Sleeping thru the Night?

Vee - posted on 12/03/2009

All this talk of molars... uh oh! We got our daughter on a routine about 2 months ago. After dinner, we start turning off some lights and if the TV or iPod are on, they go off. Nice warm bath, then we finish "Good Night House Time" by turning off ALL the rest of the lights. We cuddle and soothe her to sleep. Both dad and I are consistent with it. I find she sleeps better if she eats very well. I find she eats better if the TV is on - she gets distracted.

Beth - posted on 12/03/2009

My son is 16 months and seems to go in spurts of good and bad sleep. We also recently gave up the pacifier. I've tried everything from rocking, bedtime drinks, bedtime routines, sleeping with him in the spare room, rubbing his head and letting him cry it out. After too many sleepless nights, I generally opt for a set bedtime routine (bath, book, bed by 8) and only pick him up to change him...otherwise letting him cry it out. Every so often he has a crying spell that goes for more than 20 minutes and unfortuantely in those cases I end up sleeping with him in the spare room...though I wouldn't really call it sleep! So frustrating! but hang in there!!

Janee - posted on 11/27/2009

I am also a single mom, student and have a full time job, so I can't wake up from her every night, It totally throughs off the schedule. I usually get up if she wakes up and just lay her down again, give her her soother and blankie, no eye contact, absolutely no talking. If she needs a change I change her and put her straight back in bed. I do let her come in my bed on Sunday mornings but she doesn't get to sleep in it. Just lay and look at books. She used to sleep in my bed all the time. I stopped when I started college again and I have never had a fuss from her besides the first 2 nights

I have a rountine at night, she eats around 5:30 and then plays with "special toys" for about 30 minutes, then a bath, a book, a bottle, and bed. She knows the order and will ask for her toys, bath, and bottle at the right times.

she is also 15 months, we are in the same boat and I know how busy it can be. It's important to set that routine so she knows you will play with her and do the routine with her, but that at night she can be a big girl and sleep in her own bed.

Good luck and keep up the good work. It's tough but it's worth it to have a happy slept out baby in the morning. :)

Casey - posted on 11/18/2009

my son is 15 months old too and I have never had to much of a problem with him sleeping through the night, if you can put her in he own room then do it and try to avoid having her in bed with you as it just creates another bad habbit, and yes the other mums are right you need to get her into a good routine my son wakes up at 8am and then goes back to bed at 12pm (after eating lunch and having a bottle) then he usually wakes up at 3pm and we put him down for the night (after dinner, bath and bottle) at 8pm and occasionally he will wake through the night and when he does I will go in there but I won't pick him up or talk to him or even make eye contact with him, he only gets a sip of water and then I lay him back down and give him back his dummy. I also found getting a cheap cd player and a cd with lullabies on and playing it very softly when they are going to bed helps and if they wake up settle them back down and put the music back on. goodluck with everything and hang in there, it can't be easy being young, a student and a mum........your doing a good job!!!

Lindsay - posted on 11/17/2009

My daughter went through the same thing. I did what our parents did with us. I give her her last cup of milk about an 30 minutes before she goes to bed then we brush our teeth and change her so she won't be wet through the night. When she was getting up I would leave her be and let her cry. I just sat outside the door and listened. The first night it was about 20 minutes then she calmed herself and went back to bed the next night didn't take so long each night the crying spell grew shorter. It took about a week total. now in the rare chance she does wake up I can hear her playing but she doesn't fuss. and within a couple of minutes she goes back to sleep. Don't give them milk it or go get them it just creates a habit. Most the time thats why they still get up at night just out of habit. If you know they got enough to eat for dinner and are not sick, just let them work themselves through it. I always went to get my son and put him in bed with us and let me tell you that is still a habit I am trying to break at almost 4. I learned from him what not to do. It really sucks sitting there listening to them cry but it works. If they are teething give them motrin before bed not tylenol. Motrin is a better pain reliever. try to keep them up until about 9 but not to much earlier or to much later.

Loretta - posted on 11/13/2009

I think some babies just don't sleep through until they are much older. Friends of mine has a baby that started sleeping through at 12 weeks! Some of us are just not that lucky. I even tried sleep training - nothing works!

