sleeping advice

Stephanie - posted on 08/03/2010

I have the same problem with my 9 month old. Up until about a month ago he slept through the night every night. Now its like hes a month old again, waking up every two hours. I really think its because hes having a growth spurt. He went from eating 6oz when he has a bottle to eating 8oz. He also eats more food during the day now. I do believe your baby may be waking up during the night for the same reason. Hes probably just more hungry then usual. Im trying to feed him more during the day and then give him more formula before bed. Hopefully that will help.

Tiffany - posted on 08/02/2010

We have my daughter on a good schedule right now, and finally down to one nap a day. She goes to bed at 9:00PM, sleeps until 7:00AM and naps from 12PM to 3PM every day, give or take by a half hour. Only other times she naps is if we're in the car. Your son may just not be tired enough because of both naps or he could be teething. If he is just fussing a bit, try rubbing his back to get him to calm down and put him back down in his crib. We do the same ritual every night, and it has worked with us. My daughter has slept through the night since she was 3 months old except when teething or when sick. Sometimes we have to get up if she can't find her bink, but we have started letting her try to get herself back to sleep without it. We also always leave the fan running in her room, because she sleeps much better with some light noise. Maybe that would help if you had something running in the room that made light noise.

Cheryl - posted on 08/01/2010

Zacharius is not much of a napper either but he is impossible to get to sleep when he is over tired. He still wakes up a few times during the night for a bottle.

Molly - posted on 08/01/2010

I can recommend a great book...Healthy Sleep habits, happy child.
My daughter seeps 13 hours every night. (with 1 awakening) She seeps from 8pm to 9 am and wakes around 4:30 for a feed. She naps only twice a day and usually only for 40 minutes each time.Not more. Every child is so different. Also see if there is anything in his room that would be wakening him...That's al I ahve for you. Hope it helps.

Naomi - posted on 07/30/2010

My son has been sleeping through since 5months and is now almost 10months, he wakes around 7am, then naps again at 9.30-10ish for 1.5hrs usually. He will then have just 30mins in the afternoon but i have recently stopped that nap being any later than 3pm as he was fighting sleep at bedtime, bedtime is 7.30pm. I agree with others that you could try adjusting the last nap time and lengthening the time you allow him to feed at night, he doesn't need it so won't harm it. I think you need to train him to a new routine, it does feel like you're always trying to stay one step ahead!!

Monique - posted on 07/29/2010

My son will be 9 months on the 30th and up until maybe a month ago I had the same problem. I beleive that when he is ready to sleep through the night, he will. I think as parents we try to force things and sometimes when you just let go it will happen. My son also takes long naps, some kids just need more sleep. He is up at 7 and naps from 9 to 12, then back down at 2:30-3 for another hour and a half.



I say if he wants a bottle, give him one. He must be hungry. When he is ready, he will sleep on his own. No adult still wakes up every 2 hours to eat right?



Hope this helps

Engie - posted on 07/28/2010

Try warming up his last milk or you can also try some Anis Tea! It will soothe him and put him right out. While at the sitter, my son will barely take any naps but on the weekends or when I take a day off from work he'll nap 2-3 times during the day for about 3 hours at most. Once bed time comes he'll drink his last bottle and sleep throughout the night without a prob.

Lindsey - posted on 07/28/2010

hiya my baby girl is 9months and for the last two months she has been sleeping badly wakin up alot at night and i didnt know this but it was due to her teethin i now think iv sortted our little problem out to help her sleep thru night again at night after her bath i rub baby rub on her chest n back then i rub her gums with calgel then i give her calpol then i give her a bottle then i put her down about 6.30-7pm she will thn wake most mornings at 6.30am althou if pooed she wakes at 5.30am arggg and wont go bk to sleep.. whn she wakes at 6.30am she will sit in the middle of me n my hubby till about 7am watchin tv then have weetabix then at 8.30-9am she will have her morning bottle n go for a nap till about 10.30-11am then she will have her dinner at 12pm she no longer has afternoon bottle.. then at 1-2pm she will go for a nap again till about 2.30-3pm then at 4pm she will have her dinner and still no bottle after then at 6pm it is bath time then bed at 7pm with her nightly bottle... i stopped her afternoon bottle because she just didnt want it anymore she has never been a great milk drinker and she was also 6wk premmie so i think she does very well.. im so glad i now have her teethin problem sortted it was gettin to much for her to cope with... my daisy is so head strong she will only do what she wants which can be hard for me but i do get there with her in the end lol.... xxx

Brandy - posted on 07/28/2010

My son is almost 10 months old and he wakes up at about 7 and down for a nap about 930-10. sleeps for an hour. then takes another nap about 3pm for another hour. 3 hours to me would be the absolute most. My son also has last bottle around 8 and is asleep around 830. for the most part he usually sleeps through the night, but sometimes up once or earlier then 7. I did have to do sleep training with him at about 6 months though.it helped a lot but still wakes once in a while but usually when he is teething.

