8 Month Old Not Sleeping Through the Night

I'm sorry but 8 month old babies.........don't sleep well at night. All I can say is it won't last forever but being a parent is all about patience.

1 mom found this helpful

With my second daughter we had similar problems. I was exhausted as well. When she was about a year old, I could not believe I was still dealing with the problem of her not sleeping through the night and often not wanting to go to sleep. I hit my limit and decided I had to take some action. So with trepidation yet a spark of faith that there had to be a solution I tried to ask around and study it out to find a remedy and get a full night's sleep. What finally helped me was a book call Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child (I think that is the name, it is now on loan to a friend). I liked the book because it was not too hard nor too soft in its advice to get a child to sleep (and a parent, too) through the night. I learned that I didn't have to be too harsh with my daughter and let her cry forever but it gave me courage to let her cry it out.
NOW, I am so grateful that she did. Yes, I had to deal with a few nights and naptimes of crying and wondering if I was doing the right thing. But now she is 18 months old and a much better napper and sleeper than her older sister (with whom we were too soft in our approach). I lay her in her crib, after her bedtime routine and book and prayer, and she oftentimes just cuddles up happily by herself and snuggles into her pillow. I leave the room and she falls asleep and stays asleep (except on rare occasions).
A friend of mine says to buy some earplugs and just let them cry, because to be a good mom to them in the day, you need a good night's sleep at night. Good luck.

Something I did with my son is to buy extra pacifiers and just leave them in the crib. Eventually he figured out that when he lost the one, he was able to find another one and he went back to sleep on his own. Hang in there! It will get better.

Hi SM -

I know exactly where you are at. My twin boys did not start sleeping through the night until they were 11 months old. We finally starting letting them cry a little, then go in and rock them back and put them down. I know you are exhausted, I had it times 2! But trust me, it will get better. I think it is a phaze they go through. I got really hurt when all my MOMs (mother of multiple) friends would just tell me to let them cry and ignore them. My thought is this - they will outgrow this, and they will only be this small for so long. Hang in there.

There’s some sleep research that says keeping to a clear schedule and helping her create some sleep clues will help. They suggest that you put a child to bed by 7:00-7:30 each night to establish a routine.

BEGIN by starting the bed process about 1 hour before bed. No wild play, dim the lights, have a warm bath, you know the drill. Try adding Gerber Lavender Bedtime bath and 1/4 cup of regular table salt to the bath. The lavender makes baby sleepy and the salt relaxes her muscles.

THEN make sure you put the drowsy- not a sound asleep baby in the crib. No more feeding as part of the bedtime process. The reason for this comes from T. Berry Brazelton, America’s favorite pediatrician and sleep expert. He has found that children assume that when they wake in the middle of the night that everything in their environment will be exactly the same as when they fell asleep. That’s why she won’t go back to sleep, she wants rocking and feeding like when you put her to bed.
So make the process clear, and streamlined and reduce or delete the feeding as “part” of falling asleep. You could feed in another room, just make sure that as her eyelids get heavy the feeding stops, and she is placed in the crib.

THEN instead of patting the baby on her back when you place her in the crib, get down on your knees and pat the crib mattress. DO NOT look at the baby, just be there and say, “sleep now”. DO NOT TALK. Being on the floor allows her to feel safe and she doesn't need to jump up to see if you’re still there. Patting the mattress also allows her to be lulled to sleep with the patting movement AS she uses her own resources to fall asleep. Even if she pops up to a sitting position, you do not look at her, you just pat the mattress and say sleep now 1 -2 times. This process allows you to be part of the going-to-sleep-process, without being her go-to-sleep-process. It also saves the family from the need to endure the crying it out.

THEN each night reduce the amount of time, by seconds, that you pat her to sleep, AND each night move your body back a little bit more toward the door.
So sooner rather than later she will use the patting of the mattress as a clue and fall right to sleep.

