How to Get a 15 Month Old to Sleep Through the Night

Updated on March 16, 2008
J.G. asks from Priest River, ID
23 answers

My son still wakes up anywhere from 2 to 5 times a night. When he wakes up he wants his sippy cup. I am beyond exhausted and would like to enjoy a decent night sleep. Also how do I begin to ween him off of the sippy cup at night? I think its a security thing with him.

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So What Happened?

Thank you everyone for the helpful advice I received. I did the Cri it out method for 3 days and he has been sleeping through the night for few days now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it remains this way.

*J.- the almost rested mom*

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K.R.

answers from Portland on

I have a 2 year old and a 6 month old. I found that putting them on a schedule really worked for me. I HIGHLY recommend the book, Good Night Sleep Tight. It shows you how to "teach" (that's the key) them to sleep. Even it you didn't teach them from the beginning, you can still teach them when they are older. The book if very informative at any age. I hope this helps.

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D.L.

answers from Seattle on

Hi J., I bet you are tired,, me too,, I am helping my daughter raise her son,, 14 months today,, and he has to have or want his bottle at night 2 to 3 times,, so I'm going to try just putting water in it,, and just a little bit,, try that and see,, I will too,, good luck!!! D. :))

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A.E.

answers from Seattle on

Hi!! I strongly reccommend the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. This book honestly changed our lives. My son is now 12 months old, but at 10 months old he was still waking up several times a night just to have the binki put back in or drink a bottle. I read this book and followed it very strictly for about 4 days, and it totally changed. It seems very harsh, and for 3 or 4 days you are going crazy, but after that it is a miracle!! Our son now sleeps 11-12 hours a night and hardly ever wakes up, it is wonderful!! Good Luck!

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A.B.

answers from Spokane on

I have a 15 month old girl who went through the same thing. When I finally said enough is enough I would go peek through the crack in the door when she cried to make sure she was ok. I would then go back to bed and just let her cry it out. When she was down to twice a night (11:10 and 2:30 like cloclwork) it seemmed that these crying sessions got shorter and shorter. Now she cries very occasionally, just a whimper. She slept with until she was 10 months old, because we were adding onto our home and she didn't have a bedroom. She would not sleep in a crib next to us if she could see us so we let her in our bed (so we could get a little sleep). She would nurse off and on all night-my friend said she had the "All night diner." She was used to breastfeeding instead of the sippy cup in your case. It was hard to get her used to her crib, but now it's heaven. The first few nights is the worst! Good luck and don't give up

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H.B.

answers from Seattle on

I second the recommendation of the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I started implementing it at 4-5 months with each of my kids and they were sleeping 12+ hours at night by 8 and 10 months respectively. We still have our occasional bumps in the road (ages 3 and 1 1/2), but we just come back to those principles when necessary and things settle back to normal quickly. It's hard to let your child cry, but you will all be so much better rested once you are not getting up every few hours with a child that is quite capable of sleeping without your help.

I liken it to teaching our children to eat healthy food, they may cry for candy or sweets at dinnertime, but does that mean we give it to them instead of the healthy dinner we've prepared? No, we do what we know is best for them in the long run, even if they scream and throw a fit. Going to your child every night is like candy, of course they want your company, and it is a quick fix that is easy at the moment, and stops the crying temporarily, but keeps them (and you) from getting the healthy, restful sleep they (and you) need.

I've also heard that any method you choose to use will work if you stick to it, just pick one that you think you can stick to. I was determined to get through the crying phase more quickly, and CIO does work faster than other methods, so that's what we chose. But for those with the fortitude for other, gentler and more gradual methods, if you think you can't handle crying and know you can make it for the long haul, then go that route. I'm just sharing what worked for us. The great thing about the book rec. is that it outlines various methods, crying it out is not the only one, it's the most extreme (and fastest), and he shows a lot of research that shows that it is NOT damaging to the child as many "experts" claim. But if you're not up to it, then choose a different method, of course.

Good luck! Interrupted sleep every night is really rough, but it can get better!!

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M.W.

answers from Seattle on

He doesn't really want the sippy cup. He wants the comfort of knowing you will be there at his whim. I went through something similar right before my daughter turned one. I went to her pediatrician and she basically told me I had to do something sooner rather than later because after a certain age it becomes a battle of will, versus, battle of needs. She told me I had 3 options and one would work much sooner than the others. Option 1: Put said sippy cup in bed with water only. Could lead to a bad habit and really isn't necessary. Option 2: No-cry sleep solution: go in, do not give sippy, rub his back or whatever to get him settled, leave, come back, comfort some more, leave, keep repeating. Do not pick him up, do not talk. Option 3: cry it out.

