She Still Wakes Up

I think thsi is totally normal...and happened with both my girls too. I loved " the no cry sleep solution" book to help them sleep through the night. They both did around 18 months

T.

N.,
She could be overly tired. Sounds funny but if a baby is too exhausted they may have trouble sleeping. Try adjusting her bed time to an earlier time. I know sounds nuts but it works. Put her to bed 20 min earlier each night until she is in bed by about 7:00 or 7:30. Also, the previous comments are helpful about trying to get her to soothe herself without the bottle. You could also try a lovey of some kind (blanket or teddy bear or whatever) Give it to her when she is having her milk and when she is clinging to you for comfort to get her used to it. Also, make it a part of the night time ritual so she associates it with comfort and sleep. Crying it out is not the only sleep solution (it does work though) I highly recommend reading, "The No Cry Sleep Solution" it has helped a number of women in my Mommy n Me group to get much needed rest for them and their baby.
Good Luck!

All of the advice you have gotten is good, but Mary Ann's suggestion that she may be overtired could be right on the money. Try reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, M.D. It discusses the cognitive development benefits of plenty of rest and recommends early bedtimes. Probably no later than 7 or 7:30. We have been putting our son to bed early 6-6:30 and have never had a problem. Occassionally he stays up later if we are out, but he will usually make up the sleep in a nap the next day.

We didn't use the cry it out method in the book because he was too young. We would just comfort him. Now that he is older (he is 2), if he does wake up, he is able to sooth himself back to sleep.

Hi N.,

My son used to do that also. I think that after awhile it just becomes habit. I used to go into his room when he would wake up and sing him alittle song, give him a kiss and re-assure him that I was there, than i would go back into my room...usually after a few minutes he would fall back asleep and in time he was sleeping through the night. I think sometimes at night all they need is a bit of reassurance to know mom is there and then let them figure out to fall back asleep otherwise it ecomes a bad habit for both of you and everyone is tired. :) hope that helps! Also, try putting her to bed later, like 9:30 or so that may make her a bit more tired.

hi, i hopes this helps. my daughter just turned 1 on august 9th and we have had the same problem. my son never did this so i thought it was just us spoiling her. We finally just went cold turkey, when she would wake for a bottle we wouldn't give her one we would just get up and rock her and do anything else but give a bottle till she went back to sleep. we do give her a drink with a sippy cup in the night if needed but that is all. She does go to bed around 8-9pm but still wakes up at least once in the night so all i can do is just get up with her and rock her. we have tried just letting her fuss as long as she doens't get to upset and that does work but mskes me feel horrible. if you want to talk more we can, i understand what you are going through and sympathize with you. good luck. lexie

My daughter did the same thing. Most nights she would go through 16 ounces throughout the night. My pediatrician recommended that I gradually mixed water with the milk, thinning it out. Eventually it was mostly water, which wasn't very tasty. We tried just water initially but she flat out refused it. The mixing of the water and milk was gradual enough that she didn't notice it. In just a few weeks she was no longer waking up for the bottles.

I went through this with both my kids. If you give them milk or juice they are just waking up out of habit and comfort. My son did this till about 3 mos before he turned 3! I just started giving him water in his sippy which he hate but within a week he was slepping through the night. My daughter is now 21mos and was breast fed so when I transitioned her to her crib at 14mos I just gave her water and she did fine within a few days. Its a hard habit to break but is so bad for their teeth but cry it out method works but it seems you are for it or against it. My son was older so i would explain to him what we were doing but with my daughter I said I would not make the same mistake with her because its so hard to break and makes you feel guilty. I too was soooo exhausted because I had 2 waking up. Good luck

My daughter woke up some at this age. One thing that totally helped us was to make sure there was as little light as possible when we got her up. The light would wake me up, but also made her think that it was ok to get up. We kept it dark and put her right back to bed.
If she is waking up due to hunger, give her a little bit of food (cereal or something) about half an hour before bed. This will keep her tummy more full for longer.
I wish you luck!

Hi,
our daughter woke up at least once a night until she was one. Then before her 1 year check up I said, I am not going to go in there and tell the doctor she is still waking up! So we let her cry... it wasn't long, maybe 10 minutes. It took only 2 nights! I was so bummed that I didn't do it sooner. I had just helped her create the habit, and I was so tired as a result.

N., I would also recommend the Weissbluth book. I used his advice with my baby daughter starting at about 3 months. There were some difficult nights, but it did not take long to get her on a healthy schedule. She was sleeping through the night after a couple of days, and aside from bouts of teething (have you checked for molars coming in?) she's been great ever since. She sleeps from 7 pm to 7 or 8 am, and she'll be a year old tomorrow. The book really helps with troubleshooting problems, and gives clear examples. Good luck!

