1 Year Old's Change in Sleep Pattern & One Other Question

Updated on February 04, 2007
R.C. asks from Salem, OR
13 answers

A little history: My 1 year old son has had a rough month. Christmas day, I started coming down with that nasty virus that comes with a cough, and he came down with it a few days later. Then, New Years Eve, he started with the stomach flu & it lasted over 5 days. The virus has now gone into an ear infection and he is cutting 4 teeth at once ontop of the fact that he's in a growth spirt. We started weaning him from formula onto whole milk a few weeks ago as he was turning 1.

My little guy slept 4 hour incriments since he was born, and about 2 weeks of age started sleeping through the night. But, now, ever since he started with the virus, he is waking up at least once a night and sometimes up to 5 times. He won't go down without a bottle, but we have gotten him to go down to bed with just water, however, in the middle of the night, the only thing that will get him back to sleep is milk. We have tried everything we can think of: bottle of water, cuddling with him, rocking him, car ride, diaper change, bringing him to bed with us. I'm running out of ideas.

Question: Any recomendations to get him to sleep better?

Also, we have been trying to get him to take a sippy cup to break him of the bottle all together, so we don't have this bottle issue in bed, but we have tried the regular ones, the transition ones and the ones that have a nipple like a bottle. He won't take any of them.

Question: Anyone have any tips that will help me get him to accept the sippy cups?

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So What Happened?

Thanks for all the input so far. I have taken all responses to heart & am trying a few new things. Last night, I bought some of the formula that he used to be on, and mixed it in his bottle before he went to bed. He slept for 9 hours before waking up. Usually he sleeps for close to 11, but at least we had uninterrupted sleep for once. I am going to continue this and I will let everyone know how it's going. Once we have his sleep back to normal, I will work on the sippy cup more.

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J.S.

answers from Spokane on

Hi there. On the transition to the sippy cup... I was told by my local WIC office to put watered down milk in the bottle (start out slowly like 1 oz water 7 oz milk) Then after he's drank that (if he will, my daughter wouldnt after I put I think it was 2 oz of water 6 oz milk) offer him the sippy with ALL milk. (I stuck with the soft nipple sippys so it was still like a bottle, till she got to chewing on it...) He should want the sippy more to get that good tasting milk :)

Hope this helps! Good luck!

J.

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D.R.

answers from San Francisco on

He may just still want a little something more at night before he goes to bed. I have 2 children that have been the same way with the sleeping. We started give both my kids around 7 months of age the rice cereal and oatmeal cereal for infants with there formula or milk. It helped them get thru the night. Give it to them about 1 hour before he goes to bed and his stomach should stay full enough to stay alseep. They have a cereal bottle that you can use I got mine at Babies R Us....

On the Sippy cup thing....I started to give my son his sippy cup in the morning and told him that was all he was going to get. When he wouldn't take it I would just sit him in his high chair for a little while with it. It he gets thirsty enough he will use it. If it really seems like he doesn't want it all, he may not be ready for it. My daughter didn't start on a sippy cup until she was about 1 1/2 years old.... hope that THis helps

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K.O.

answers from Portland on

Sometimes you just have to deal with sleep disturbances. I'll bet once he finishes cutting his teeth and recovers from his ear infection he'll start sleeping again. Maybe not right away but within a few weekes. And once you think your sleep woes are finally over he'll go through another phase and you'll be up several times a night again. Not to be mean but, that's just how little kids are. My 2 year old son went through a 6 month long episode of what I think were night terrors, we were all miserable but things finally went back to normal. Hang in there! :O)

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V.H.

answers from Las Vegas on

My opinion is that he isn't ready. He has had alot of stress lately and kids don't like change it stresses them out. I would wait a while and then try again in a week or so. And if he has an ear infection perhaps he should go back to his formula for now, milk allergies show up as ear infections, that's how my parents figured out my allergy. Good luck, and I know it's hard but sometimes they just need things to staythe same for a little while. Too much at once is hard for kids to cope with.

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A.M.

answers from Sacramento on

Maybe your little guy's not ready to give up a nighttime bottle? If you only offered sippy cups during the day, and let him have is milk at bedtime for a while longer, maybe that would help make a future transition easier. Also, formula has more nutrients then milk, maybe a little longer on the formula would help him get over his ailments. Good Luck in whatever you decide.
A

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S.M.

answers from Chico on

First of all, I am JEALOUS that your little one a)slept through night and b) when he didn't, you got 4 hour increments! My son is a big one year old now and I think I have had 4 nights that he, technically, slept all night...and that was just last month! What I wouldn't give for a four hour block of sleep! :) lol

So, needless to say, I really don't have any advice on how to get him to sleep better. And on the sippy cup front, well, my son won't have anything to do with them either! He likes his formula (which I have been mixing with whole milk 1/2 and 1/2 since his birthday) in a bottle...he doesn't like juice, water, plain milk, etc....

