Sleepless Nights

The only advice I have is don't go in there. Unless she sounds distressed, going in there is probably just going to make her stay up longer. If she's falling back to sleep I wouldn't worry aboutit too much. We all have sleep cycles and hers are just off right now, it will probably correct itself if you don't do anything, like letting her expect you to come see her. Good luck!

Hi P.,
I hate to tell you this, but maybe the reason she is getting up is more of an attention getting act than a sleeping problem. The first time she woke up may have been for a specific reason, ie. a nightmare or teething problem. However, because of your reaction, such as changing her diaper, giving her a binky ect. she realized that you would come to her if she woke up at night and give her extra attention. Not to say that you are not giving her enough during the day, just that she enjoys the extra given to her at night. You may have to lay down the law. Letting her cry it out for a few nights will probably let her know that she is responisble for putting herself to sleep. I read somewhere that babies and toddlers wake up several times a night. I know that my son does, I hear him in his bed talking in the middle of the night. Even though they wake up, they need to learn to fall back to sleep. I know that letting them "cry it out" is impossible, my experiance is minimal and only applies to my son. He was very colicky as a baby and I would only put him to be asleep for the first 6 months. I finally did something called "sleep coaching" I read about it in Baby Talk magazine and I saw a segement on Dr. Phil about it. I believe it was from a book called "Good Night, Sleep Tight." I do not really remember the name of the Author. I spent 7 nights sleep coaching my son and now I do not hear from him from 7 or 7:30 at night until 6:30 or 7 in the morning. This from a child who was still waking a couple of times a night at 6 months. You should check out the book. Something else critical is the time of night that you put your daughter to bed. 8:30 or 9 may be too late. You may be missing your daughters sleepy window. Remember, letting her "cry it out" for a few "sleepless" nights may be worth it, you'll be sleeping a lot better within a week.

My daughter (1 yr.) sometimes cries out in the night, but it is just once, for a second, and then she is back to sleep. Are you waiting to go in her room until you know she is definitely awake? Is she crying when she wakes up, or is she just awake? My daughter was waking up in the middle of the night just beside herself because of teething, and the only thing that worked was to give her tylenol and a bottle of cold water with a slow flow nipple to suck on. Is she getting fed/milk pretty close to bedtime? You may want to try putting her to bed with a full belly. You could try white noise, like the hum of a humidifier, because that may help her stay in a deeper sleep. What about trying tylenol when you first put her to bed? Could she have an ear infection? If you know everything is okay, and she is just fussy, not crying hard, you may have to leave her alone and let her get herself back to sleep. If you try all of the above suggestions and she still isn't sleeping, you may want to take her to the doctor and make sure you're not missing something- ear infection, sinus infection, cold, who knows? It would be worth a shot if the other things don't work. Best wishes.

Hi P.,

What is your 15-month-old's behavior at 2am? Nightmares are possible. Does she watch any movies/television in the last couple of hours before she goes to bed? Have any new foods been introduced? It could be stomach aches/gas. Does she eat anything in the last couple of hours before she goes to sleep?

I would call the pedicatrician for a check-up. Tell them what's going on, and see if they can find any medical reason behind it. If not, your 15-month-old just has to learn to stay in bed and go back to sleep on her own. I know that's probably not what you want to hear, since that will take a lot of effort on your part. You can also ask your pediatrician if reducing or removing the midday nap might improve her night time sleep.

At about the same age, my daughter had trouble sleeping at night. She was taking a midday nap that lasted about the same as your daughter's. My daughter didn't have trouble sleeping as long as someone was holding her, which meant she was in an upright position. The pediatrician thought she had acid reflux. She spent a few months taking zantac with no improvement. I discontinued the medication--still no change. I finally started to cut out her naps, and she started sleeping better through the night.

I hope I've helped.
-J.

Have you tried using lavender and chamiemele bubble bath in lukewarm water then rub with a mint lotion to help her breath better.If she still wakes up rub her back and talk very soothingly to her after about 10 to 15 minutes she should go back out for you.Don't worry your not the only mom that this happens to I have a 7 year old that does this to me to the only difference is he keeps me up for anywhere from 2 to 4 hours after he wakes up and I'm up at 6:30 to get ready to put them on buses for school.

My son went through the same thing at around the same age. I never did figure out why he was waking up in the middle of the night, but it lasted about 2 weeks and then he was sleeping through the night again. People told me that it was just a phase that they go through sometimes. When he woke up, we just took him in our arms and rocked him back to sleep, and set him back in his crib. I know how you feel as a full time working mom...all I can say is just to hang in there and this will pass.

It is actually very normal for kids to wake up like this during growth and development. First, do NOT give her tylenol unless she is actually ill. Give her a sippy cup of water, some toys, and some soft music. Read Dr. Sears book on Attachment Parenting. This will probably not last long. Best wishes for your night owl!

When my daughter was about this age, she would do the same thing. What we did was to not go in unless she was very upset (crying & screaming - not just a whining/whimper). It's normal for little ones to wake up during the night and they need to learn to put themselves back to sleep. If she is crying profusely, then definitely go in there to comfort her. But keep any interaction to a minimum so that she's not "rewarded" for getting up in the middle of the night. I'm sure that soon she'll be back to sleeping through the night! Good luck!

Wow, I was going to post almost the identical situation today! I have a 17 mo boy who goes to bed at 8:00 sleeps till about 3:00 and stays up about an hour. I too have tried Motrin, rocking him, letting him cry it out. Nothing is working. He is my only child but I also work and have to be up at 5:40. And it's the strangest thing, my husband can't hear him cry even though my son is right across the hall from us;) I have no advice for you but I want you to know you�re not the only one going thru this. I will be checking back to see what advice others may have.

Well she could be going through a growth spurt, but this has worked for me and other mothers I've talked to when their kid gets up way too early or wakes in the middle of the night at this age. Just leave her in there. If she cries check on her to make sure everything is ok but don�t pick her up and leave her in there until she falls asleep again on her own. Maybe something woke her up the first night she did this and when you came and got her she of course liked being out of bed so the next night she thought she could do it again. I doubt it�s a growth spurt at this age, she needs to be taught again that night time is for sleep and not play. You may have to let her cry for a little bit, but trust me she'll be a better sleeper for it.