9 1/2 mo not sleeping at night at all

Kelly - posted on 04/15/2012

I am going through this with my 9 1/2 month old. I have exhausted everything that I know of and have even tried the cry it out method. I finally took my LO to the doctor and she told me that my LO just needs to keep crying it out. I discussed with her my concerns about this and she said to just keep reminding myself that no baby has every died or been hurt because of crying. Before I continue going on with the cry it out method I am going to try and take my LO to the chiropractor to see if it helps. (It did when she was 4 months old). I would tell your niece to see a pediatric chiropractor.....it couldn't hurt to get a consult and tell her to hang in there. She's not the only one and hopefully it will be over soon.

Heather - posted on 11/11/2009

Has he ever slept thru the night? At ten months old my daughter was still getting up every two to three hours to eat. The Dr. asked me how she was sleeping at night at her next check up and I told him. He said she should be sleeping thru the night by then. So he told me what to do and it wasn't easy. He said when she wakes up crying looking in on her and ensure everything is okay with her, then let her cry it out till she goes back to sleep, give it at least fourty-five minutes, if she hasn't stopped by then than go pick her up. I did this and she fell asleep in twenty minutes and slept the rest of the night, after that she slept thru the night except when something was wrong. Let me tell you it was torture, but I knew if I ever wanted a full night of sleep I had to do it. I also agree the baby may be teething too, or ear infection or something could be wrong. Be sure to check his temperature, and maybe get into the Dr. and let the Dr. know about the concerns.

Laurie - posted on 11/11/2009

Sounds like teething. Oragell, tylenol or both should help. My son did that for awhile but I would just gell him up and he'd go back to sleep.

GiGi - posted on 11/10/2009

She has a night time routine, including bath with lavender oil. He sleeps in his own room, with a night light, (will suggest brighter light). She has tried the self soothe but says his crying just escalates ( I will suggest not taking him out of the bed). I will also suggest the valerian. Thank you all for your help. If anyone has any other suggestions please they will be greatly appreciated.

Stacey - posted on 11/10/2009

I agree with Jen, you should try a cry-it-out method where you console them while doing it. I would make sure my baby was well fed, burped, has a clean nappy etc, then I would read them a story, put them in their cot and gently tell them goodnight and walk out. At this stage they will cry but you need to listen to the cry and try to tell if it is an emotional cry (where something is wrong) or if they are just protesting (dont want to go to sleep). Never ignore an emotional cry, but if you think they are just protesting/ whinging then leave them for a set amount of time (about 6-10mins) or longer if you are able. If there is nothing wrong their cries usually stop and start, but if there is something wrong they will usuually cry continuously (dont woryy, you get to learn the difference after a while). If you do go in, whether its cos they are emotional or cos you cant leave them any longer, try to keep the room as dark as possible, do not pick them up, do not give eye contact, do not talk to them, you have to stimulate them as little as possible. I would go in, roll them onto their side, preferrably facing away from you, and just rub their back until they settle, once they stop crying you can stop rubbing their back if you like, back just leave your hand resting on their side for comfort, and just sit their until they are asleep. Every time they cry, just rub their back but try to do nothing else. Daily routines/ sleep times/ meal times/ routine leading up to bedtime is all very important to sleep also. I used a book called 'Save our Sleep' by Tizzie Hall which tought me such methods to get them to learn to settle themselves and I also followed her suggested routines (you dont have to follow them exactly but it is good to stick to it as much as possible, especially to start with). I found that these routines made the day easier and my babies were happier because of it. Both my babies learnt to self-settle within a week and were sleeping through the night from 7pm-7am, plus 2 day time naps, this book was like magic for me!

Jill - posted on 11/10/2009

I'm tired too.

Heather - posted on 11/10/2009

my son is 9 1/2 mo also, he doesnt sleep through the night, he wakes up 3 to 5 times in the middle of the night, has never taken a pacifier or anything.. im very tired lol

Jill - posted on 11/10/2009

My son still wont sleep through the night (9.5 mos as well). He refuses a pacifier and will thpull it out of his mouth and throw it across the room if I put it in his mouth. I usually let him just cry it out after I exhaust all options.

Jen - posted on 11/10/2009

The cry it out routine works though most don't have the fortitude for it. I know I didn't with my first. Oftentimes they are still in a sleep stage at a night waking, so it is hard to console them or soothe them since they are so out of it. The two options are for the cry it out technique is, don't go in at all and let them cry however long that might be. Or (one I preferred and used) You may go in and console them and lay them back down and rub their back etc... as long as you never pick them out of bed and don't talk to them or have any eye contact. Eventually they will give up and realize nighttime is for sleeping. This might take days to master but it eventually pays off.

Tara - posted on 11/10/2009

Try a brighter night light. My daugther was doing something similar and we put a brighter light in her room. We also leave 2 pacifiers in her crib. Now when she wakes up she self soothes and goes back to sleep.

Anna - posted on 11/10/2009

My son is like that when he's teething. If he's going through a real bad time, I give him a little paracetamol before he goes to bed. Also, it helps to get into a bedtime routine - I find a warm bath with a few drops of lavender oil works well.

Summer - posted on 11/10/2009

Oh my gosh! I so feel for your niece! My daughter is almost 15 months old and she never slept through the night until 3 days ago. I honestly can't really tell you what the best thing to do is, unfortunately, it could be a number of things causing this. My daughter started teething at an early age and we gave her Tylenol and teething tablets every night before bed...no luck! We would never pick her up, just try to giver her a bottle or pacifier to get her to calm down. Is the baby sleeping in his own room? My daughter wasn't at first, she was in a crib in our room. I was told to move her to her own room and that would help...no luck. Some people try a tiny bit of Benadryl (like 1/4 to 1/2 tsp) for his age, but I didn't like to "drug" my child. We did it a couple of times when she was congested and it only helped the first night. She actually slept the entire night! There is also an herbal remedy called Valerian Super Calm. My sister-in-law swears by it, yet we had no luck with it. The best advice I can give, especially if she's not a "cry-it-out mom" like I'm not, is to just make sure he's not wet, getting tangled in blankets, or somehow otherwise uncomfortable. Some children just aren't good sleepers. My oldest daughter was sleeping through the night by 2 weeks, my youngest is on her 3rd night in a row (fingers crossed) of sleeping through the night at 15 months. Her molars just now came in and I think that may have had something to do with it too. Just tell her to hang in there and be patient. This too shall pass, as unfortunate as that may sound! :) Good luck!