimes he may need to go to bed slightly earlier. Being overtired as he probably is from so many wakings (I'm sure you are too!) can be a vicious cycle. I know this is so hard. Sometimes it may be separation anxiety too. Check with your Dr. to make sure he doesn't have any illnesses or an ear infection etc. Hopefully it will pass soon. It is brutal, I've been there too!

Best of Luck

C.,

My 22 month old is still a terrible sleeper. My advice is to try the books that others suggested. I know my a lot of my daughter's sleep issues have to do with allergies and reflux and a dependancy of being nursed back to sleep. I have tried a variety of sleep techniques and they haven't really worked for us but I suggest giving them a try. Especially if you know that your child's problem is more behaviorial than medical.

More than anything, I just want to offer my understanding. Sleep issues are so difficult and those who have kids who are good sleepers just don't understand what we are going through.

what do you think would provide him the most comfort?

Have you tried a pacifier? it has helped us get more sleep.

hi here what i can tell & i hope it can help u do ur best to make him awake for 6 houres before u tack him to bed,6 houres without a nap & then give him a worm bath & then the food that has no suger at all bec sweat thing in the night give the kids big energy i wich i can help
thanks

Hi C., We have all been there at some point. I agree with the below advice: try to stick with a routine. Toddlers like predicatability. In addition, some thoughts:

1. Is he getting plenty of fresh air and exercise during the day?
2. Stimulation? Puzzles? Books? games? Creative play?
3. if he is not with you, is the nanny or day care person attentive and loving??? (If not, he may need extra cuddles from you at the least).
4. Hungry or thirsty before bedtime? Maybe he needs a small snack as part of your bedtime routine?
5. How is he napping? He needs one or two naps a day. Good naps help with nite time sleep.
6. Any recent changes in life?
7. comfortable temp in room? a/c? fan? pjs?
8. A book that really helped us: "No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. She also has a fb page, and answers personal emails with questions (her email is on her fb page).

take care of you.

Jilly

I don't have an answer, but you're not alone. My son is 13 months and has been a terrible sleeper from the start. I too have tried it all. He still wakes about every hour most nights. He has woken crying pretty hard before. I think he has super bad dreams. Anythong new going on? New job, nanny? Maybe he's missing u. I have a friend with a 16 month old. He goes in phases of bad sleep, usually due to his molars, then he's,fine for a while. It's tough on her bc she's not used to waking like I am. I have my bad days. I seriously walked around with one eye half open fir a few hours this morning hoping my soon would nap soon. He did, 45 min after I had coffee : ) Try to nap with your baby if u can. Have somebody watch him while u nap, sleep in on the weekends. Sometimes my hubby will watch him if I can't open either eye. It's hard and frustrating. It won't last forever. That's what keeps me going. If all else fails, there's coffee : ) Let me know if u need support or need to talk.

When this was happening to us our daughter was suffering from sleep apnea. You need to have her tonsils and adnoids looked at in case they are too big. I don't know other causes for it. But something is definitely wrong here.

Oh, you poor, poor thing! My 13 month old is my third and has been a great sleeper. I started him from 3 months with the same routine, same time every night- dinner, bath time, reading, nursing (I'm still breastfeeding), song, then bedtime. He fusses a little, but goes right to sleep. Is it possible that your little one is not tired? Is he taking long naps or late naps during the day? Mine takes a morning nap from about 10:30 a.m. for three hours and sometimes an afternoon nap for about an hour, from 4-5 p.m. If he sleeps past 5, I know he'll go to bed later that night. But normally, I know that he's exhausted by 8 when he's been up since 1 or 2 in the afternoon. Your little guy should be tired, but not overtired. A lack of naps also negatively affects bedtime as they need their rest during the day. I've heard many times from friends that their babies don't nap and dont' sleep well at night. I believe the two are realated.

Also, I don't know what you've been doing until the last 3 months. If he's been sleeping with you in your bed, then I don't blame him for having a hard time adjusting to sleeping alone. But either way, the best thing to do is give him the same routine every night, then put him down in his crib in a dark, quiet room, close the door. If he were mine and woke up durng the night, I'd want to check he was o.k (no temp), but otherwise, I may go in to say, "shh, nightime, time to sleep.", then leave and let him cry. I've done that once in awhile, but if it happened repeatedly, I would hope that he would go back to sleep soon after waking. How long will he cry if noone comes? Have you tried letting him cry for 10-15 minutes when he wakes to see if he'll go back to sleep on his own. So sorry, it sounds tough. I'm lucky to have good sleepers- all three of my kids sleep like rocks. I hope it gets better, but in despearation, when I've been at my wit's end on occasion, I will let them cry so I can sleep and be sane! Good luck!

Oh God! I know what you are going through. My elder one did not sleep for more than 30min to 1hr intervals until she was about 18 months, and then woke up multiple times through the night until she was 2 and a HALF years old! She started to sleep through the night the day after my new baby was born. Imagine that! I have posted here in desperation, in tears and half-crazed. 2 years of sleep deprivation did drive me crazy and I think I will be spending the rest of my life trying to regain some of that lost sleep.

