Strange Sleep Behavior in My 9 Month Old

He is an individual, a unique little person who will continue to change throughout his whole entire life. Would you write in to say, I don't know what is wrong. My baby is suddenly pulling himself up on the furniture and standing. No, because it is natural and normal. So are sleep changes. Eating changes. Behavioral changes. There will be constant changes. Just because he behaves a certain way one month, you should not assume he will behave that way the next. He may be teething. He may be becoming more aware of his autonomy and developing some fears or anxieties. He may be reacting to a change in his diet or an event in his life.
One other thing... you said that his needing a bottle in the middle of the night was a problem. Wrong. It is normal, natural, and necessary. Roll with it, Mommy, and welcome to motherhood. It keeps you on your toes and deprives you of sleep, but these years are a pleasure in the overall scheme of things. It is a good loss of sleep. The sleep you lose when he is a teenager and out after his curfew is the bad loss of sleep. It will come all too soon. Enjoy that little guy through all of his phases and stages and changes.
Mom of 26, 23, 21, and 8 year old sons

1 mom found this helpful

I would put my money on teething.

Children's sleep and play patterns change as they age. You will see more changes as he gets 10, 11, 12 months and so on...
Don't be alarmed as he seems to be be doing some independent playing. If he is not in any pain, has no temperature, or any other distress then he is probably fine. He can sleep later in lthe day if he is tired. If he normally falls asleep on his own and you start rocking him to sleep you might start new habit, which is fine if you have time to rock him to sleep at every nap. I do believe that he is fine though. They (babies)usually let you know if they are not. Good luck.

Did he start rolling over or crawling recently? Babies like to wake up and practice their new skills. If he's quiet and happy, just leave him alone and let him fall back to sleep. He'll start waking up again when he learns to walk, climb, etc. Just when you think your baby is perfect the way he is, he'll change everything on you. Welcome to motherhood! :) Just keep up the same routines so at least that will be consistent.

My son, thankfully, was a self motivated little person. Once he got to that age, he could "entertain" himself in the crib...not crying or anything, just playing. Pre-nap or after he woke... this is what he did. He babbled, played with his stuffed animals in his crib, "sang", and just bopped around in his crib, rolled around, stood up, sat down, and basically hung out. He likes his crib. So I'm glad.

When he was ready to come out of the crib, THEN he would cry for me. Until then, he was perfectly content, and happy. It gave him time also, to "practice" his skills and learn to play on his own... my sister said "he probably does soliloquies in the crib when no one is looking..." because he really would talk and make noises in there. He still does that, and he is almost 24 months old now.

ALso, at certain developmental changes, their habits change, it may abrupt their sleep patterns and what not. Your boy is probably just changing... cognitively, physically, skills wise, and everything. And yes, they "practice" these new skills even in the crib when we would like them to sleep. Babies learn this way...

If anything, it's a "phase." Babies/toddlers go through LOTS of phases.

Every 3 months or so, is a "growth spurt" time too...and at these times they get hungrier and need to feed more. And NO... a baby does not have to sleep through the night yet... most don't. You can train them etc., try all the techniques to get them to sleep... but each baby is different. But your boy seems to sleep well to me. Waking up ONLY once during the night is VERY good. My son is almost 24 months, and he also still wakes up once a night. My daughter, didn't sleep through the night until she was about 2 years old!

If your son is up most of the night with these activities.. just make extra sure he is getting his naps during the day. At this age, 2 naps a day, morning and afternoon.

If it really bothers you, ask your Pediatrician.
take care,
Susan

Babies wake up and go back to sleep throughout the night if it does not bother him let him fall back asleep naturally or you will create the knowledge in him that if he wakes you will come rock him. How do you know he is doing all this and for how long? Do you have a camera or is he in your room? It may just be his way of waking up-taking 30/45 min. I like to lay in my bed for like 30 min before I get out even though I am awake. Many babies will wake up and entertain their selves for a while before they get up. If he is in your room it may be time to move him into his own room, his sleep partern may be changing- there are alot of reasons this could be happening. I would not worry about it if he is not upset by it.

I have a nine month old, too! I don't want to sound overly cautious, but knowing what I don about crib mattresses and the nerve gas that they have produced from them, I would recommend looking into the research on it at www.stopsidsnow.com . It could just be a behavioral phase, or it could be him trying to avoid the gas build up. Again, not to startle you, but I would never want to keep this info to myself. GOod luck researching!
J.

Dear S.,

As my children would say to me "muuuuuutttthhhhhuuuuurrrr !. Relax. You are making a mountain our of a mole hill. He is beginning to be a real person, and doing his own thing. He is maturing, and taking responsibility for his own sleep. His brain is developing... He will get enough sleep. Just give him a chance, and he will definitely do it. His staying in the crib early in the a.m. shows that he is comfortable and resting and 'thinking' or whatever babies do at this stage of their development. Maybe he is bonding with his environment. Get some sleep yourself. Now THAT is worth while trying for.

