9 Month Old Baby Sleep Problems

I had one like that...it turned out hitting the cold sheets was the culprit. I put a heating pad under the sheet, warmed up the bed, TURNED OFF the heating pad and put her in bed. Worked like a charm.
I would also start backing up the bedtime about 15 minutes earlier every two nights or so. She might actually be OVERTIRED and can't truely settle down. A 9 month old should be going to bed earlier than 9pm anyway. This will pass soon enough.

While it's difficult you have to let them cry it out. It's very hard to do. My son did it at the same age. Does the baby have any teeth? Once my son got his first tooth, the night terrors almost stopped. Also, you may want to try putting the baby to bed before 9, even if it's 8:45. A few studies say that night terrors are more common if the baby goes to bed after 9.

AHHH sleep the four letter word of early childhood :)
I used to let my oldest fall asleep wherever and then put her to bed. She would wake up and getting her back to sleep in the crib was impossible... I put my pillowcase under her sheet and used a hot sock ( bean filled tube you can put in the frezzer or microwave) I would put it where she lay to warm up the spot and then leave it off to the side (she thought it was warm human) and stayed asleep at night. After that I moved bedtime up to 7pm we settled on 7:30. At 5 1/2 she still likes the pillowcase but we don't prewarm the bed anymore

My son had similar problems about that age. We tried everything we could think of and read every book we could find, but nothing helped. We finally took him to Dr. Marc Weisbluth, author of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. (We lived in the Chicago area at the time.) After reviewing some sleep logs we'd been keeping for a couple weeks, Dr. Weisbluth told us he thought our son was over-tired. The adrenaline he was revved up on from being sleep deprived was keeping him from falling into a deep sleep, so he woke up just a little while after he went to sleep and kept doing so all night. When we switched to a much earlier bed time (6:00 for a while in our case), his problems improved immediately.

Good luck to your friend!

I would just let her cry it out. If she gets sick than clean it and put her back down. In one to two weeks she will figure that mommy isn't going to baby her any more and bed time is bed time. Get ear plugs or sit outside if it bothers you. Good luck I am sorry it sounds harsh but it works. She won't remmeber it growing up. You are the one that its hurting. Its hard being a parent but sometimes you have to button up and do thing we don't like but now will be fine and benefit alot. Good Luck!

I agree with the earlier bed time suggestion. Also, we had to do a modified CIO with my daughter at 10 months. We would let her cry for 5 minutes, go in, comfort her, put her back down and repeat. It kept her from getting too worked up but it allowered her to see that we were not going to hold her until she fell asleep. After about 2 weeks things were back to normal.

Your friend might try to put the baby to bed earlier. Maybe her daughter is overtired and can't fall asleep easily. I like the "Baby Whisperer" book, but my go-to book for sleep problems is "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child".
Good luck to you and your friend.

Hi K.! A lot of people assume "cry it out" means shutting the door and letting the child scream all night long. That really is not the case. The books that advocate the so-called "cry it out" method- Babywise, Ferber etc- are really just tools to put a schedule in place to show your child how to fall asleep by themselves and calm down for the night/naps. I would recommend those books, and so do pediatricians. Have your friend ask hers!

Sounds like it could be the 9 month sleep regression: http://www.askmoxie.org/2008/03/talk-about-the.html

Tell your friend to hang in there, it does get easier.

She might simply just need her mommy next to her until she is fast asleep. Has she done a night routine and laid down next to her? I have an almost 9 month old boy myself and he is testing our sleepy time routine right now, but I'm bound to show him that when we do jammies and read "Pat the bunny" and cuddle up it is time for bed.

The baby can sense mommy's frustration so if she is huffing and puffing while trying to calm her the baby is probably just as frustrated as mommy is.

Just some thoughts. :) take or leave as you wish.

hope it gets better for her soon.

All I can offer is the reassurance that most parents in this kind of situation don't actually lose their minds, it just feels like it might happen! Kids' sleep patterns change from time to time. I'd try keeping the baby up later, but I'm more of a night person anyway.

How many naps and at what times are they per day? She may need to adjust the napping schedule to allow her little one a nap a little later in the day so she will go down easier at night. You didn't mention what time she gets up in the moring either. If she's a really early riser maybe she needs a third "cat nap" right before or after dinner. I always wrapped my boys in a blanket, even loosly at that age so they wouldn't hit the cold sheets, too.

It has been a bit, but I recall my son at 9 months going to be at 7 or 7:30. It truly sounds like she is over tired.

I agree with the other responses to get books - the library has them all and I have read them. I took what worked for me out of all of them and applied it. She also may want daddy to put her down when she wakes back up. My son always goes back down for my husband but just wants me to cuddling and rock him.

K.,
I found the "Baby Whisperer" book to be very helpful in dealing with getting baby to sleep. She has a firm but loving approach that doesn't traumatize baby, or mom and dad!
Is she sure that the baby doesn't have gas pains? Once physical stuff has been ruled out, its mostly a matter of helping the baby learn to "self-soothe". Buy your friend the book! (her technique is too long to explain here)

I went through a similar experience and I just started putting her to bed at 7pm. She adjusted almost immediately. They also need to be getting good naps in during the day, if she is taking a late nap (like after 3-4pm) cut out that last nap and establish a night time routine so that she knows sleep is coming. I reccomend 2 books, The No Cry Sleep Solution and Sleep Solutions for your Infant, Toddler, and preschooler.