My daughter had/has allergies. I tried all the suggestions that people made, read most of the books - except CIO (out of choice) - and nothing really helped, except my Hypnobirthing CDs that she and I listened to every night before drifting off to bed. They seemed to lull her into somewhat deeper sleep, but she only started sleeping through the night - the day after baby came home. And I have to say, that with this second one (- she is a great sleeper), I am on a vegan diet due to HER food allergies, but I will take starvation any day of the week over sleep deprivation.

My deepest sympathies. I will watch this post to see what works for you. Keep up updated.

I don't have much advice but I want to let you know my daughter didn't sleep through the night (around 7PM to 7AM) until around 14 months or so. In fact, she didn't sleep in her crib until then either. Aggh!! She was up every 1-3 hours EVERY night. Around 12 months my husband started sleeping on the futon in her room with her so I could nightwean. We both wore earplugs but she didn't need anything - we don't know why she was screaming so much? Guess what? we had 6 months of good sleep until this summer and now, she's almost 2 and starting to have sleep problems again. I wanted to give you my support - tell you you're not alone! Try to get someone, anyone to take over one night and go in another room with earplugs just so you can at least get one or two nights sleep in a row. Otherwise you will go insane.

Forgot to ask: did you try co-sleeping? Or having your husband co-sleep with him? I am NOT saying it's the way to go - just asking if you've tried it. It worked for us at times and at other times it didn't work so I'm not judging!!

Well... if it's not external (needing food, for example), have you examine internal?

- Allergy season started a few months ago. This kicks off sinus infections and ear infections in many kids with allergies. They're fine in the daytime, when they're vertical and moving but at night, their sinuses fill with fluid and become painful and they need to be vertical again. Allergy caused sinus infections will last until about 1 month after allergy season ends. So if allergies are the cause, you're looking at a few more months of no-sleep unless you get him on either allergy meds or Rx/no-Rx-but-behind the counter decongestants (like pseudoephedrine) + tylenol.

- Teething. Again, during the day they're fine, but at night when there are no distractions, the pain hits. Again, the solution is tylenol... but it's tylenol alone.

- Acid reflux/ heartburn. Something that happens ESP when you lay down.

- Growing Pains. Oweeeee. My son had these. So for several years it was a combo of massage, bananas (for the potassium, which helps easy muscle cramps), and tylenol or ibuprofen for several days in a row several times a month.

- Alimentary problems. Happens sometimes with solids. Their poop schedule has them gassy/in pain during certain parts of the schedule. This can be at any time, day or night. Elimination diet + tums.

Probably the SIMPLEST way to figure out if it's something physical is to give him a dose of tylenol with bedtime and see if you get 4-6 hours of sleep in a row. If SO... then you've got something physical going on. If not, it MAY be allergies or a sinus infection (because tylenol doesn't relieve the pressure). So that's worth checking out.

But seriously. Try dosing him, and seeing if it's pain that keeps waking him up.

Go to www.3daysleepsolution and get Davis' video. You will be sleeping, your baby will be sleeping and everyone will be happy. I threw out all my books after doing her program. It takes "3" days for a baby/child to adjust to a new sleep routine. Stick w/it and your life will be changed! Good luck! Also, she is charging HALF OFF her consultation fees for the month of July - call her if you are desperate and she'll get your baby on track right away! I consulted w/her and it was the BEST $ I ever spent! :)

My 11 month old wakes up a lot in the night too. I'm trying to make sure he gets at least 15 minutes of sunshine each day. I've heard the vitamin D helps with sleep. I think its working. Regardless, it being outside relieves some of my stress!

Do you have a morning routine? Waking him up at the same time each day (even on weekends) has also helped. This is hard to do, especially if you all have had a rough night (or if he wakes up earlier than the designated time). Alternativley, if your LO finally falls asleep in the morning try not letting him sleep past a certain time that gives both you and him chance to rest, but does not alter the day too much (ex. normal wake up time is 7am, but on a tough night I won't let him sleep past 8am).

Good luck!

Hi there,
Please email me and I will send you an on-line book I have that is really great.
____@____.com
The book is called "Sleep Sense Program"
I had problems with my daughter and after I read the book, and made the changes, my daughter started sleeping through the night. Yes, it took time, and pacience, and consistancy. If you stick with one ruitine and never change it, your baby will adapt and know what is coming next.
I went as far as reading the same books to my daughter for months at a time. After that last book, she knew sleep was coming next. When she woke up in the middle of the night, I would go into her room and say the same things to her. I never took her out of her crib. I just said the same thing and tried to tuck her back in. Yes, she cried like crazy, but as long as she was ok, and not hurt, I left her room. Each time I went back into her room, I added a few minutes to the time. After a few weeks of this she started sleeping longer until one day, she slept through the night.
Consistancy is the main advise I can give you.
Just email me and I'll forward that book to you.
Hope to hear from you soon.