Our pediatrician really seemed hesitant to recommend the "no-cry" method because she said I was so tired that I really needed to get this taken care of (I was a total wreck), and that method could take a few weeks-months. She said if I could tolerate a few nights of crying, it would take a week to 10 days--she was right.

We chose option 3 because I work full-time, and I was going out of my mind from sleep deprivation. It took us 3 days of about 45 minutes of crying but on the 4th night, she woke up once and whimpered for a minute or two and went back to sleep. She is now almost 15 months and sleeps through the night no problem.

There are a lot of moms and dads out there who would never allow their child to cry for an extended amount of time--and I was definitely one of them. Unfortunately, I was also beginning to resent my own child because I was only getting two or maybe three hours of sleep in intervals so it made being her mom, and being a full time worker very challenging. She never seemed to harbor anger or fear of bedtime, she was always her same old happy self in the morning. Now we're so much better off and I think I truly enjoy being a parent so much more!

You could make an appointment with your pediatrician and see what he/she recommends. There are a bunch of books out there. I'm sure others will have great advice too! I know how hard it is to be so exhausted, it will get better, but it might require some work.
Best wishes to you.

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J.W.

answers from Seattle on

J. I went throught the exact same situation with my daughter at the same age..well actually we were dealing with sleeping through the night along with her addiction to needing her sippy cup and trying to get her to sleep in her own bed and not ours. I tried everything known to man and finally I caved and tried the "ferber" method and low and behold after a week she not only sleeps through the night but in her own bed! I started out (and this may not be an issue with your little guy) putting her in her crib and letting her cry for short periods and then go in and reassure then the periods gradually got further apart..5 mins...10 mins...30 mins, etc. When she would wake up at night I would start the whole process over. When i would go in to reassure her and she would sign "milk" i would tell her it was too late for milk and that it was time to go back to bed. The first few days it was hard but by the 3rd day it was pretty much a done deal with waking up at night looking for her sippy cup.

We have been sippy cup free and sleeping through the whole night for 3 months now!

Hope this helps!
J. F

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B.Z.

answers from Portland on

J.,
I know my answer isn't the most popular answer, but it worked for me! I have 4 kids ages 18, 16, 15 and 6. The oldest 2 are wonderful kids and we have a great relationship, we are working on the 15 year old, I know that he will get there too! Anyway I can say from experience that letting all of my kids learn to go to sleep by themselves didn't damage their emotional happiness in any way. They have all been very happy kids. I have seen tired grumpy kids and moms and think that rested kids and moms are much calmer and happier. So here's my response:

My oldest 3 children (I have 4) are 3 years apart from oldest to #3. My sister-in-law, who is a Internist with 3 children, saved my sanity with a book called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". It is written by a pediatric sleep expert. He says that children wake up out of habit to be comforted and not because they are hungry. He says that sometimes we need to teach our kids to turn over and go back to sleep by themselves. He advocates letting them cry themselves to sleep. This can be difficult and doesn't always work. Some kids just won't stop crying. (I have a friend whose child cried for over 2 hrs!)It did work for my kids. Keep a regular bedtime and establish regular bedtime rituals, like reading a bedtime story and singing them a lullaby. Then say goodnight, close the door and keep it closed until the morning! No sippy cups. They want mommy, not water. Or you can leave the cup in bed with him. At bed time show him the cup and tell him that when he is thirsty he can get his own drink himself. Sometimes this small amount of control is all they need. My oldest cried for about an hour for 3 nights. He did not wake up during the night. I started this when he was about 19 months old and I was 7 months pregnant with #2. I needed to be able to put him straight to bed and not take 1/2 hr. rocking him as I had been because my husband was often not home at bedtime and I couldn't leave the baby alone for that long. I don't remember how long it took for the other 2 but I know it wasn't nearly as bad because I started shortly after they turned 3 months old. This is when they can first learn to go to sleep on their own. They all slept wonderfully as young kids and never fussed about going to bed. I kept bedtime the same time every night. I would highly recommend the book, it is easy to read and you don't have to read the whole thing. I wouldn't recommend trying this without reading the book as without an expert to refer back to, you might give up.
As I said, judging from the posts I have read this isn't a popular answer but it works. I believe that a rested happy mommy is a better mommy. Chronic lack of sleep can cause resentment towards your children. It can also be dangerous to yourself and others, I know that when I am very tired I easily nod off while driving. Not a good thing! Your children will also wake up happier. They need a good nights sleep almost as much as you do. As I said, my kids were very happy kids and I think I can rightly attribute some of that to good sleep habits.
Hope this helps.
B.

