9 months old still wakes in the night

Nicole - posted on 07/22/2009

Normal! Breastfed babies often do not sleep 6-8 hours or more a night until closer to 2 yrs. old. Breast milk digests very quickly. Also, Drs. consider sleepign through the night to be 4-6 hours straight, one time in the night, that's all. So your child may be doing that or close to that already. Again, they don't actually sleep what we consider through the night often for quite some time.

My son did not night wean until 18 mo. That's why we started bed sharing at the advice of my OBGYN from 6mo to about 2 yrs. That way he could nurse and I could sleep... although as I said he did night wean around 18mo.

Also, please remember eating solids in the first year is really only about learning and having fun, not nutrition. Children's main source of nutrition still needs to be breast milk or formula in that first year.

Are you sure you are nursing enough in the day. Consider Cluster Feeding of an evening to bulk baby up... nursing every hour for 4-5 hours before bed.

Also, please please please research Babywise if you really are interested in that. After I got and read the book, I had some doubts, so I did research and was shocked at what I found. The author is not a Dr. and there have been MANY cases of failure to thrive when using that method.

Here are some helpful links to help educate yourself:
Non-nutritive sucking, which is a basic need of children:
http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detsuck.ht...

http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detsleepth...

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fus...

Seriously consider bed-sharing. It was a life saver for us and my son is in his own by now, has been since almost 2yrs old and he transitioned painlessly.
Best wishes!

Jeanette - posted on 07/22/2009

Thank-you! It is always good to know you are not alone! He is defiantly hungry and it works for us both and have found renewed hope listening to your story's and feel as though I can keep it up know, it can't be that much longer anyway..right? lol I defiantly agree with you Trudy! Thanks again ladies!

Trudy - posted on 07/22/2009

My daughter is almost 10 months old and still wakes up 2 maybe 3 times in the night to feed. She eats and drinks well during the day and is a very happy baby, so I just think she has got into the habit of waking and wanting comfort in the middle of the night. I tried to leave her crying for 5 mins and then go in and reasure her but it was taking an hour or more! I just find it easier to feed her in her nursery and she goes straight back to sleep after, then we would be both back in bed about 15 mins later, so she wasn't feeding that long and I just thought as she's growing so quickly she's not going to need me for breastfeeding much longer so i'm really enjoying it while I can whether it's middle of the night or not!! But I was speaking to my health visitor about waking in the night and she said that she has only known 1 baby to sleep through the night while breastfeeding in her 8 years of being a HV so I know that she will be waking in the night for quite a few months yet but as I am prepared for that I can deal with it better. As for the lack of sleep, i can get anything from 4 hours to 6 hours a night sleep, it's tiring i know but I have sort of got used to it now and if I have a bad night with her I go to bed early on the night, not much of a social life but i have many years of a social life when she is getting older, like i said while she is still young enough to need me I will be there for her. Every baby is different and you have to do what feels right for you. I know this is not really advice for you but you are definatly not on your own. Good Luck.

Heather - posted on 07/21/2009

My 9 month old still wakes up once a night to eat, and within the last month cut back on his own from waking twice. We're just kind of waiting it out. Everyone is different and any one solution isn't best for all Mommies and their babies - though I have respect for Baby Wise as mentioned below (we actually used part of this method with our first who didn't wake to eat from 3.5 mos on), other Moms feel its not right for them. We have not used this method with our second baby - it just hasn't been practical considering the whole family's well being (the boys share a room and crying it out would not benefit our toddler who greatly needs all the sleep he can get!). Hope you find something that works for you!

Nicole - posted on 07/21/2009

Both my boys woke up during the night to nurse at this age and up to the time they weaned (and at times, way more than twice a night!). Sometimes it was teething, sometimes comfort but mostly I think they were hungry. I say that because some say they shouldn't be hungry. But my boys nursed plenty during the day and consistently ate plenty of solid foods depending on age. They seemed to always be on a growth spurt (both off growth charts for the first year). So it's really hard to give advice when each baby's different as well as each situation. Is he hungry? Is it habit? Teeth? Not nursing enough during the day? Good luck!

Tiffany - posted on 07/21/2009

My daughter woke up once a night from 9 months old until I stopped breastfeeding her a little after 1 year old. Letting my daughter cry it out to go to sleep for the first time at night worked for us, but not mid-night. It was hard and I remember feeling the same way you are. So I don't have a great fix it plan to share with you but I wanted to let you know you are not alone :) Hope this helps!!

Cara - posted on 07/21/2009

He is waking out of need for comfort, not actual need for sustanance. You can try reading the book "baby wise" its an easy read and has some good pointers.

Stefany - posted on 07/21/2009

Well, I just went through this. My DD is 9 months old today and we are JUST NOW getting back to the times of sleeping through the night. She did very well until her teeth started coming in, then she was up 2-3 times per night again. I put her to bed by 8:45 (bath, story, feeding...) and if she wakes, I let her cry it out! it was the WORST thing I ever had to do, but now she'll wake, cry for a few minutes and go right back to sleep!!!

Stefany - posted on 07/21/2009

Well, I just went through this. My DD is 9 months old today and we are JUST NOW getting back to the times of sleeping through the night. She did very well until her teeth started coming in, then she was up 2-3 times per night again. I put her to bed by 8:45 (bath, story, feeding...) and if she wakes, I let her cry it out! it was the WORST thing I ever had to do, but now she'll wake, cry for a few minutes and go right back to sleep!!!