One Year Old Nephew Not Sleeping Through the Night

Updated on August 11, 2009
T.R. asks from Telford, PA
11 answers

My sisters second child is a few weeks shy of turning one, and he still does not sleep through the night. He is not an entirely normal one year old in the aspect that he eats very little solid foods, ( he simply refuses them) he eats some just very little, so he is still on more formula than most babies his age. he wakes up usually twice a night, my sister has tried to let him cry it out, but he cries sooo long that she cant handle it. (her first son only cried about an hour then gave up) any suggestion on other ways to teach a child this old to sleep? My sister is fully aware that eli only cries at night because he knows she will come, but that doesnt always mean you are ok with just letting them cry? anyone do something different that worked for them? thanks

****To answer a few common questions i have gotten, he does not have any medical concerns, he went to a feeding therapist and she found nothing worng with him, he eats finger foods ( just a very small ammount) and my sister supplements with the formula, he will not eat cereal or any baby food, never has. He has never slept through the night. So this isnt just a Phase or being lonely at night. Its a habit. just a habit my sister has no idea how to break. I used cry it out and it worked very well for me, but she isnt open to it. Thanks again

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

Featured Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.W.

answers from Philadelphia on

T.,
Every child is different my son eats"normally" and is smarter than many children his age however he wakes up every single night and he'll be two in October. So it just takes time.
Shant'e

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.R.

answers from Philadelphia on

Give him some fruit such as apple sauce (unsweeten) or some warm cereal in a bowl with fruit mixed in it so that he will eat it. His belly needs to be full when he goes to sleep. They sell the cereal with fruit in the baby aisle at the super market. Also if you guve him food in the morning which I am sure you do because the child is starving when he walks up, just make sure you do not give the baby food before the last meal. Give the baby a bottle so that he will be real hungry for that last meal before going to bed. Please let me know how it goes.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

E.F.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I think she needs to call her pediatrician. It sounds like she is dealing with a particularly sensitive child, and may need some better guidance than that that moms like me with typically developing children can offer. He or she can probably direct her to some information on sleep training and dealing with children who are very sensitive.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.L.

answers from Philadelphia on

Hi, I am a mommopm of 3 year old lives here,with dad, sees mommy when she can. but i was wondering if not sleeping through the nite cant SOMETIMES be a symptom of something or other rather than just being spoiled and waiting for mom to come in. The not eating and not sleeping CAN be the earliest signs of autism. Could be gas. They have great formulas out for up to 36 months old btw. We put cereal in the formula in the last bottle and that can help get him threw the nite. His tummy needs to feel full or he will wake up . He is not crying for nothing . good luck with baby. be well.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

B.A.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Tell her to get the book "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems" and follow the Pick-up, Put-down method. It worked for us. It seemed crazy, but if she sticks with it and is consistent, it can work.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

N.K.

answers from Philadelphia on

This doesn't sound very unusual to me. Around 1 year is the age when babies can remember exactly who mom is and they get lonely when she isn't right there. If it were me, I'd stuff him silly with as much formula and food as I could get in him all day, make sure his room is really dark and has good white noise, and just ride this out. I think parents sometimes expect too much of babies, when it comes to sleeping alone all night long so young.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.L.

answers from Pittsburgh on

My son is 2 and still gets up at night. He has reflux and goes to feeding therapy. We dont expect him to sleep well until he increases his calories during the day. Does her son have any health concerns? I would rule all medical causes out before letting him cry it out. Good Luck I know how tiring it can be :)

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.B.

answers from Philadelphia on

I would try finger foods with him, if she hasn't already. Many babies don't like the texture of baby food. Some want to feed themselves, which they can often do with a bottle, but not with baby food. Mushy finger foods, like banana, are great starters.
I had to let my oldest cry it out. He cried for (I think) 5 hours the first night. Three hours the second, one hour the third, then only 15 minutes for the next couple nights. After that he slept fine. (We did that when he was almost 6 months old, so hopefully her one year old would learn faster; if she ultimately decides its necessary).
Some other things to consider...giving him a blanket or stuffed animal to take to bed. (My son has a large dog & large bear (about the size of him), two small dogs, a small bear, an armadillo, a blanket & a pillow. He started with the little bear & blanket & his collection has grown. He is in a bed now, so he has plenty of room. I think he just wants to have things to cuddle with. We also have a set routine. Read 2 books, sing 2 songs, put on night, night music; kiss goodnight & leave the room.
Lastly, when my son was in his crib there were some things that he didn't like: he did NOT like the crib bumpers (he slept better when they were off, I think his crib got too dark), he needed a night light & he needed some kind of background noise.
I hope this helped.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.B.

answers from Philadelphia on

My son is 16 months old, and he still wakes up sometimes 2 times per night! We are working on getting him stay in his crib, so when he wakes up he gets a diaper change (which he usually falls asleep during), and back to the crib once he is asleep. If he wakes up a second time, I was just putting him in bed with us, but now he goes back to his crib. Co-sleeping really does help, I just want him to try and sleep in his own space now that he is so big for everyone's comfort. He does sleep really well next to me and my husband, but he is just getting too big and squirmy! :)
It's really up to your sister how she wants to handle it, I could never handle the cry it out thing, but that's just me! Different things work for different moms and babies! :)

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

N.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

T. my daughter will be turning one Aug. 27th and I'm having the same problems with trying to get her to sleep through the night. My husband says let her cry and she'll go to sleep but i just can't take the crying so i decided to keep her busy and let her crawl around the house until 10:00pm by then she gets tired but of course she doesn't wanna lay down so i give her a bath then a warm bottle & just add fruit. I always make sure i put her pacifier in her crib & a stuff animal or turn her music on that should help.

I'm a 27 year old married mother of two girls ages 8 and one years old.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.M.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Hey T.:
I work for a company called 4moms and we have a product called the Goodnight Sleep Trainer. It works with the Ferber method - cry it out. Your sister seems to know that this method works and what our product does is take the guess work out. It's easy to use- press down to sleep at night and push crying if her baby wakes up. It will set a timer that progressively gets longer so her son learns to soothe himself to sleep and she doesn't have to worry about how long she's waited.
We worked with a leading Pittsburgh area pedetrician, so the product is 100% safe. Check it out at www.4momsonline.com or target.com.
Thanks!
S.

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions

Related Searches