Sleeping 15 Month Old

I am having the same problem with my 14 month old. If you find any solutions PLEASE let me know and I will do the same. She will scream all night if I let her.

I got yo my wits end with my daughter and I came across a nurse at St. Lukes Sleep Resarch Center that works with these issues...those children under 5 that just don't sleep right. Her name is Nancy Birkenmeier and she is a godsend. Call her and make an appoitment right away...my insurance covered it so I pnly paid my co-pay, my only regret was not calling her sooner. Send me an email if you need anymore info!
M.

M., I am the mother of four, and I had a child that was stubborn and I too was desperate for sleep. I read the book, Solving Your Child's Sleep, I have loaned my copy out many times, and it's out on loan again. I stronly reccomend this book. It gives you tools and great suggestions, and my last two children, have slept through the night by 6 weeks. Good Luck!

My son did not sleep through the night until around 16-17 months, when I moved him to one nap a day. Before then he was like your daughter. I would try putting her down earlier. I know this sounds strange, but it works! At 15 months, I put my son down between 6:00 and 6:30pm. He would usually sleep until 6:00am. Once I moved him to one nap (starting at 11:00 am and now that he's 28 months, he goes down between 12:00 and 12:30pm)he began sleeping through the night because he was SO SLEEPY. It was hard to keep him up until 11:00am at first, but he eventually got the hang of it. Now he goes down at 8:30pm and sleeps until 7:30am (with a 2-3 hour nap) Not Bad!

I would also recommend "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth, M.D. This book changed my life when my son was 6 weeks old. Good luck.

I can't say that I am in the same boat as you... my son started sleeping through the night when he was 8 weeks old. At first just 8hours, then it got progressively longer until he was sleeping anywhere between 10-13 hours a night dependind on how he napped during the day. Well he had a few illnesses over the course of 6 weeks and got out of the habit of sleeping through the night. Now he wakes up at least twice a night and it's driving me nuts. But.... what all of my mom friends and my mom tell me is to just let the kid cry it out. I have actually found that my son seems to know when the baby monitor is on.... During the summer it was a must because I couldn't hear him over the ac units and the fans. But now, I'm pretty sure he can hear himself. I've learned that if I turn the baby monitor in my room off.... he just cries for 5 minutes or so and the whimpers and then ...... blissfule sleep for both of us.
I don't know if it works for you, but maybe you can just shut her door? I know that if my son hears me he wakes up immediately.
Good luck!

Hi M.!
I have twin 5 year old boys and they were not sleepers through the night either. I was also in exhaustion mode.
Finally, after a few trial and errors I got them to sleep through the night.
I made sure that I cut out all sugar after about 5-6 pm.
I made sure that their nap time was very short and early.
I made sure that their activity level was up during the day and that they were not sitting around and watching a bunch of TV all the time. I just turned it off and attempted to get them some toys out that they had to use their imagination with.
I would also try putting her to bed a little later at night and then she would sleep a little longer in the morning. It might take a while for all of this to start working.
Sugar seemed to be a real big thing for my boys it really wound them up.
I have read to my twins, had a night time ritual, and had prayer and talk time before bed since they were born. Usually within 15 minutes they are asleep and if they wake up in the night then usually just me getting up and rubbing their back and comforting them gets them back to sleep.
I hope some of this helps.
You might want to check with your babysitter or daycare to see how long they are sleeping there or how long late they are taking a nap.
I eventually cut out nap time for the twins completely. I finally figured out that they need about 12 hours of activity for them to sleep through the night.

I feel for you. I know I need my sleep. When my daughter was about that age, she was also always wanting to be up with us. Very stubborn. After several attempts at crying it out, here's what finally worked for her.

If she woke up screaming in the middle of the night, I would go get her. All the lights in the house stayed off, no TV, no toys. No stimulation. I would walk her around the dark, quiet house and tell her, "see...everybody went night night." Maybe we would say goodnight to everything. Night night TV. Night night toys. Night night window. Night night fridge. OK, now *baby's name* needs to go night night, too.

In fact even now, at almost 5, when I'm putting her to bed, part of the routine is saying night night to all her grandparents and family.

Not sure if this will work for you, but it worked for us. Analyze what the payoff is for her when she wakes up in the middle of the night. She gets you all to herself? She gets to play? She gets a snack? Whatever it is, stop it and she will likely stop waking up for it.

You might want to have her ears checked for fluid, note if when she lays down she seems uncomfortable, and see if she tends sleep better at an angle (such as when you have her laying on you while you are partially sitting up). The first year of my child's life the entire family was sleep-deprived. She was only getting about 6 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period. Once she had tubes put in she began sleeping and was in a routine sleep pattern within 2 weeks. Although she did not have frequent ear infections, the tubes worked out well. Good luck and know you are not alone!

This sounds like my daughter!! It wasn't until she was 26 mos. that I had finally had it with being sleep deprived. The rocking, up & down all night, and naps being on her schedule. I had tried the 'let her cry' method and she clearly beat me! When I finally had all I could take, I told her that she'd be taking naps at 1:15 in her bed. I know she doesn't know when that is, but it helps me be consistent. We read 2 books, no more or less, and that is it. I leave the room. Some days she cries, but as long as she doesn't leave the room-oh well. Bed time between 9:30 & 10. And then she's up around 7:30. I found that when naptime and bed time was consistent, she started sleeping through the nights and longer. I had to reach my breaking point before I stopped giving in to her. Now I am the parent, the adult, and the one who has the final say.

What about putting her to bed later? If she goes down at 8 then by 4am she has had 8hrs of sleep. That is a full night for some kids.

She could be like my 5 yr old though. No matter when we put him to bed he is up at least a couple of times a week. We find him watching cartoons at odd hours of the morning. He is a night owl like my husband.