Michelle - posted on 07/28/2010

3-4 hours of naps a day probably isn't needed. He can probably do without an 1 hour or so. If he naps closer to early evening, try to cut that out so he is tired for actual bedtime. All the best.

Arlene - posted on 07/28/2010

I've cut my son's morning nap to about half an hour (11 -11.30) then he sleeps from 2 -4 in the afternoon. he goes to bed at 8 and sleeps most of the night now ........ we're weaning him off the bottle at night at the minute. he sometimes sleeps thru the night completely... about 40% of the time , and when he wakes in the morning its at 8.30 ish.

so i would recommend shortening the amount of time he sleeps during the day. it worked for us. it was only tough the first 2 days then he quickly adapted to his new routine.

Good luck !

Lauren - posted on 07/27/2010

I too, think that 3-4 hours worth of naps is a lot for a 9 month old. My son naps 1-2 hours total per day, and about 10 hours total at night. He is capable of sleeping all night- went 10 hours straight 2 nights ago. It's my personal belief that babies want to sleep through the night, and if they are able to do so, that's what they'll do. If they are not hungry or scared or uncomfortable, I think they will keep on sleeping.

We tried CIO for awhile, and it helped a bit. I'm not willing to sit in my bedroom crying because I feel like a bad mother listening to my son cry his heart out- imagining the red wet face, possible spit-up, etc... I know it works fine for some moms, I just can't do it myself, so I can relate Candice :)

What works for our son a good deal of the time is to go to his crib, not talk, not pick him up, just stand there and pat his bottom. He'll stop crying, rub his face on the mattress for awhile, and drift back to sleep in a matter of minutes. This works typically, unless he didn't get enough to eat that day and is really hungry. Plus it teaches him to fall back to sleep in his crib, but more humanely than crying it out.

Candice - posted on 07/27/2010

CIO is CRYING IT OUT. Basically you let them cry to sleep. As I've said I'm against it and i feel that it serves no purpose. but as the other mom who is having issue with my words (in my opinion, if you believe whole heartedly in what you are doing then you have no need to defend yourself) some think differently.
There is a difference between letting baby fall asleep on t's own and listening to them cry for hours on end, hoping they will finally become to exhausted from having an emotional break down and succum to sleep.

Tiffany - posted on 07/27/2010

The best piece of advice I have ever been givin is to do what works for you!!! Only you know what your baby needs!!! So do what feels right for both of you!!! Good luck with everything, :)

Selena - posted on 07/27/2010

What's CIO?

I waited til my baby was about 6 months old and started to let him go to sleep on his own. He has a good night time routine, bath, bottle and story. I then put him in his cot and he goes to sleep on his own. He sometimes cries a little but he is not distressed, when he is overtired his cry is a bit louder. As he knows how to get to sleep on his own, if he wakes up during the night he can go back to sleep on his own. There's a difference to the cries as others have said, but in the end you haver to do what you feel comfortable with. We still use dummies which some people are against but my baby likes it and is comforted with it and now he can find it himself so I am happy for him to have it to go to sleep.
I think the thing that helped me was getting a good day time and bed time routine, then my baby became calmer and easier to go to sleep on his own.

Oh and at first I would pat him but didn't pick him up, then I would just go in and tuck him in again.

Candice - posted on 07/26/2010

The thing is.. My son IS distressed in the middle of the night. He wakes up and you can TELL right away that he's very scared. so for me to leave him to cry IS TORTURE for him.

I bring him to bed with me and he's good until he's hungry, to which i nurse him in bed and we are back to sleep with in minutes (he dream nurses)



CIO DOES NOT WORK FOR MY CHILDREN, i will not subject them to it when i know for a fact it doesn't work for them.



Now, Is this over? cuz I'm tired of trying to be civil.