There is no one right way to do this. Each child is different and each parent is different. And children at this age go through what’s called sleep regressions as they develop, it is really hard. Read all the suggestions and see which ones feel like a good match for you!
Good luck, S. -The Mommie Mentor, www.proactiveparenting.net

Unfortunately, there is no magic trick to make kiddos sleep through the night. They do it when they are ready. Have you ever looked at a pacimal? Maybe that would help her keep her pacifier in her mouth (http://ababyconnection.com/index.php?main_page=index&.... If she is wanting a bottle, then she must be hungry. Kids do their growing at night, so it is logical to think she may just need food. If she just wants her pacifier, maybe you can leave a few around her crib and teach her how to find them. I highly recommend The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Panty. My son was waking every hour at night, and it transformed his sleeping without any tears! Here are a few other resources that might help. Good luck!

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBSepOct05p204a.html
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070100.asp
http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detsleepthrough.html
http://www.sleepnet.com/infant3/messages/534.html

I recommend the Baby Whisperer books. She doesn't believe in crying it out, but also doesn't believe in letting baby "call the shots." I've found these books to be very helpful, with lots of suggestions for how to work with your child to help them learn to get themselves back to sleep. You can find them at the library...especially try "The Baby Whisperer Solves all Your Problems" because it's a troubleshooting-type book. Good luck!!

There is a book called "Babywise" that teaches you how to set feeding schedules that in turn will affect sleeping schedules. It works 100%! I did this routine with my own kids and my son (now 6) slept thru the night at 10 weeks. My daughter (now 2) slept thru the night at 8 weeks. They both are now GREAT sleepers and go to bed without a fuss, by themselves, and in their own beds without help frum us. Good sleeping habits don't just happen. They are taught. Get the book! Your daughter is still young enough for you to get her adjusted to this routine so that she'll start sleeping full nights and you'll get a break! Trust me! It works! Good luck.

I am wondering if you have thought of or could afford a night Nanny. There are agencies that specialize in that. I am a Nanny and have looked at agencies that offer that type of service. C.

Hi S M,

Does your baby wake up with gas? If so, it could be the formula that you are using. She also might be eating too much before going to sleep and the body's digestive processes are keeping her up. So, you might try feeding her more prior to bedtime and just a little bottle at bedtime.

Also, has your baby recently had a fall? If so, there might be a problem where the baby's spine is out of alignment. A simple correction can take care of that problem. To find a local chiropractor trained in working with newborns and infants, go to www.icpa4kids.com.

I hope this helps. Feel free to email me back if you have any questions.

N.

I have the same problem with my 9 month old... we tried everything and about a month ago found a routine/solution to the sleeping problem. The only way my daughter will sleep through the night is to feed her a bottle & then her cereal & dinner food, we give her a long warm bath, massage with a lavender bedtime baby lotion, read a book, & put her down. I truely think the bath is the key. If we miss the food or the bath, she wakes up atleast 3 times during the night, but when we follow the routine... sleep is golden! Good luck & I hope you get some rest.

When our little one wasn't sleeping well at night we figured out she was sleeping too much during the day. Try putting her to bed later and always letting her cry at least 10 min. before going into her room. We also run a fan in her room at night, when she hears it turn on she starts rubbing her eyes, like Pavlov's dog. They should be able to go about 6 hrs. without a bottle so when you go in don't feed her just hold her and rock her. Good luck!!!

Try Wubanub pacifiers (you can find them online). They are basically a pacifier attached to a little stuffed animal, so they sit right next to your daughter's face so it never falls away....Good luck!

You might want to try an all natural herbal combination called Calmazon. It relaxes and soothes the body and nervous system, induces sleep, as well as relieves pain (works great for teething) - feel free to contact me if you want the specific herbs used in the formula or you can check it out on my website: www.shootingstarherbs.amazonherb.net - good luck.

I had the same problem with my son....he is 10 months now and we were feeding him until a month ago. We stopped that and that has gottena little better but, if his paci falls out we always have to give it back to him. We are letting him sleep with us now and since doing that he sleeps through the night. It is really nice.

Hi,
WOW! I had the same problem too. But for us it was the naps during the day that kept her up 3 or four times during the night. At eight months I had my daughter take two naps during the day. One in the morning for as long as she would sleep. One in the afternoon for about the same amount of time. When it cam to the evening we tried to keep her busy, but when she started to get fussy then we would put her to bed about 8 or 9 pm depending on how she felt. It did not matter to us because we went to sleep later than our children did. Just to make sure they all went to sleep fine, without any trouble. Try that and see if that works. Hope this can help.