8 Month Old Still Needing Mommy

8 months old and you are worried about cuddling with you? As I understand it it's part of the package. Kids don't grow tired of human contact until they're ready to go into middle school or something. But a baby ALWAYS needs, wants, and deserves holding and cuddling.

my 13 month old loves to reah out and get comfort knowing I am there. :)

if you do get pregnant that still gives him another year of you before the baby. and when its time you can make decisions for your family sleeping.

for now to have a happy family and comforted baby I would simply be there for him :)

This is very normal behavior! You can gently try some different things, but a lot of families solve this by having the baby in their room so they can get more sleep themselves! Would you consider breastfeeding your next baby? Such a great way to meet these needs and so healthy for your little one!

It's actually normal behavior that your son is demonstrating... Even though our culture seems to think that babies should sleep through the night very early on and be able to put themselves back to sleep, there are many studies to suggest that that behavior does not "naturally" happen until sometime between age 2 and age 4. Even though it is not always easy, I suggest enjoying the time as much as you can, someday you will be begging him for a little cuddle time.

Of course he still needs mommy--8 months is still very young! My 9 month old is exactly like this. It's very normal for them to need cuddle time with you at night. My 3 year son sleeps the whole night in his bed, but it takes awhile for them to reach that point.

Hi S.,

I know this is hard to hear. But your child has to learn to put himself to sleep. By you entering his room in the middle of the night when he wakes,you are rewarding him. you are not allowing him to learn how to fall asleep on his own.
Your doctor will tell you. Put the child in his crib at bed time.leave the door cracked alittle if you need to. Then no matter what... do not enter the childs room in the middle of the night. Let him cry it out. crying is a way a baby learns how to fall asleep. After the third night he should sleep soundly. I know I too had to do this with my own son. Those three nights I cried myself. It was hard not to go in and picj up my son and hold him. But I followed my doctors advise and Tanner started sleeping longer and so he was a much happier baby through the day. He even started taking longer naps. give it a try when you are ready. but it won't be easy on you. remember others of us have had to do it too.

Contrary to popular belief, crying is NOT how a baby learns to fall asleep. When I'm tired I like to do comforting things to fall asleep (reading, cuddling, warm bath) - what's comforting about being upset and crying? Your baby needs your comfort and there's nothing wrong with that. His emotional needs are just as valid as his physical ones. My advice is to cherish your time with him now because soon enough he'll be running off with his friends and will want nothing to do with your hugs.

All babies have different sleeping habits. If you wait til he is sleeping longer, you might have a very long wait! Keep in mind he has at least 9 months to start sleeping differently. By the time a new baby arrives, he might have given up the afternoon nap and sleep longer at night. He is still so young and maybe he just wants his mom. When babies are "on a grow" sometimes they don't sleep well, even if they aren't hungry. I don't believe in the cry it out thing. Just be there for him, snuggle or give him his bottle, don't talk to him or he'll think it's time for social hour. This WILL pass.

hmmm sounds like mommy has trouble letting go. better keep the romance alive with the new hubby.and don't worry your son will be ok. after all he gets all your love all day. maybe he just wants to hear your voice. record a story using your gentle voice and play it for him and see if that helps.

Virginia offers some FANTASTIC advice in her post. Try to wean your son off YOU at bedtime by spending less and less time in there. If he cries, you can go in and comfort him without picking him up so he knows he has to stay in his bed. You can read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," by Dr. Marc Weissbluth, and you can read Dr. Sears' books and read about Ferber's method. Figure out which method (or combo) works for you. Our daughter didn't sleep through the night consistently until after 12 months and that's only b/c we let he
r cry it out (45 of the longest minutes of my life, but it was only ONE night of that!) as per Dr. Weissbluth's method. Your son needs to learn to soothe himself to sleep, otherwise you may find yourself doing this for years to come.
On a side note, we are trying to teach our 3YO daughter to soothe herself to sleep since we gave up the pacifier on July 3rd. I think we are FINALLY getting over the hump...
GOOD LUCK!

I also do not agree with letting a baby cry it out at night. It is not true that they will not learn to put themselves to sleep if you nurture or comfort them. A child should expect to receive comfort from his parents. I sat in my child's room and sang to her and we said prayers together. She goes to sleep fine on her own and we never had any problem with her going to bed at night. Why should we think the best thing for a child is to let them be frightened and insecure at night. Do we ignore them if they are frightened of something or need reassurance during the day? Please enjoy this time. They grow up so fast and soon won't want you to cuddle them. Hold them and love them as much as you can.

There is a difference btwn crying it out and teaching your baby to put themselves back to sleep. It needs to be taught, it's a skill. No, that doesn't mean you should put baby down to cry for hours while you sleep in the next room (who could do that?). You have to comfort your baby, thats how you teach them that it's okay to go to sleep, mommy will be there in the morning because mommy is ALWAYS there when baby needs her. Go in and comfort him but he doesn't need a bottle if you have been successful at getting full feedings throughout the day and helping him organize his hunger patterns. Night is a little harder but keep at it, by the time this other baby is born you could have a perfect sleeper!

~L.

My youngest didn't sleep all the way through the night consistently until she was over a year - so that should come with time. With that said, you need to teach your son to put himself to sleep. It's not an easy task. All the books I read when I had my first was to set the expectation of how they will sleep at the start of the night. Create a bed time routine if you don't have one. Then put him to bed in his crib and leave him on his own. At his age, he could probably have a stuffed animal or some sort of lovey if your comfortable with it. Our oldest would only sleep if she could hold something to her chest between her arms (she's still like that at 5). By laying down with him and leaving after he's asleep he's expecting you to be there when he wakes up. When he does wake up, he expects you to stay with him until he falls asleep - and stay with him!! He may even be waking up because he realizes you aren't there. By putting him to bed when he is awake, you are showing him that you won't be there when he wakes up. If you wanted to make cuddle time part of the routine, then cuddle with him in a chair and put him down when he is still at least a little awake. We actually have relaxation time from 7 - 8 in our house. The girls are much more ready for bed when they are "forced" to stay still and watch TV with mom and dad for an hour. Good luck!!!

Very Funny Kristin K! lol--I would suggest putting him to bed and letting letting him cry it out. I had to do that with my son. It was hard at first but he went right to sleep. Just remember that the older he gets and the more you are with him and falling asleep with him, the harder it will be for him to let go and fall asleep on his own. Dont be surprised if he cries for hours and hours (I think my son cried for almost 4 hours the first time). Be strong and God Bless

PS..its not going to hurt a baby to cry it out. My thought was at least I know he's alive in there..Ive never heard of a teen/grown adult going up to their parents saying man, I remember when you left me in my crib until I fell asleep...It's not going to hurt them. They just want the attention. I'm not saying dont give attention, just when your supposed to. A child needs a schedule..if they whine and cry in the store that still doesnt mean they get the toy right? Same thing!

5 hours is sleeping through the night! You're very lucky to have an 8 month old who sleeps so long. Count your blessings!