Oh and I'm in Canada... just to clarify for tiffany

Tiffany - posted on 07/26/2010

Hi, i assume u guys are from America, I live in Australia my baby nurse recomends letting baby cry for 2 mins then go back and settle, when baby wakes again let them cry for 5 mins and settle, if they wake again, let them cry for 15 mins etc... If your still having after a couple of days, it could definately be teething, my son was having trouble teething for about 4 months before you could see anything happening.if it is teeth, I have found that panadol works really well and also teething tablets called hylands teething relief which are herbal..
We also are told that babies should not need any feeds through the night after 12 weeks.
Good luck...
Sleep problems are really tough

Anika - posted on 07/26/2010

You could argue that feeding your baby to sleep is cruel too. Your son is having a nice lovely feed with mummy and then suddenly wakes up in a dark room wondering where mummy has disappeared too. He cries and you come in to comfort him reinforcing that his bed is a scary place that you need to save him from. You soothe him and then when he's asleep you put him back in, giving him mixed messages. If you've already reinforced to him that this is the scary place, then why do you keep disappearing and leaving him here? He then gets harder to soothe because he doesn't know when you're suddenly going to disappear. You're creating a child who's fearful, confused and distrustful.
Meanwhile, my baby knows her cot is her safe place for sleep. I put her in awake, tell her night night and she settles herself. Every now and then she might cry to tell me that she'd rather be with me, but it's usually no longer than 5 minutes and she then settles herself off for a nice long sleep. When she wakes up 11 hours later, she plays quietly in her bed until I hear her babbling away. When I go in, she's happy and smiles. No crying, no fear. She knows that bed is for sleep and that after she's had a sleep mum (or dad) will reappear and get her up.
To get her to this stage, I didn't leave her screaming hysterically in her bed. It was a gradual process where I learnt to listen and interpret her cries-distinguishing between "I'm not happy about this" and "I'm sick/really scared/hungry/cold/hot" etc.
I know which method I'd prefer if I was a baby.

Selena - posted on 07/26/2010

At 9 months babies should be having about 11-12 hours sleep at night and then 2-3 hours during the day (2 sleeps of about 1-1.5 hours).
You need to rule out any health/medical reason for your baby waking such as teething as was mentioned.
I let my baby cry a little, as long as he wasn't distressed.

Janda - posted on 07/26/2010

Naps works at different times for different people. My son sleeps from 3:00 until 5:00pm and goes to bed again at 8:00pm. He has been on this routine for almost 3 months.
If your baby continuously wake up in the night, he may be hungry. I have been giving the last bottle of formula as late as I could, just before we went to bed, (in my son's sleep if he isn't awake) with 10g babyrice mixed in. You would need to use a easyflow teat on the bottle, though if your baby finds it hard to drink it.
If baby wakes up later, only offer water, maybe he is thirsty. Some babies would drink every time you offer them, but not necessarily need the milk.

Candice - posted on 07/26/2010

ugh... Whatever.
I disagree with CIO completely and WHOLEHEARTEDLY! Tending to my child's needs in fore most in my mind and heart. and when he cries because he needs me, i will tend to him and i will not allow him to cry. I feel that by doing this i am creating a child who will feel that he is heard, understood and loved. But this is my opinion ONLY. Take what i say as you like it.

Sally - posted on 07/26/2010

This is the reason I personally would never use CIO.
CIO was invented in the US in the 1950's because babies shouldn't be allowed to "manipulate their parents". The more study is done into how babies think and feel the more it looks like it just might be torturing babies to use this method. The jury is still out on conclusive proof, but I'm not taking the risk with my little ones.
If CIO works for you, well we all do things with our kids that other moms don't like. I'm sure there are many things I do with my children that you would consider torture.

Anika - posted on 07/25/2010

Stating "I believe that babies don't just cry for no reason and to leave them alone to cry to sleep is like locking a closterphobic in a small dark closet." is insinuating that people are torturing their babies. Damn right that pissed me off. Let's keep advice positive and helpful instead of trashing other parent's parenting styles.

Candice - posted on 07/25/2010

I never intended to make anyone feel bad. It's my opinion.. that's why i said "I BELIEVE..." My son wont do CIO like i said he'll just cry for hours if i let it go that long. Which i don't because they cry to be heard, to be noticed. What if you were in a room by yourself and you were scared? and no one heard you cry? how would that make you feel? These are human beings, just because they can't talk to you doesn't mean thier fears, pain, whathave you doesn't exist.

And by the way.. The Zombie snipe is just as bad as if you felt threatened or pissed off by my unintentional CIO jab. I'm not a zombie..I am tired.. which anyone with 3 CHILDREN would be.

