Sleeping Through the Night - Oakdale, CA

I know that it is hard. But they grow really fast. Enjoy it and try brushing his teeth more often!!

Try putting water in his sippy cup or get rid of the cup all together. Also, do not pick him up. Right know he is getting exactly what he wants. It might be rough for a few days but time to get a good night sleep!

I have 4 children ages 4 - 13 and am a stay-at-home mom. Good luck

Hi G.,

I have a 5 1/2 year old son who didn't sleep through the night until he was 18 months old and now he wakes up at least once and comes into our bed.

At 13 months, I wouldn't worry about it....as I have learned, this too shall pass ! maybe try water in the sippy cup instead of water,but I wouldn't worry so much ... remember that your son will be grown and out of the house soon, so enjoy it!

P.S. it could just be that he needs to be comforted by you in the night and you are providing him with a foundation of trust and love

Hi G.,
You might try just before bedtime milk/bottle and maybe a light snack(Banana 1/4,Couple of crakers,a few bites of oatmeal) that will hold him through the night. It sounds like he wakes up because he's a little hungry. I know our daughter used to wake up until we started giving her a bottle just before bed and she sleeps really sound through the night. Hope this helps. Blessings~

Give him water. He won't like it much either over time. Sad? Yes. Get used to it? In time. Best of luck to you.

I had similar situation with my 2 and a half year old and at 12 months decided to cut out the middle of the night nursings. It was one or two nights of hell with her screaming, poor baby, and then a couple more nights of just crying once or twice for a few minutes, and then she slept through the night for the most part after that. I also have a 9 month old that I nurse several times a night and will probably do the crying it out thing around 12 months too. I (actually my husband) would go in and pat her on the back after a couple minutes, then after 5 min, then after 10 and so on and the first couple nights were horrible, but it did work! Good luck!

As painful as it is, let him cry, cry, cry. I did it. It's terrible, but not as terrible as it would be if my daughter never learned to fall asleep without me or a cup of milk. Literally, they will continue to need that for as long as you offer it...5 years, 10 years.... Talk to your doctor. I talked to mine at every appt and he kept telling me to do it. I finally tried it continuously for 5 days and on only the 3rd night she slept through and has never woken again. It's been 5 months and we're all so much happier and well rested.

I found a great book called Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night - the no-cry sleep solution. It is such a great and informative book that actually helps you to understand why this is happening and how to correct it in no time. I would suggest reading it!!

L. C

maybe he is not getting enough to eat during the day and he is waking up hungry (since he takes the milk when he wakes up). have you tried feeding him right before he goes to bed?

Put water in the cup and do not pick him up. It may take a few nights but it worked for me some 40+ yrs ago. Hop it works for you.
B.

My DH and I experienced the same when our son was 14 months and still not sleeping through. As a night postpartum doula, I figured, he'd be sleeping at least a 10-hour block. I refered to many books I have, even consulted with a few colleagues. What your parenting approach is determines how you will proceed with this. We were comfortable with Attached Parenting- (AP) and with this, we just kept going in there and we also realized he'd do this more for comfort and to just know he'd have us available around the clock. Bad dream? Sepration anxiety? Not sure, but now at 20 months, he goes to bed at 6pm and wakes at 5-6am without waking 98% of the time. If you opt for a more aggressive approach, the Ferber Method (Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems by Richard Ferber M.D.) says you can resolve this by 3-4 days/nights.

Hi G.! First of all, I would take the milk away completely . The milk isn't good for his teeth. I had the same problem with my daughter and I replaced it with water. Second of all, you should never take him out of his bed as it forces him to be awake. Go into his room, and quietly rub his back and don't let him get up. It will work if you stay consistent :-) Good luck to you! Christine

Sounds like he's in a "habit" of waking up --so the question is, how much do you need the sleep? In other words..if you're fine waking up several times (doesn't sound like it) you can hope the problem resolves on its own.