L. (mom of 1 year old Katie)

N.-
Go out and buy a book called "Solve your Child's Sleep Disorders" by Dr. Richard Ferber. It is the only book to get regarding sleeping problems and it works...she is waking up out of habit now, it's probably not because she is hungry. You have to change her habits and wean her off of the night feedings by reducing how much she gets a little every night until she is down to nothing. Once she is at nothing and still wakes up, you go in and just console her but do not take her out of the bed. First you console her after 5 min of crying, then 10, then 15, etc and each night it gets longer until she realizes it's not worth 20 min of crying for you to come in and console her for a minute...once she realizes that she'll not wake up anymore. The first week is very hard and the first few days there is a lot of crying, but stick with it...it really works. My son was waking up every 2 hrs at 3 mo old, we did this and he started sleeping all night in a matter of a few days. he is now 15 mo and never wakes up anymore. Good luck!

Dear N.,

You should avoid giving milk at night (unless you are breastfeeding) over the age of 1 year. It rots their teeth. Instead, you should give water in a bottle at night. Sometimes children do wake up in the middle of the night because they are still hungry. Check with your pediatrician to make certain that your daughter is getting enough calories in her diet. If she is getting enough caloric intake during the day (via food and not solely milk), then she may have gotten into a routine of waking up for comfort. You may want to change some night time rituals in addition to giving only water at night. Some night time rituals might include: giving a bath, followed by reading a book to your child, singing lullabyes and giving your 1 year old a massage before bedtime. Learn infant massage through a certified infant massage instructor. Infant massage is known for giving babies better circulation, relieving stomach discomfort and giving children a deeper sleep! You can reach a certified infant massage instructor by visiting the International Association of Infant Massage online www.iaim-us.com Best of luck to you!

A. D.

Try giving her only water at night, keep the lights out so neither one of you get fully awake. My son did the same for a long time getting him off the bottle helped and I would feed him something filling right before bed and a large cup of milk. Good luck.

Try to think about what you two share during the day. Are you active? Do you do any outdoor activities, playdates and such?When i was in your shoes, i did more activities during the day, to "wear her out"....As far as the feedings, i'm thinking shes starting to sooth herself with"the bottle". I know this sounds bad, but mabey its time to start weaning her off of it. Let her have water, or diluted juice or milk, instead...My daughter hated it for the first 2 week's but slowly got used to the idea.

Hi there. :)

Is she eating a regular dinner (solid foods), not just a bottle? That might help to keep her full longer. Also, are you putting anyting in addition to the milk like including a little bit of cereal? That might help as well. Hope this helps and you get some rest. :)

N.,

At one year of age, your daughter should be off the bottle and using a sippy cup/regular cup. If she is waking up truly hungry, then I would review her daily meal pattern. Is she eating 3 meals + 2-3 snacks? If she is waking up for a bottle, do you go into console her or does your husband? If you are the one, try having your husband go in and just pat her on the back and/or turn on her music. She may just go right back to sleep. Keep the routine consistent and have her meals and nap/bed time be consistent.

L. Kandell, MS, RD, IBCLC
Registered Dietitian/Pediatric Specialist
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant
Affiliated Nutrition Consultants, LLC

Mother of 8 yr old girl & 5 1/2 yr old boy

N.,

The only way to do it is to let her cry through it. It's now just become a habit for her, so you have to break it. It's one of the hardest things you'll do, but it works. It usually takes about three days, and then she should be sleeping "like a baby". The longer you wait, the harder it will be. If you can't listen to her cry straight through, you can do it in steps. The first night, let her cry for 5 minutes, then go in and just rub her head, console her however you can. Then let her cry for 10 minutes before you go in...and so on. The next night, start with 10 minutes, then 15 minutes...and so on. Trust me it works, and the three days of horror are worth the many nights of rest to come!

Good luck!

Hello! My daughter is going to be 1 on the 22nd and we have the same problems that you do. She actually had a sleep study done because of some other problems and we saw a sleep specialist. He said waking up 3 to 4 times a night is not abnormal. He said if you let them fall asleep on thier own at night then they will fall back asleep during the night. So far this has not worked for us because if I put her in her crib awake she cries until she pukes even if I am standing beside her. I know it is frustrating and I am tired all the time. It is just me so that makes it really hard!

You are not going to want to hear this, but you might want to let her cry. I had the same trouble with both my boys and I tried everything before someone finally convinced me to try it. I made sure he had a "dream feed" (one last bottle as late as I could stay up) and then when he woke in the night I'd make sure he was o.k. then let him cry himself back to sleep. The first night is terrible - expect them to cry for an hour or so. The next night was around 20 minutes, then the next was 5 for one, and the other never woke up. The trouble with you going in to soothe her back to sleep is she's not learning how to do it herself. It's so tough, but good for both of you in the end. I felt so bad doing it to my first boy that I again tried everything for my second, but this was the only thing that worked. My only hesitation in recommending this is that your daughter is older, and might be more persisistent because she's developed a bit of a habit. Then again, because she's older, she probably won't need a "dream feed" and will quickly understand that you've checked on her and are not coming back. Good luck. I feel for you.

Had this same issue. The book that saved me is called Baby Whisper. Read it and you will be surprised. I know I was. It is amazing. Hope it helps. Good luck to both of you.