14 Month Old Waking at Night

Hello E.,

My daughter is 15 months and going through the exact same thing. Her napping schedules are about the same too- shorter nap in morning, longer nap in afternoon. She also uses a "binky" and "baby" to sleep with. Our kids never give the "classic" signs of an ear infection, so we decided to take her to the doctor yesterday just to check. Ears are perfectly fine, but she has six teeth coming through all at once, which explains why she is probably uncomfortable! We are treating her with Tylenol before napping and bedtime. Your daughter might be teething too? Hope this info helps...good luck!

I'd have to agree with the teething or the growing pains. Both my kids have growing pains (totally new to me because I never had them). Perhaps some Tylenol or Motrin could help out. If it's neither of those, then I would recommend cutting back the afternoon nap in 15 minute increments until she sleeps through the night.

My youngest would also wake up in the middle of the night (sometimes for hours)...we had one of the Fisher Price Aquariums attached to her crib and she would play the music until she fell back asleep...it also helped that it had a light on it (which may have made any scary monsters go away too). Night terrors are pretty common from this age on so any way you can let them be more independent in getting themselves back to bed, all the better.

I'd cut out the morning nap and make the afternoon a little longer (the other way if it's more convenient for you). I have 3 kids and 6 grandkids that have all stayed with me during the day and I can't remember any that slept this much at this age, most of them wouldn't take any nap after about 18 months.

It could be teeth, but it could also be that she is ready to drop a nap. At her age, that would be about right. Why don't you try it cold turkey (if she seems ready) or by moving that morning nap back 10-15 minutes each day for a week or two? Remember, she will still sometimes get tired at her old morning nap time, so try to avoid drives longer than 5-10 minutes at that time. Within a month or so, she will be adjusted and sleep better at night. And don't start any night time habits that you don't want to continue! Three nights makes a habit!

My girls sometimes needed a bit of comforting to get back to sleep at that age. What you're doing sounds about right. My son was different, and he just couldn't settle into a schedule at that age. We finally quit fighting it and gave him the tools he needed to comfort himself and keep himself amused when he was awake at night. He had access to a few toys, a bottle with water, and crackers to nibble on -- which means I had a mess to clean up in there every day, but it was a small price to pay for a peaceful night for the entire household. We put a child-gate up in his doorway so he didn't wander too much, but I could hear him if he fussed too much.

Hopefully your girl is just restless from teething or just getting ready for another growth spurt -- she'll likely settle down and everything you've done before will work again. And if it doesn't, you'll find new tricks that help.

Good luck.

LauraP

Hi E.

I have a 4 year old son and a 16 month old daughter. Both my children have always been good night sleepers until they were a little over a year that is when the majority of there back teeth are starting to come in. My daughter has recently been going through this on and off. She will just wake up screaming until we go to her. And I always think why isn't she sleeping if I go in when she cries I am worried that I will spoil her and she will get in the habit of waking at night but if she does this it only lasts a few days and I will bring her to my bed if she can't fall back asleep on her own and a few days later she is back to normal. My daughter sleeps from 7-7 also but she doesn't take a nap everyday and she has stopped her morning nap for good a couple months ago. So she might not sleep as well at night if she gets to much sleep during the day. Both of my kids have always been 12 hour night sleepers. But not very good nappers. Just trust your mothers instinct you will know by her cry what she really needs.
I hope this helps a little.

I agree with giving her the tools to help her go back to sleep herself. We worked with our son (now 2) to get himself back to sleep. When he woke up at night and fussed, we didn't respond, and he put himself back to sleep. If he did fuss for no apparent reason and could not go back to sleep, we'd go in, rub his back, and say good night when he calmed down, before he was asleep. When he started sleeping with a Glo-Worm (variable volume control), he would play with that for a few minutes and go back to sleep.
Find what works for you. If you're going to try something new, try it (stick with it) for a few nights to see what happens. She may need to get used to the new thing you are trying before you and she decide if it really will work for you.
Good luck! I hope you are able to sleep all the way through the night soon!

It's possible she could be teething. Does she have her 1 year molars yet? Or, it could be a growth spurt. Or, it just might be that she's growing out of needing both morning and afternoon naps. I'd give it another week or so to see if it's just a fluke thing caused by growing, teething, etc. If it doesn't change, try transitioning her to 1 nap per day and keep the bed time the same.

I hope she goes back to sleeping well, so you can sleep well!