Tania - posted on 11/12/2009

My son was sleeping through the night until his 4 molars starting coming in. So now when he wake up at 1-4am and patting on the bum just gets him angrier, I end up on the couch with him....there isn't enough room in bed for him and my husband and I would kick hubbie out if I could wake him up in the middle of the night! haha
I'm just waiting and waiting for the night that his molars and in and he sleeps all night and I wake up feeling well rested!

Sharalyn - posted on 11/12/2009

Feed her food before she goes to bed, give her a nice warm bath, a relaxing lotion massage, sing to her, rock her so she calms down and put on some lullaby music. my daughter sleeps through the night when it plays all night. Be sure to get something like classical music that you know won't drive you up the wall. If she continues, change her diapers, give her a little water to drink and put her back to bed. If she fusses, oh well. Mama needs her rest.

Kylee - posted on 11/11/2009

My 14 month old daughter also has never slept through the night. She sleeps with us. I am dreaming of the day that she will.

Corina - posted on 11/11/2009

Is your daughter in her own bedroom if not try doing so leaving only a night light on this may help her sleep and also as other mums hav mentioned keeping to a strict routine

Alizbeth - posted on 11/09/2009

My son does not sleep through the night, never has. He is sleeping longer though. I think it is just who he is. One day it will happen. It will freak me out, but I can't wait.

Katherine - posted on 11/08/2009

My son is the same way. He's never slept through the night (okay, once he clocked 5 hours, but never again), and he sleeps with us as well. One book I've had highly recommended to me is The No Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers. Don't worry too much about her sleeping in your bed, if it's not bothering you. I promise she'll grow out of it. :)

One thing I've learned with my son is that sleep promotes sleep. The less of a nap he gets, the worse he sleeps. Make sure she's getting one or two good naps a day, and it should help her out some. Also, get her outside (or have her sitters do it) and run her around for a least an hour a day. Days when we get out to the park are better sleep days than those we're stuck inside.

Nicole - posted on 11/08/2009

Do you have a routine? I have twins so they have been on a routine since they were born. They get a bath every night, book, then i cuddle with both of them and sing a night time song. I turn on lullby music. That is on all night. My daugther has here times where she can wake up in the middle of the night. Sometimes it take a couple of hours to get her to go back to sleep.

Sonia - posted on 11/08/2009

She has just gotten her 4 molars recently, but she has never since birth slept through the night, occasionally a few times, but never reacurring. I usually just bring her in bed with me, cause i'm a single 19 year old student mom, and waking up to put her back to sleep is exhausting, so that could be why she's waking up, to come sleep in my bed. So maybe it's my fault?

My doctor suggested that I move her into a seperate room, (cause being 19 with school and a baby i still live at home), and everytime she's wake up, go into her room, lay her down and pat her stomach till she stopped crying, without picking her up, then step outside the room, if she cried wait 3 min then do it again, then step outside and wait 5 min. Some times it took up to 2 hours to get her back to sleep, and when that didn't work, he suggested that i sleep with a blanket one night, then put it in her crib with her, or put the shirt i was wearing in there with her, so that she'd think i was there, that didn't work, the he suggested leave a water and milk bottle so that if the milk was upsetting her she could grab for the water, or vise vera.

So far nothing has worked, she won't even sleep through the night when she doesn't take a nap the day before.

Elyse - posted on 11/07/2009

We give our daugher a bottle before bed so she sleeps through the night. Sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night but unless she's crying hysterically for more than 10 minutes she usually goes back to sleep on her own. Most of the time she will only wake in the middle of the night if she lost her pacifier or needs a diaper change.

Sally - posted on 11/07/2009

Is she waking up for a feed? How lon does she stay awake for?



My son was sleeping through beautifully until a couple of months ago when 4 molars decided to come through at the same time. He would then wake between 1-4am and I could NOT get him to go back to sleep unless I brought him into bed with us. Then of course it became a habit for him, which we have been trying to break over the last 2 weeks. We've brought his cot into our bedroom, right next to my side of the bed. This way, if he stirs, I can settle him without having to get up myself, or without him waking up properly. He has now stopped stirring much at all, and has stayed in his cot every night for the past two weeks! Yay! They say it takes three weeks to form/change a habit, so in another week we will move him back into his own bedroom and see how he goes. Would something like that be worth trying with your daughter?



What methods has your doctor suggested?