Sleep Deprived! HELP

Sounds like an evening play time with him , may help, and if you live where an evening stroll is possible, airing them off, helps them sleep. If he is in a crib that he can't fall out of, let him play and don't get up with him. Sometimes they get off schedule & it takes a few days to break the habit, but if you don't get up and play with him, he may soon fall back t o sleep.

HI
i don't really have any great advice but i wanted to tell you "YOU'RE NOT ALONE!!!" My son did the same exact thing at the same time even and he is STILL waking up at night....we've had a FEW mornings when we wake up saying "HOLY COW...DID HE SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT????"....but typically, the same times(2 and 4) even as yours.....we end up going in there, rocking up and if nothing else works....a bottle...sometimes he is up for 2-3 hrs.....he's 14 months now (not to discourage you, all kids are differant ;)...) however, his teeth are coming in at an incredilble rate and he is def a DROOL KING...he also does not seem to complain about his teeth really, no fussiness, crying fever etc. just normal every day play...your body does work better at night when you're asleep so it could be his teeth pushing through at night. We did try the "cry it out"...it was totally heart wrenching and i just couldn't do it....i was TOOOOOO TIRED the next day and so was he. i hope things get better. i do put anbesol on his teeth/gums at night and have tried tylenol but that didn't seem to matter. Anbesol sometimes helps. i've just been told "THIS TOO SHALL PASS!"....
take care
S.

Hi D.-

I just went through the same thing with my 8.5 month old son. He was a great sleeper (through the night) and then all of the sudden, he would wake up at 2am, 4am, etc. Sometimes he would cry and sometimes he would be clapping (his new skill he's so proud of). After about a week of wakings, he finally had his first tooth come in. Once the first bottom tooth was in, he slept through the night for a few more nights and then back to waking several times at night. Like you, I attributed the wakings to his tooth coming through and couldn't figure out why he was waking again...low and behold...it was the 2nd tooth!! Now, both bottom teeth are in, he slept great for 2-3 weeks, but we're back to wakings again...now his top teeth are coming in!!

I sometimes give him a little infants Tylenol at bedtime and it seems to help with the pain. I also massage his gums (when he lets me), and give him teething rings during the day. I know it's so frustrating and it's hard to be sleep deprived, but just rememeber as soon as the teeth come in, you'll be back to normal sleeping hours. I have to keep telling myself that :) If it's any consolation, all the other Mom's of 6-9 month olds (including me) are up in the middle of the night too ;) Good luck with your little guy.

This sounds like typical behavior, at least from my experience with my son. The teething disrupted his normal routine, and now he is off-kilter. Also, he is learning new skills every day, and isn't it more fun to explore his new-found abilities than to sleep?! When my son goes through stages like this, we have to focus on getting him back into his routine. He is likely NOT going to bed too early (read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" - greatest book ever; it saved us!).

When he would wake up in the middle of the night, we would listen for a while to determine whether he would go to bed on his own (and trying to make sure it wasn't an abnormal cry that might indicate something requiring our urgent attention). If he was still crying after ~20 minutes, one of us would go in to make sure there wasn't something really wrong, tell him he needs to go to sleep, lay him down, give him his bink, blanket, etc. and leave. (Sometimes, I would take him out and rock him for a bit, but I tried not to do this too often.) We repeated this until he fell back to sleep. It's not easy, it's not fun, and it doesn't happen quickly at first. But after a few nights of this, he'll figure out that he can't play in the middle of the night, and his body will get back on schedule.

If there is one thing I have learned, it's that their sleeping patterns are always changing, especially the first 18 months. By and large, we stuck to our guns (yes, there were nights where I blearily scooped him up, put him in bed with us, and fell back to sleep), followed the advice of "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," and focused on keeping him on a consistent schedule. And most of the time, he is a wonderful sleeper and a very happy boy!

Good luck & God bless!
B.