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A.M.

answers from Seattle on

My son is 17 months old and we have had the same problem up until about 2 weeks ago. He wanted to fall asleep with his sippy cup and then woke up 1-2 times for it again during the night. I finally got FED UP.

We start his bedtime routine with a bath after we make sure he has a good dinner. Then we put him into his pyjamas. After that, he gets his sippy cup on the sofa with me or his father while we look at a book together. When he gets to the point where he is not drinking it, or tries to get up and play, we tell him to drink it or he can go nite-nite. When it is obvious he won't drink anymore, we go brush his teeth. (He LOVES to brush his teeth.) Then it is off to his bedroom. First we turn on the night light, then the music, then we allow HIM to turn off the big light at the light switch. After that, we do LOTS of hugs and kisses while saying repeatedly: "nite-nite, I love you!" Then he goes into the crib, no sippy cup. For a few nights when he woke up, I gave him 1 oz only of water in his sippy cup and he went back to sleep right away. But eventually after about 4 nights of this, he just stopped waking up. I think he didn't see the point of waking up for just water. He sleeps 10 or 11 hours in a row now almost every night. Thank goodness!!! since I am going to have another baby in 7 weeks!

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M.Q.

answers from Portland on

Hi,
My son is 6 months old and I was told that from the 3rd-4th month on he should be able to sleep the whole night through, right. I keep on hoping. He's still full breastfed and he wakes up every 2 or 3 hours to get a drink.

Now, these are all the tricks they've told me to get him to sleep through the night, your case is a bit different so I’ll only tell you the ones that apply:

Tire him out before he goes to bed.

If he still wakes up, no sippy cup. Let him first to try to get back to sleep by himself, if this does not work, help him. If as you say this is a security thing with your son, a few reassuring words might do the trick. Eventually he will catch up on the fact that you are always there so he doesn't feel the need to wake up to check. A few strokes in circle motion on the tummy or back seem to work with mine.
If none of the above works, give in and try your luck next time.

Hope this helps. Just remember you are not alone. We are many members of the SAME league: Sleepless and Alert Mothers who are mostly Exhausted.

Best,
M..

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V.E.

answers from Medford on

This is what I did...I had all three of my boys on a schedule. They were not allowed to sleep more than 2.5 hours a day at nap time and I made sure they stayed busy playing and being active until bedtime. By the time bathtime was done they were so wore out that they slept all night! As far as the sippy cup, I was scared that my kids teeths would be jacked up so I didn't give it to them at night. After I threw away the bottle at 9 months, the night feedings ended! Yes, this sounds a little harsh, but in the end it was worth it and they weren't "damaged"! Good luck!

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D.B.

answers from Richland on

We had the same issue, with our now two year old. I talked to my Dr. and he said that he is just playing me and I give in so I can sleep. He said his little body can sustain him through the night and to give hime a cup when you put him down the first time and then ignore it. Turn off the monitor, shut the door, roll over. It totally worked!!! It took a few days, fewer than I thought, but it is worth a try! Trust me a good nights sleep is SO worth it!

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J.D.

answers from Portland on

J.,
I am so happy to hear that many other mom's have tried the cry it out method and have had success because I too have had success with it and BELIEVE ME a couple of "CRY IT OUT" nights is so worth it in the long run when you have many peaceful nights of "SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT" for years to come.

My daughter has been successfully sleeping through the night for almost 2 years now. It was very hard to hear my daughter cry when we 1st started the bedtime routine. I know that some moms think it is hurtful and damaging to the child and they also would have a hard time hearing their child cry and don't know if they could handle it, but we would go QUICKLY in her room every 5 minutes to remind her to go to sleep in a very NEUTRAL tone of voice WITHOUT picking her up. By doing this we would reassure her that we had not abandoned her and would let her know that we were serious about this. We would eventually start spreading this out to 10 minutes and then 15 minutes etc...

Now I am not saying this was easy to do. My husband was a great support and the book "Sleeping Through The Night" by Jodi A Mindell helped us out a lot. Once it became too hard for me to handle I left the house and had my hubby take over. It seriously only took a few days and I am so glad we stuck it out because the last 2 years of her sleeping through the night have been great for all of us.

