8 Month Old Screams at Bed Time

if the child has recently starting doing this it probably means that he has a ear infection. some children have high pain tolerance and wont show any symptoms like pulling on the ear and fever. i did notice with my boys that they cried when laying down and running nose when they have a ear infection so
thats when i took them to the dr and confirmed they had ear infections. Also, if he doesnt have an ear infection you might try laying down with him in your bed, since it sounds like you have the child in a crib, at night. I hope this helps.
L. M. mother of 4

It sounds like he wants to be with you when he sleeps. I know in this country we have a real thing about kids sleeping in their own rooms, in their cribs, but that, I would think, can be frightening for a child.

Can you let him sleep with you? My two year old sleeps with us now and my seven year old nursed until she was two and a half and slept with us until she was five. We love it. Sometimes they are bed hogs, but in the long run, you need rest, he needs rest, and what harm can it cause? It's only comforting for a child. And both my girls are smart, sensitive, easy going kids and I think it has a lot to do with feeling that safety of being close and warm to us in those early days!

I am in the same boat!! I truly feel as though it is just that next developmental milestone. My son did the same thing at this age. My daughter had been such a great sleeper and just recently is up a lot wanting to nurse. I take her in bed with me when she wakes up (her crib is in our room so she gets used to sleeping in it, she wouldn't go near it before). I love having her close but she gets so comfortable she falls asleep right away and then is up in another few hours to nurse again. I am hoping this phase goes away sometime soon. Hang in there, I know it is tough!

My daughter did the exact same thing when she was younger. She could cry for ever. I let her cry. Even if it was an hour, she eventually realized that I was not going to give in and got tired from all the screaming that she fell asleep. You know that your child is okay because you obviously can hear them. Kids test you to see what they can get away with. And they start this game very young. My daughter is now three and there is nothing wrong with her. She is a happy, normal, rambunctious kid.

L.

Hi K.,
I have 4 kids myself, the youngest is nine months old, so I know exactly what you are going through. My daughter was such a good little sleeper until about 6 weeks ago, then it seemed she wouldn't sleep at all. She would fall asleep, but not stay asleep. I tried everything, but the only thing that would work is me holding her the whole time she was sleeping. I'm sorry this message is so long but this is something I am passionate about.
I agree with what Kim said, about all the milestones and not being able to turn off. Have you ever started a new job or hobby and did it so much that you ended up dreaming about it? Same sort of thing.
But also, I believe it has to do with what baby has become accustomed to. He is used to being held while falling asleep and sleeping. I once heard this compared to sleeping with a pillow. You are used to sleeping to sleeping with a pillow right? Imagine, everyday and night you fall asleep with a pillow under your head. But one day you realize, while you are sleeping someone is sneaking in and taking your pillow away. Eventually, you learn to wake up as soon as the pillow is taken away. And if you were an infant your response to it would be to cry, of course.
So now you have to make a decision: you can co-sleep or teach him to sleep by himself. I don't think there's anything wrong with co-sleeping but it never worked for me. Babies this age need what? 15, 16 hours a day? I can't spend 16 hours of my day sleeping! or at the very least holding her while she sleeps. I needed to be able to do other things while she was sleeping, not to mention I enjoy an hour or so to myself after all the kids are finally in bed! So I had to teach my little one how to sleep.

If you decide that's what you want to do I would highly reccomend babycenter.com Here's the link to their sleep guide:
http://www.babycenter.com/general/7702.html
You might need to be registered to view it but it's free.
This site gives you five different point of views and solutions from all ends of the spectrum. Ferber (crying it out the right way) Sears (babies cry for a reason, find the source, fix the problem) and the Assoc of Pediatrics (kinda middle of the road)
Pick the solution that is closest to your child-rearing philosophy, then (here's the key) stick with it! Consistency is the key to any child-rearing dilemna. Talk to 5 different moms, who did five different things, and they will all swear it worked, because they were consistent!
So give your method of choice a full 7 days. Naptimes, bedtimes everything. Don't budge on it no matter how tired you are. It's not going to happen in one day, he's learning to sleep without his pillow remember? Just keep telling yourself - only 4 more days, only 3 more days. You can do this! You're obviously a great mom who cares about her son. This too shall pass.
Good luck! Let us know what happens
K.

K., I have a 9 month old son who started the exact thing when he was about 8 months. I took him to the dr. fearing an ear infection, but there was no infection. What my dr. told me was that at about his age he is going through major developmental milestones like sitting up, standing, and the biggie is object permanence. What could be happening, if it's not an ear infection, is that he wants to use all his new skills and wants to be near you (separation anxiety sets in about now too) and can't "turn off" to go to sleep. And then he gets so tired he goes into the second wind, even third wind, and is giddy with energy but exhausted and can't sleep even more.

So, to get my son to sleep we had to shorten the time between naps just a little to make sure we got him down before he was past that twilight stage where he was tired enough to fall asleep. You may have to experiment a little, but start a little earlier than you have been trying lately. I also work a little harder at naptime to get him to go down--whatever you son likes. I sing and we rock until he's pliable and I can lay him down and he doesn't protest. It took a few weeks to be where we are now and have him back on a good nap schedule. If they don't nap well during the day then nighttime sleep can be affected too.

We also moved his bedtime up. We start the bedtime routine at 6 and he is asleep by 7pm. He sleeps through the night now until 6 am.

I hope something here will help you. Hang in there. He will go to sleep easier eventually. If you continue to have problems and it isn't a medical issue I recommend the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth, MD.
Good luck.

IF it is new and the screaming comes when you lay him down, it is possible that he may have an ear infection. I would take him into the doctor to discuse it.