Anika - posted on 07/25/2010

I totally disagree with you Candice about the CIO. Sometimes people (babies and adults alike) just need to cry. And sometimes babies cry just to keep you around, and I totally understand why but you've just said you haven't slept properly in 9 months! Which means your son hasn't slept properly ever. Our bodies grow and repair itself whilst we sleep. I'd rather let me baby cry for 5 minutes and then both of us have a good nights sleep than wake up every 3 hours! If you don't agree with CIO and don't mind being a zombie, each to their own, but don't make others feel bad because they've used that method (and had success). My baby is very content, sleeps and eats well, is always smiling and hardly ever cries.

Candice - posted on 07/25/2010

My son is the same! he is breastfed so just exchange all your bottles for boob and you have my son!

I think it has to do with the fact that my son is used to having me soothe him back to sleep so when he subconsciously realizes i'm not there any more he wakes up and cries.

I nurse him back to sleep and the cycle starts again. I haven't slept more than 3 hours at a time since his birth.... I'm getting tired too.

I do not agree with CIO (crying it out) so I'd rather continue to nurse him to sleep or soothe him in other ways than to listen to him scream constantly. my son does not back down either.. he'll keep crying and crying until he has no voice left, and even then He'd still try to cry.



I believe that babies don't just cry for no reason and to leave them alone to cry to sleep is like locking a closterphobic in a small dark closet.

Gretchen - posted on 07/25/2010

I agree with Chelsea. My son's doc said that he is just waking up out of habit, so I would get up for him I was constantly tired because of getting up in the night so, I took her advice and let him cry. If he stops, eventually, he isn't tired. She said, if there was a 24 hour buffet, you would eat sometimes.....if it is closed, you wouldn't bother to wake up for it. Also, she said if you stop this now, it is a lot easier than waiting. I stopped it at 6 months and he sleeps 10 hours at night....which means I get relatively the same......love it!

Coley - posted on 07/24/2010

I agree with Anika, if he wants a bottle at night, he might not get enough formula during the day. That was part of my son's problem. Try giving him smaller amounts to drink at night to wean him off the night feeding as you increase his daytime bottles. And Chelsea, my son doesn't like plain water and won't drink it unless we were outside while it was warm, lol. He takes after his momma...

You have to listen carefully the whole time if you're going to make your baby cry himself to sleep. As soon as the sleepy fussing turns to distress, you need to go to them. Go back and comfort him after 3 minutes the first time, then 5, then slowly increase the amount of time as they get sleepier. The CIO method certainly does not work well with my son. His nose gets stuffy if he cries, then he can't sleep because he can't breathe well, and clearing his nose makes him cry harder. So I just have to drain his energy, give him a small bottle, and sooth him back to sleep.

Chelsea - posted on 07/24/2010

also if he doesnt drink the water and you know its a habit thing let him have a pacifier til he falls asleep, i am against mine having a pacifier but it works for night time and then i take it, he might need the comfort... let me know!!

Chelsea - posted on 07/24/2010

im not sure if the nap thing is the problem, my daughter is 9 mnths on the 30th & just like yours she was waking up every 3 hours instead of 2... she wakes up at 630 7 takes a nap about 11 another at like 4 or 5 then another at like 8 or 9 then goes to bed at 1030 11... im working on putting her to bed at 9 so im trying to cut out the 8 or 9 nap.... it depends on how active your child is during the day. Does he really need it??? if so let him if not your going to get him overly tired and exhausted and you dont want to do that, then it will be harder to put him to sleep. I tried every method too. Until i toughened it out and let her cry, TEST IT!! if hes really hungry then hell drink water, try giving him a water bottle... if he doesnt drink it then you know its habit. then sorry to say but the cry method is about the best. I let her cry for 10 minutes if shes still crying i go in and tell her lay down and try to rub her head/ back til she falls out, if she continues to cry i leave and let her cyr another 10. The only reason i go in after 10 min is to let her know i havent left her. usually the second set of ten minutes shell pass out.. its just something you have to do!! Good Luck!

Natasha - posted on 07/24/2010

Mine is still waking up to nurse every 2 hours so I wouldn't worry too much about it at this point. I have her crib right next to the bed so it's easier to get her and feed her. Then it's back in the crib. He probably still just needs that comfort.

Anika - posted on 07/23/2010

I agree with the other mothers here - 4pm probably is a little late to be having a nap. My little girl is a day younger than yours and she has 2 naps of about an hour-hour and a half tops each at 10ish and 2:30ish. She sleeps really well at night 7pm til 7amish. A mother at our playgroup mentioned yesterday that she found that when she increased her son's food intake during the day, it helped him to sleep better through the night. Maybe that could work as well?

