19 months not sleeping all night

Jennifer - posted on 04/05/2011

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions here. We are having the same trouble with our 19 month old and are running out of ideas. She was such a good sleeper until her molars came in. Since then we've been so challenged. Letting her cry seems to just work her up more. Does anyone else have this issue....crying so hard it just seems like they will never stop? She doesn't want to go in her bed and wakes up once at night too. Sometimes the only way to get her back to sleep at night is to give her tylenol - if she is drooling and sucking her thumb vigorously (signs of teething for her).

Kathryn - posted on 04/02/2011

I completely agree! A good bedtime routine and self-settling are the first step. When my boy has gone through not sleeping stages, if I'm sure there's nothing wrong with him (ie.sick, dirty nappy etc) then I just tell him it's bed time I love him and then let him cry it out. First night it may seem like it takes forever but then the 2nd night it's hardly anything and third night he has no problems at all. I do sometimes find that a couple of days later it's like he wants to test me and puts up a fight again - but stay strong and you'll have no troubles. I'm a firm believer that you have to choose your battles with kids - decide if it's really worth the fight or not - but a good sleep is most definitely worth fighting for! Good luck!

Bec - posted on 04/01/2011

Does she go to sleep on her own when she goes to bed at night? If not, she might be having trouble self settling and you'll have to teach her that before she can sleep through the night. Other than that, I had to do the same as Raychel Faulkner suggested (but my son was only 10 months old and cried for up to 2 hours!). It's horrible and takes time, but give it a go! :-)

Connie - posted on 04/01/2011

The best advice I can offer is to develope a routine. For my son, who is 20 months old, I give him his cup of warm milk while I read him a story, then tuck him in his big boy bed with his stuffed puppy, named ears. It may be a bit time consuming, but I feel it is well worth it. My son goes to bed feeling loved and comforted every night and sleeps great! Good luck to you!

Roxy - posted on 04/01/2011

Our daughter is 19 months too,and JUST started sleeping through the night. I asked her doc and she said that w/her kids she would go in at 5 minute intervals.
They would cry she'd go in and NOT pick them up tell them mommy and daddy r here and u r safe,we love u.
She said if they were wet to change them in her crib. She'd do this every 5 mins till they stopped crying,I tried it and it worked!!
It took about 3 nites but it's so worth it!! She now goes down about 7:30-8,and sleeps til about 9! Also I'm 8 months preggers w/our son and I could sure use the extra sleep!!
She does wake up for maybe a minute or two but she finds her binky and goes back to sleep. We're also just giving her the binky at nap and nite!!
Hope this will help you some!

Leezanne Esther - posted on 04/01/2011

mine wakes up as well a couple of times but only to feed, i still dont know how to get her all night wihout eating, but i guess she needs it otherwise she wouldn't be waking up.

Jennifer - posted on 03/31/2011

My 19 month old son just started sleeping through the night in January. I was away for the night with a friend of mine that was having a baby. While I was away that night my husband let our son cry it out when he woke up in the middle of the night. Everyone had told me that's what I was going to have to do but I couldn't bring myself to just let him cry, so my husband did. Ever since that night he goes to bed at 9pm and doesn't wake up till 11am the next morning. Every once in a while he will wake up at 8am but he isn't waking up in the middle of the night now.

Emily - posted on 03/31/2011

I don't have any tips, but if it helps my daughter still gets up once a night on most nights. I just nurse her back to sleep. Not a problem. She won't be like this forever. ;)

Allison - posted on 03/31/2011

My daughter Annabelle wakes up once or twice a night a few nights a week.She's also getting her molars in, and since "sleeping time is her growing time", I believe that could be one reason she awakens. Usually, I go in and tuck her under her blankets, turn on her musical seahorse,pat her back for a minute or two, and she goes back to sleep. Every so often I give her orajel, but she usually goes back to sleep when I tuck her back in, stated above..

Diane - posted on 03/29/2011

It's normal, I'd just put her back to bed.

Patti - posted on 03/29/2011

My daughter also does not sleep through the night. On good nights, she wakes up three times and on bad nights she is awake every half hour! But, hers is most likely due to a medical condition. She has been diagnosed with a bad case of silent acid reflux since she was two months old. She is going to do a sleep study next week to determine whether or not that is what is waking her up of if there is a different sleep related condition as well. So, having said that, my advice to you would be to let your pediatrician know of the problem so that he or she can make sure it is nothing medical. Then, if it is nothing medical, my pediatrician recommended a book called "The No Cry Sleep Solution." I highly recommend it.

Sashell - posted on 03/28/2011

My daughter does the same thing... not every night, but a couple nights a week she will wake up and start screaming. We usually just let her cry it out and she is fine. Maybe try a nightlight if you don't have one. Or we have one of those things that lights up the ceiling and plays music, she falls asleep to it and if she wakes up at night and cries for too long we go in there, turn it on, and sooth her a little (put her blanket back over her, give her her bear and tell her its ok). You might also try leaving a soft toy or two in there for her to play with when she does wake... that might also keep her occupied for a little when she wakes up in the morning before you. Good luck!

Terri - posted on 03/25/2011

My son is doing the same thing...Most of the time we would just let him cry it out but other times we would give him his cup (if he would even take it) and his favorite "buddy" and he would be asleep again within 10 min. Some other times he thinks it's a good idea to wake up at 5a and want to play, then its a little harder to get him back to sleep and most of the time he wont go back to sleep. 8/

Lyndsey - posted on 03/24/2011

My 19 month old son was sleep trained at 4 months and goes through times periodically where he will wakeup once or twice during the night every few months and this is another one of those times. He seems to be waking up two or three times a nights and fusses and says mama or daddy for a few minutes just to see if we are listening than lies back down and goes to sleep. we only go to his room if he is asking for food and if I know he didnt eat much at dinner but i take the snack in his room and rock with him while he eats and he goes straight to bed. We have a 2 month old as well so I cant be up and down all night for two kids. He is a big boy now and knows that when its dark out it is time to stay in bed. We used the cry it out method when he was little...super hard to do but it really is worse for us than them. your daughter knows without a shadow of a doubt that you love her and she will know that when you come to get her in the morning it is time to get up. If you let he cry it out and it gets rough i suggest turning on a tv or some music in your room so that you cant hear her. It took 45 minutes the first time i decided to let him cry but it only took 30minutes the second and 15 the next and after that he has slept through the night for the most part ever since. Overall, you are mom and you do what you know is right for your own baby and i hope you get some good advice!

Ramona - posted on 03/24/2011

My son is 19 months and just recently cut his "wake up calls" down to once a night, sometimes it isnt until 3.4.5 am but he still wakes up. I would do the best I can just to lay him back down and leave the room, if that doesnt help try to let him cry it out. I know its hard but it will not cause him any harm.

Blackwood - posted on 03/21/2011

Sorry, I don't have any tips, my son is 19 months and is up at nite, I'm now just trying to sleep train and it's trying, Last nite both of us were crying. I sit in his room beside his crib and let him know I'm there, but I don't pick him up like I normally would. I would rock him back to sleep and I really don't mind, but I have a baby coming in October and would like to have him beable to fall asleep on his own. I know at least 2 other moms and thier 19 plus month olds do not sleep through the nite. I think it's the number one concern for parents. Best of luck.

Raychel - posted on 03/20/2011

My son was the same way and we just finally had to let him cry it out. He would only cry for 5-10 minutes and he would go back to sleep on his own. If it got over 15 minutes we would go in there and calm him down but we never got him out of his bed. He had to stay in it and not be held. And after about 4 nights of this he now sleeps the whole night.