However, if you're ready to have him sleep on his own through the night...then I'd suggest sleep training --which to say basically is..stop going to him when he wakes up even if he cries for a while. You can gradually do this by first --waking up with him but not giving him anything to drink (just comfort) then after a couple of days, go to him...just pat/hug him (don't pick him up) and finally, let him cry it out. Many people don't like the cry it out approach...but truly it works and the children learn that you are there for them, but night time is for sleeping.
As as my pediatrician said to me...its up to parents to teach children how to sleep through the night (w/exceptions of course) and it will him children feel better all day long if they can (for the most part) get uninterrupted sleep at night. Good luck!

It has become a habbit for him. My 12 month old does the same thing but he actually drinks the whole bottle. You know your baby's crys and what they mean so as long as you know there is nothing wrong with him, let him cry it out until he falls back asleep. It will be tough and will probably take a couple of nights but it will work. You will break his habit. If he were under a year old then I wouldn't recommend it because you are still developing the trust bond but he is old enough now. Good Luck and here is to a good nights sleep.

Does he a a comfort object? If he doesn't, you should start your bedtime routine with one. A certain blankie or stuffed animal. At 13 months you shouldn't be afraid to let him try to soothe himself. Five days can break any habit. I know it is hard but it is worth it! I just did it with my son.

G.,
This is my first time ever to respond on this site, but my heart goes out to a sleep deprived M.. I totally believe in a book I was given before my first baby was born. It has worked for all 3 of my kids. THey were sleeping through the night by 12 weeks old--believe it!!(you can start the method by 6-8 weeks old) They continue to be great sleepers. The book teaches YOU how to teach your little one to soothe himself to sleep -no bottle or sippy- just lots of love and patience. It works!! It is not about letting him scream to sleep. And, I don't believe in the mumbo jumbo that children need to sleep with you for comfort. THey need to comfort themselves and they need you to teach them how. It is miraculous how it really works. I have numerous friends that have been in your situation and now they are firm believers of this method. In fact I loaned out the book to a dear friend just yesterday. Sooooo...here is the name of the miracle book Sleeping Through The Night- How Infants, Toddlers ANd Their Parents Can Get A Good Night's Sleep by Jodi A.Mindell PhD. It has great advice and case studies of frazzled, sleep deprived parents and how the doctor helped their individual situation. Good Luck and may you get some uninterrupted ZZZZZZZ's soon!! God Bless! Just to let you know how bedtime/naptime is for my 17mo. old. I lay him down wide awake and say good night..M. loves you. ANd he looks up at me and smiles and turns his head and goes right to sleep and doesn't wake til' it's time to get up. This too can be you.....go get the book!

It may take a while because by now your son has become aware of what he can and can't get away with. He knows if he cries at night you will come and you will provide milk. He most likely is not hungry but he wants your comfort. You need to teach him that night time is for sleeping and he needs to learn how to fall asleep on his own. You can ween him from it all. Slowly take away what you are doing until he is able to sleep on his own. I started this at 2 months old and it took a while but he sleeps through the night. We had to cry it out.. He would only cry for a short period of time although it seemed like forever. I read a book called Baby Wise.. it is really helpful, plus they have baby wise II for the older children.

I am a first time mom of a nine month old boy

My 19 month old still doesn't sleep through the night! He wakes up between two and five times a night to nurse!! I don't know what to do either.
My older son did that with a sippy cup when he was little, too. Make sure to brush his teeth in the morning and he should be fine. That's all people really worry about, I think, the cavities. My son didn't get any.
Hang in there.

Every child is different. My daughter (now 5) slept through early on and is still a great sleeper, my son now 3, always a horrible sleeper, still climbs into bed with us in the middle of the night and occassionally requires a milk to help him. My advice is do what you need to do for everyones sanity. The books and Dr's all have their own recipe, but your little guy is still really little. I feel bad for my son as I tried all the recipes instead of figuring out what he needed. It may have helped us all more in the end, if I had just relaxed a bit more. Hope some of this helps.

Do not give him milk or feed him right before bed. He is trained to associate sleeping with feeding. Let him learn to fall asleep on his own. Do it for 1-2 weeks, I bet he will sleep through the night. Its harder for Mom to break the habit. Check out babycenter.com