9 Month Old STILL Wakes up Every 2 Hrs at Night

My youngest is 10 1/2 months and has just recently started waking up in the middle of the night. What I do is first change her diaper and offer a pacifier. That almost always is what she needs. If that doesn't work I sometimes just have to pat her back gently or swaddle her. I know that 9 months seems a bit old for swaddling but it is comforting to her and she goes back down very easily for me if I do.

I agree with others who have said that it might be best to move her out of the 3 yr old's room. I have a 3 yr old also and he always wakes up my 10 month old. If you feel that the only way is to move the baby to the basement, put a daybed or twin down there for YOU to sleep on and stay with her at night until she outgrows this phase. Personally for me it's easier to have the crib in my bedroom but I know that doesn't work well for everyone.

I would put your 9 month-old with you in your bed to make feeding her at night easier and leave the 3 year-old undisturbed. She will very likely outgrow this 2-3 hour need in the next few months.

Awww M., you sound like you're at your wits end and I feel for you! It's been awhile since I've been in your shoes (my girls are 9 and 7 years old) but some of it is still fresh in my mind!! What worked for me was called the Ferber Method (I think??) But basically it involves this - go into the room when she cries but don't pick her up. I actually didn't even make eye contact with her, I acted almost robotic. I would lay her back down in the crib if she was standing, then rub her head and say (in a firm voice) "good night" or "night night" or whatever - then walk out. I NEVER fed my girls in the middle of the night once they were past 12 pounds. Funny, that's what my pediatrician told me - he said once they were at that weight there was no medical NEED to eat in the middle of the night! Anyway, we kept up this routine of going in, laying her back down and walking out - sometimes I did it 10 times in one night, but I swear, both of them were sleeping through the night after only one week of that method. I don't know if they figured it out that we just were NOT going to get them out of bed?? Whatever it was, it worked. Worth a try. I wish you lots of luck and lots of good sleep soon! I truly understand where you're coming from :(

She is waking up because of habit Not hunger. She is "snacking ". Let her cry for 20 minute at a time. ( you can work your up to it) go in, say nothing. Place your hand on her, you can offer water in bottle or sippy cup. But don't talk. ( or turn lights on)
Stay strong. You both need the gift of sleep.
Good luck
D.

Your #2 is not the same child as #1 - which seems pretty obvious. This is growth spurt time, which means many feedings in a small amount of time - including overnight. Being a parent comes with certain absolutes - loosing sleep for the first 2-3 years is one of the given ones.

This is NORMAL infant behavior. Even adults do not or cannot sleep ALL NIGHT without waking, wanting a drink, hungry, bathroom, heard a noise, had a bad dream - so why would anyone think an infant or child can when they are not even close to the mental/physical/neurological maturity of an adult?

Yes - allowing or desiring to have your infant or child to cry to the point where they no longer trust that Mommy cares enough to help them, or that they vomit, hyperventilate, etc is cruel. Maybe you should not have had another child so close to #1 - so you could have given yourself more time to rest.

Maybe, is the 3 year old a noisy sleeper?
maybe that wakes up baby?
Sometimes even adult snoring will wake a baby.

And their cognition is changing at this age too. That wakes them too.
9 months is also a growth-spurt and developmental changes occurs at this age too. OR teething. It all tweaks sleep. And all of these things can occur at the SAME time. Not separately.

Are you, producing enough milk? If not, then she may not be getting full.
Some babies, take in more breastmilk, from direct nursing. Versus a bottle.

Or does she have gas??? She is on solids now. Gas wakes a baby too.
Try Mylicon infant gas drops.

First of all, you have to get the both of them out of the room from each other period. I have 2 girls that share a room, but they are 3 and 1 so they do very well. You cannot stick a 9 month old screaming child in the same room as your 3 year old. Once the 3 year old gets up, she will continue to think it's ok to sleep in mommys bed and she won't ever get out of that stage. So you have to stop that now!

As for your 9 month old getting up every 2-3 hours, I would suggest trying formula w/ cereal right before bedtime. The formula will coat the stomach better and the cereal will stick. Make sure she isn't getting gased or has an acid reflux problem. You can even try putting the mattress up about 6" where her head is. If it is gas or acid reflux, this helps so the burning doesn't go up and hurt their tummies.

As for your pediatrician, he/she must not be very good. My pediatrician would be checking her over and doing tests to be sure everything is ok. Has she done this 2-3 hours waking up every night since she was born? Or did she sleep good and then now she is all of a sudden she is getting up? If she's done it since she was born, then yes, you may need to just continue to let her cry it out. If she is just starting it, there could be several other things going on. I would suggest maybe a new pediatrician.

Now, I know your basement is finished, but you cannot stick a screaming 9 month old in a huge room by herself with nobody near her. If there is something seriously wrong or she starts choking and you don't hear it, then what? I know it's hard since you aren't getting much sleep but I would be checking with other doctors to see what the problem is. It really sounds to me like she is doing it on purpose though. She knows that she shares a room with her sister and knows that you'll come in and get her. So the real question is, when you get her, does she stop crying immediately or does she continue to cry until you feed her?

If she stops crying when you pick her up, then you know that she is doing it so she can get your attention. If she is continuing to cry until you feed her, it could be that she is going through a growth spurt or that she is gased.

There are so many factors here that you have to consider, but you have to be patient with kids. Just please don't stick her in the basement by herself. She is only 9 months old! Eventually she will sleep and so will you.......and your 3 year old!

I would move your 9 month old into your room. My 3 year old and 4 month old share a room but I would never dream of putting them together at night while my youngest still wakes in the middle of it. My 3 year old needs more sleep than I do and his brother waking during the night isn't his problem--it is mine as the parent. I sincerely hope you are joking about putting her in the basement--finished or not. If that is the case then I feel horrible for your poor baby girl. I realize that lack of sleep can really get to you, but your baby's well being is more important. Some kids just wake up more than others. All babies are different. Good luck. I hope you get some sleep.

My daughter never slept well and for her it was food allergy/intolerance. I'm not saying that's your daughter's issue...just something to keep in the back of your head....

I simply couldn't do cry it out in because of the anxiety you are talking about in your post. In my opinion this is called "mother's instinct." You know your baby is crying for you, and you need to help them when they do.
9 month olds are at the height of seperation anxiety, growth spurt, teething, and learning to crawl/cruise all at once! At this age my babies slept with me and nursed all night - I'm talking every HOUR. Yes, it was exhausting; yes, there were nights I just wanted to scream "Go to sleep!"; yes, my husband was at a loss on how to help me.
BUT I had friends who were in the same stage with their babies and we would gripe to each other at the park and leave feeling better that we weren't alone. We would sit on each others living room floors and play with each others babies and feed each other lunch when one of us was too tired to function. Then when our kids were turning three we walked each other through getting them to stay in their own beds at night. My girlfriends were invalueble to me during the first three years of my kids lives!
I don't really have any advice on how to get your baby sleeping, but I thought I'd let you know you're not alone!