So, I guess I just wanted to let you know that you aren't alone! :) Good luck, maybe I'll learn something from your requests' advice. lol

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R.P.

answers from Cincinnati on

I started my son on a sippy cup that has the soft nipple like a bottle. At first he wanted nothing to do with it. I would put some formula warmed up in it and would give it to him at breakfast, lunch and dinner. As he started to adjust I then would add water during the day and I also would drink from the sippy cup with water to show him mommy does it too. Its tough but they say when they are ready they will do it. I hope this helps.
Also not sleeping through the night, well my son didn't sleep the whole night until about 7-8 months and got up 3-4 times a night up until about 6 months. If he has a ear infection try to put him in his car seat so that he is more upright to sleep. For some reason when they have ear infections its painful for them to sleep flat. I would put my son in his car seat and then just put that in the crib. I hope this helps. Good luck. Is he teething also?

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M.H.

answers from Seattle on

IMO...you're trying to do too many things with him all at one time. Little ones can't handle so many changes at the same time. First of all...there's nothing that says that babies HAVE to be on whole milk right when they turn 1. I would say the first problem is definitely the ear infection. My son has always been a good sleeper, too...but when he's gotten ear infections, he's had sleep issues until the EI is completely gone. As for weaning to sippy cup...I would seriously consider just letting him have the bottle for now (my son just turned 2, and JUST got off the nighttime bottle...and the ped. said that was fine, because we have always brushed his teeth after he drinks the bottle before we put him into bed). Also, the formula to milk transition...when the time is right...do it slowly...like, 3/4 formula&1/4 milk, then 1/2 formula & 1/2 milk...etc. As for the sippy cups...I don't think there's any easy solution to that...it just takes time. Is he taking them at all during the day...or are you just having problems with it at night?

Like I said, though...I just think you're trying to introduce too many changes all at one time, on top of him being sick. I would personally stop trying to do all that...let him get over his illness and start sleeping through the night...and THEN start transitioning one thing at a time.

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E.V.

answers from Seattle on

I would say relax a little about the sippy cup. It will happen, he just doesn't sound ready yet. Let him get well all the way. That will probably mellow him out about the sleeping, too. If he has been on antibiotics at all (you said he had an ear infection) his little tummy might be bothering him and be helping to wake him up at night. The bottle of milk probably soothes that. It just sounds like the poor little guy is going through alot right now and just needs extra attention, however he demands it. It will pass.

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R.K.

answers from San Diego on

When my son turned one we had a hard time trying to figure out a way for him to catch on to the whole sippy cup. So what we did was teach him how to drink out of a straw. We would show him how and soon he caught on. When he could do that without us showing him we gave him a sippy cup doing the same thing with the straw and bam no more bottle. Hope this helps good luck!

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K.S.

answers from Seattle on

Hi R.,

One other thing you could try is a CD of lullabies. That really helps our little girl get to sleep. Also, when the baby is sick, bottle is comfort. We went through that very recently. Does your child have a favorite toy or blanket. We got this blanket when Sarah was 2 or 3 months old. Sarah sleeps with it ALL the time. She will not sleep w/o it. Also, I have found that vaporizers and humidifiers work very well too. They soothe the child with pleasant smells and moisture. Hope some of these suggestions are helpful....

Blessings,

K

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J.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi R.,
Try laying him on his belly and gently pat him on the back or use both hands one on the back and one the butt, gently patting him. The other suggestion is to hold him up and put his head on your shoulder and walk with him while gently patting or rubbing him on the back.
Try giving him the cup with a straw. What you can also do is to put an ice cube in the cup and shake it so he can hear the nice sound it makes. Lastly put red punch in his cup and let him see the pretty color. At that age my children didn't want to associate with milk in a cup. They associate milk with the bottle. I hope that helped.

J.

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D.G.

answers from Portland on

this is a bit wierd but my friend got a bunch of sippy cups and would have everyone use them in front of him. When he wanted a sip of our drink he would have to get it from the sippy and with everyone else using them he was more curious to try. So that may work for you.

If he is still feeling sick then I wouldnt stress the sleep routine too much. Just try and keep it as normal as you can and as soon as he is fully better he will slide back into it hopefully.

Good luck.

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