Sally - posted on 07/23/2010

If he cries until you feed him, maybe he is hungry.

Sandra - posted on 07/22/2010

"he only naps 3-4 hours a day" Only? really? wow! My daughter naps 45min-1.5 hours a day. and gets up 1-2 times a night. I would be blessed to have her nap 4 hours a day.

On a serious note, this could be the problem. Normally I don't give advice about sleeping, because my daughter is the WORST napper and still gets up in the middle of the night, So this just shows I am probably not the best person to give any advice regarding sleep....But maybe if the 4 o'clock nap was taken earlier (like 2) you wouldn't have the problem.

I hope it all works out for you. If nothing helps take advantage of how much your baby sleeps in the day because you could nap too to catch up on lost sleep.

good luck

Tracy - posted on 07/22/2010

I totally agree with the other 2 ladies who suggested a 4:00 PM nap might be the problem. My twin girls also wake at 7:00 but they nap around 9:30, then again between 2:00 and 3:00 (depending how long they slept). They have no problem making it until their 8:00 bed time and go down very easy... but I should add I did do sleep training with them when they were a little younger so that could be why they go to bed so well.

Gretchen - posted on 07/21/2010

On weekends when we aren't working, my son gets up at 6 am, nurses, plays naps at 830, up at 930 or 1030, nurses around 1130 or 12, naps for 3 hours and sometimes naps again at 5pm. Dinner is at 7 followed by bath and bed around 8pm. He sleeps through the night and has since he was 6 months old when his ped. told me that he doesn't need to be eating through the night and needs lots of sleep....10-12 hours per night.

Coley - posted on 07/20/2010

What Barbara said, lol. My son also takes 2 naps a day, which is fine, as long as they're only long enough to refresh him (about 1 hour each), and he's awake before 4 or 5pm. My husband let our son nap until 6pm the other day, and the baby stayed up until 11:20pm! Skipping naps altogether is not a good idea, as is exhausting or over-stimulating in an attempt to wear him out before bed. My MIL likes to keep him awake and bombard him with stimulation all day when she babysits him saying "oh, he's gonna sleep well tonight!", then he wakes up fussy 5-6 times that night, and it takes 2 full days before he starts sleeping well again. Also, taking an afternoon stroll around the neighborhood seems to help them sleep longer at night. Before bedtime, make sure he's full, bathed, and has a fresh diaper, and is getting sleepy, then try helping him relax. I like to turn down the lights and noise and let my son play with the pillows on my bed while I read a book out loud (doesn't matter if its not a kids book, as its the voice, not the words, that lull him). Sometimes if he had a long or exhausting day, he gets a little baby massage, which actually helps him relax and he sleeps peacefully longer.

Barbara - posted on 07/19/2010

Also, my daughter has just about the same nap schedule. I have tried not giving her that last nap but then she's over tired and irritable and that leads to a restless .

Barbara - posted on 07/19/2010

Up until recently I had the same thing going with my daughter. After talking with my doctor, I decided that my daughter was a creature of habit and it was up to my husband and I to break it or to change her habits . The first night I set a goal of not nursing until four hours had passed. When she woke up, we first tried patting her and gently talking to her, that didn't work very well so we moved to picking her up and gently rocking her back and forth. The first night we had to do that five times before four hours were up. The next night, we went to her three times, by the third night she went four hours on her own. We are now down to her waking after 61/2 to 7 hours. We are stretching it now by an hou at a time hoping to get her to sleep from 9:30-7:00. Good luck! It's not easy, especially when you're exhausted and you know it's faster to just feed and go back to bed.

Reagan - posted on 07/19/2010

That seems like a lot of daytime napping (to me-but my baby has never been much of a napper) and if he is napping past 5 pm, that may also cause nighttime issues. Every baby is different, you might want to try just one small adjustment and that could make all the difference in the world. Honestly, one of the best ways I have found to make progress is to take a trip. It seems as if being out of their element for about a week really helps to change a behavior. We dropped a night feeding after spending a week with my parents, months ago, and then within a month of being home, she finally slept through the night. We still have a random early morning wake up every now and again.

Annette - posted on 07/18/2010

Is he teething? If so try some tylenol or teething tablets. Or he may be getting to much sleep during the day, try keeping him awake throughout the day. Good Look!