I liked what Anissa had to say; "It seems very harsh, and for 3 or 4 days you are going crazy, but after that it is a miracle!!" I also like what Heidi had to say; "crying it out is not the only one, it's the most extreme (and fastest), and he shows a lot of research that shows that it is NOT damaging to the child as many "experts" claim"

We justed started implementing this with our 8 month old son and though he fought it for 1 hr and 45 minutes the 1st time within days he was sleeping on his own and was no longer waking up 5 times a night like he use to. All I can say is that I feel like a better mom now that I have gotten better sleep. This will help everyone in the long run and will help your son for the rest of his life. Many studies have link sleeping disorders in adults to their childhood sleeping habits.

Good luck with everything. J.

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M.C.

answers from Seattle on

I have a 14 month old and a 3 year old. We put a sippy cup with water only in it and left it in the crib with each of our children. It worked well for us.

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G.C.

answers from Richland on

A 'spill proof' type cup in the corner of his crib. This worked for my boys. I always would put it in the same corner of the crib and my boy would see me do it, so he'd know it was there. The only time I would get 'called' in the night is if it was empty, or if I forgot to put it there. My boys are older now and so now it is a cup with a lid. My hubby used to call to his mom in the night for a drink too (he still kept water by his bed). Hope this helps. ABOUT ME: I'm married and we have 5 children, oldest is 11, youngest is not yet 1.

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A.B.

answers from Anchorage on

Munchkin makes a good spill proof sippy cup with a straw. Even though my daughter drinks from a regular cup during the day she still takes her sippy cup of water to bed with her every night. I need water during the night so I can relate.

Good luck!

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M.S.

answers from Portland on

Whatever he is getting in his sippy cup, slowely replace it with water. Begin to water it down a little more each night. After a week or two, get him down to just water in his sippy cup and let him keep it in his crib. When he wakes up, he can get it himself and will not need to call for you. It will become less appealing when all it has is water, and he will stop wanting it. My son likes to cuddle his sippy cup while he sleeps.

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D.J.

answers from Portland on

I'm a mother of a 14 month old daughter who fortunately doesn't wake up as much through the night anymore. She too, uses a sippy cup but, I try to use the binky at night. I guess, my question is, "Where does he sleep?" Is he sleeping with you or does he sleep in his own bed? Have you tried using a binkie (pacifier) or would you prefer not? Well, I talked to my daughter's doctor who says its not bad to use a pacifier. She does however; say that I shouldn't get in that habit of giving her a sippy cup throughout the night.

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A.S.

answers from Richland on

Hi J.,
I have an almost 21 month old son and he tends to wake up lots of times at night and at first I would respond to him but my husband encouraged me to just let hi make himself tired with crying till he went back to bed, that has basically helped, he just wakes up for little 1 min. "blips" I call them, and goes right back to sleep. I also stopped giving him and my daughter anything to drink but water after 4, juice especially made it hard for him to sleep, milk did a little too, it also has sugar in it, they only get that if we have somthing spicy or another thing that may irritate their tummy. I would just say that not giving him that attention he's crying for at night will get him to realize he's not gonna get what he wants, so he'll just let go and sleep, even if he cries for over an hour, eventually our little one will hopefully sleep solid through the whole night and so will yours, just takes time and patience.

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W.L.

answers from Seattle on

I think you are right it sounds like he's using his sippy as a "passie". Can you give it to him empty? Then try to ween him off of it? I'm sorry I don't have any suggestions for ya. My 4.5 yr old still sucks his thumb at night, tell me how ya break that one?
Best wishes,
W.

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J.H.

answers from Seattle on

for my daughter, i would put a spill proof cup in her crib with water so if she wanted her cup..it was there. still at the age of 3.5, she likes her cup next to her bed.

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M.S.

answers from Portland on

I am a mother of four. My youngest are 18 month old twins so every so often I miss a good nights sleep. I learned that my 18 month old son will wake up every night at around the same times to either get up or for a cuppy if I let him every time. I know it is hard but if you let them cry it out and not let them up they usually get out of the habit of getting up. My son will go back to sleep now easier cause it is not habit. It helps us both get a better nights sleep.

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H.C.

answers from Seattle on

When my guys were little I just gave them their sippy cup with water in it. That seemed to eliminate a lot of the I want a drink kind of problems.

He may be waking up to check to see if you are there and the sippy cup is an excuse to see you. So, if he has the sippy cup and he wakes up still with some other reason to see you, maybe try just coming in talking for a minute, then leaving. Don't pick him up just rub his back. After a couple of nights doing this, then just call back to him so he knows you can hear him if he really needs you. It may take a little time.

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