If he is in his crib I say just let him play until he goes back to sleep. As long as he is not crying he should be safe in his bed. Keep his favorite toy by his side and normally he will tire himslf out and go back to sleep and you never have to leave your bed.

Maybe you are putting him to bed too early? Or maybe not.

My daughter did the same thing. She woke up early no matter when I put her to bed. Like your son, she was always good natured about it. I left her baby doll and a book in her crib by the time she was his age and when she woke up she would play quietly until she went back to sleep.

My granddaughter's 14 month old does the same thing, my granddaughter made the mistake of getting her out of bed, thinking she would get tired and go back to sleep and that this was temporary! HA.

Good luck and although it doesn't seem like it at 4 AM. she will grow up so fast!

God Bless you .
D.

BTW
Choose the toys carefully as my daughter is 52 years old now and to this day she has a book in her purse, beside her bed, etc. And--all she ever wanted to be was the best Mother she could be. Not only was she the best, most patient mother, she is every child's ideal grandma! I sure lucked out in my choice of toys, didn't I?

Mine was the exact same way. So, it was a rough week or 2 but I had to just make sure she had orajel or motrin or whatever before bed in case she was cutting a tooth and then just let her scream it out for however long it takes. Be patient. Stay calm. He knows you love him. I just let her cry and noticed throughout the next week she would cry for a shorter period of time each time. It seems like an eternity when they cry for 30-45 minutes in the middle of the night but it worked for me. Now she sleeps through b/c she knows I'm not coming to give her milk or play or bring her to my bed. Every now and then she still wakes up, but only cries for a minute. There's never a magic solution since kids are different but this method works for a lot of people. Good Luck.

You could check some natural products at www.zoneofnaturalremedies.com for sleep problems for young children. All products are FDA approved.

I would go into his room, not talk at all, and lie him down and pat his back or belly and leave. Repeat as necessary, but don't talk at all.

it could be as simple as your son getting too much sleep during the day or taking a nap too close to bed time. try and keep him up later. I have to keep my son up until 10pm some nights just so he'll sleep longer during the night.

After all the advice I have heard and heeded, after all the professional gizmos and still looking like the walking dead because of lack of sleep...this is what worked for me.....get up at your normal (what you would want to be normal) time....then keep him up as long as possible with only scheduled nap time. He will be cranky, but you have to reset his "clock" Babies seem to change their clock without warning or justifiable cause....only allow him to nap when his normal nap time would be....keep in mind this may take a day or two so make sure you nap when he naps, set an alarm clock to wake you so you don't over nap and ruin any remains of your own normal sleep schedule!
Hope it helps!

My daughters nurse (at the ped's office) says I pick the time she goes to bed, but baby picks when she sleeps. Basically if your son is happily playing then that is fine, just don't pick him up and let him play or sleep until it's time to get up for the day.

By the way, I went to high school for awhile with someone named D.... you didn't happen to go to HHS did you?

If he justs wants to play, do not get up and attend to him.

If he's hungry or wet, then you must get up. I'm assuming you can tell the difference in the cries/sounds for play and for hungry/wet.

He needs to know that you will be there when he's uncomfortable, but not to play. It'll take a few nights to get this done. And you'll be in bed listening to him fuss till he stops. But do not go to him.

And remember the rule.... sleep when the baby sleeps, so get your naps during the day too!

I agree with the previous response. If he is in his crib, and just playing, there is nothing wrong with just letting him sit in there alone, and play. He will aventually sooth himself back to sleep, and that will be a great tool later when he's in a "big boy" bed.
My sister-in-law deals with a similar problem with her son. She says that when she gets up with him in the night, if she speaks to him, he's up and ready to play for about an hour or two. I thought "how crazy is that" until I saw it for myself one night. It was the craziest thing. Sometimes he wakes up for diaper change or whatever, but there better be silence if you want him to go back to sleep. If you are getting up to tend to a "problem", and then talking to him, he may be getting that confused with the morning time, when you greet him for the day.
Hope this helps, and you start getting some sleep.