Amen, C. N.

I bet he is teething or something, just keep the room dark and as non-stimulating and un-fun as possible, so he gets the hint that this is sleepy time, not play time.

It is a phase, he'll get back to sleeping well again soon.

Also, he's probably getting ready to do something new, like crawl, or pull up, or walk...oh God...I know...I'm sorry to mention the walking thing... they often have sleep disturbances right before they start something new like that.

first talk to your ped. doctor and then try doing more with him during the day to wear him out... he might be restless due to something new that has happened or maybe he is restless because he is getting older and needs more to wear him out.
also when he sleeps don't be quiet... (vaccum, do dishes, etc.) moms think it is necessary to keep it quiet and then your child will grow up to be a light sleeper and later in life have problems with surrounding noises.
maybe try taking him for a short ride in the car around the block etc. sometimes this worked great for my kids.

I agree with what most other moms are saying, most likely teething, or a new milestone. Maybe he is having bad dreams. Whatever the reason, I'm sure it will pass and I'm sure it is nothing serious.

In response to the stopsidsnow website, they are obviously just trying to sell a product. I have never been told any of those "facts" about gasses by a doctor or specialist. Sorry, but the list of things not to do are fairly contradictory to everything doctors tell you. Use a sheet, don't use sleep sacks. They are just trying to sell a product and it's disgraceful that they are trying to scare Moms who don't know any better or believe everything they read.

Has he had any vaccinations recently? Please talk to his Pediatrician about any side effects, if you recently have.

Hi S.,

I have nine month old twins and my older twin does the same thing. Between teething and seperation anxiety, many believe that the two are why nine month olds will have problems slepping. Give it a few days, but if you can let him toss around until he gives you full blown cry and is standing in his crib. I know it is hard especially when you are tired. It is just a phase and I promise you it will pass. Good Luck!

My oldest suddenly began to shorten his nightime sleep right around a year old. I was very concerned about it, but he has been fine, and his nightime sleep continued to gradually shorten for about a year. But he is happy to play in bed until I come get him in the morning, as is his little brother (they are 3 and 2). I still put them both to bed at a reasonably early hour so they have all the opportunity for sleep that they need. Sometimes they play for a bit before going to sleep. But they have a good nap in the afternoon and they have plenty of opportunity for sleep, so I am sure they are getting what they need.
I will share a little tip with you that may help your nightime sleep - I was so grateful when someone told me (because it worked great with both of my babies) and I pass it on whenever I get the chance (I shared it with a friend whose 9 month old was still waking up to nurse in the middle of the night, and it worked great for her, she was so happy!). If your baby goes to bed 2-3 hours before you do, wake your baby before you go to bed and feed him at that time. Then you will have a better chance of getting uninterrupted sleep through the night. This might also solve the issue with him stirring in the middle of the night. If he continues to do that, I wouldn't worry. Let him get himself back to sleep, especially if he is not crying or upset. It is probably just a phase that will pass. But I don't think there is any reason for you to lose sleep over it.

Hi S.:

If your baby sleeps for nine or ten hours at night, it means he's figured out how to settle back to sleep — a sign that you're raising a good sleeper.
We all wake up several times every night for brief periods of time. And as adults, we put ourselves back to sleep each time — so quickly we don't even remember it in the morning. If your baby hasn't mastered this skill, he'll wake up and cry during the night even if he's not hungry.
Don't be surprised if your sound sleeper suddenly becomes a night owl or has a hard time falling asleep at this age. Why? Sleep disturbances often go hand-in-hand with reaching major milestones in cognitive and motor development and with separation anxiety.
At 9 to 12 months, your baby's likely to be crawling, pulling up, and learning to walk. And because he's expanding on these skills, he may wake up at night to practice or be too excited to fall asleep. If he can't soothe himself back to sleep, he'll end up crying for you.
Separation anxiety could also be the cause of your baby's wake-up calls. Waking up and finding you not there may cause some distress. But he'll probably calm down as soon as you enter the room and greet him. Believe it or not, another suggestion,for stretching your sons sleep is to try putting him down an hour earlier in the evening.I know,you'd think he'd wake an hour sooner,but thats what the pros. say.I wish you and your sweet son the best.

Could just be developmental milestones that disrupt his sleep pattern. Like he is learing something new or his body is getting ready to do something new.

i recommend that you don't start rocking him to sleep if you haven't before; otherwise, it'll be a whole 'nother issue to deal with
...if he's able to stay in his crib without fussing (even though awake)...give him time to soothe himself....