3:00Am Way Too TIRED

Some babies are not yet ready to sleep through the night, so this may be normal. Why do you feel you need to go in there every time? He may be wet, but not uncomfortably so. And a 1 1/2 year old boy never needs to feed at night. He may be getting up because he is expecting some sort of social interaction with you. On the other hand, he may really need his diaper changed or he is too cold or hot, whatever. What I do is wait about 5 minutes or so before going in to see what is wrong, unless he is crying hysterically from the start. If he still fusses, then I go in, address the need (I don't feed him), and quickly rock him back to sleep. I bring him into my bed if I sense that something is really upsetting him, and, after he is asleep, I bring him back. Works for me. Good luck.

Hi C.,
If you find a solution for this please share as I have a 4 year old who still does this!!!
I am way tired and I wish that several years ago I would have stoped going in and giving him milk (in a cup now of course). i think that he never really learned how to put himself back go sleep since I was always doing it for him. Now, I can offer this advice now (while I am awake) yet when you are woken out of a deep sleep at 3 in the morning I know you will do whatever it takes just to get your head on the pillow again. I end up sleeping half the night with my son as I get sick of tripping all over the place. Well, maybe not the advice you were looking for yet know that I will be up at 3 as well! Joy!

Oh, and I loved all of my friends that would shake their heads when I told them my son would not sleep through the night as they would pat themselves on the back as they had sleepers...love that most of their second children do not sleep either. Sometimes it is the luck of the draw!

Most children wake up once or twice in the night, turn over and go back to sleep. When your son wakes up, do not change him or give him anything. Simply lie him down and pat his back till he drifts off again. Dont talk to him or turn on a light. He needs to learn to put himself back to sleep. Leave a bottle of WATER (NO MILK OR JUICE) in the crib with him and when he wakes up give it to him, without saying anything. After a few nights of this, wait a few minutes before you go to him, each night wait a little longer. Soon he should be settling down himself and going back to sleep.

Is he 1 1/2 years old or 1 1.2 months old...I think that would help the moms give you some good advice.

Hi C.,
He is continuing to wake up because you are giving him attention. A 1 1/2 year old does not need a bottle at night. He is fussy, not hysterical. We all wake up during the night, but he needs to learn how to soothe himself back to sleep, not to expect a visit from mom, diapering time, a bottle. I didn't allow my kids to cry at night, but fussing is not crying. If he does cry, I would go in and comfort him but I would do away with night time bottle feedings meant for infants. He doesn't need it and it sets up a bad habit - and a need for more waking because his diaper won't be able to hold the extra wetness the bottle causes.

Because he knows you will come in! If you stop going in, he will eventually go back to sleep. It will be a tough couple of nights, but unless you see signs of something "wrong", he's just looking for some mama time!

I am not trying to be harsh, I know this is a difficult situation, but he is waking up because it is a habit you are playing into. There is no way a 1 1/2 year old needs a bottle in the middle of the night... in fact, he probably doesn't need to have a bottle at all any more and should be on sippy cups. Just stop giving him the bottles at night... use overnight diapers so he doesn't need to be changed, and just let him fuss until he goes back to sleep. If you want, you can go in and rub his back a bit, but don't turn the light on or talk to him. He needs to learn to fall back to sleep on his own... soon he won't even wake up in the nigth any more. Good Luck!