Late Night Baby Girl!

Hi, J.. My suggestion would be to give her an earlier bedtime. My son started off with a regular routine of bath at 7 p.m. and bed right after that. Now that he's 16 months old, he'll stay up and play in his crib for a bit, but he still is asleep by 8:30-9:00 and sleeps the whole night through. My pediatrician recommends NOT cutting down on nap time. A well-rested baby will actually sleep better than a child that doesn't get in the naps that they should.

One of my girls went through the same exact thing, right around that age.
Sorry it's not the most helpful advice, but I never found a way to 'fix' it...it just kind of ended on its own, eventually.

Any kind of developmental milestone can throw great sleep habits out the window. (So yes, teething could do it.)

Is she learning how to sit up? Sometimes babies will be so excited about 'learning' to do a new thing, they want to explore that, rather than sleep.

I've heard great things about the book 'Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child' (although I personally don't have it). It does a great job of explaining how babies' sleep patterns work.

hang in there!

Hi, my name is Tasha. I have never been married before, so much of my parenting was done alone or with the help of my mother until "2000". I'm not sure about your arival time to your home, but I used to give my children baths the same time every night. We all would eat diner @ the same time every evening,rigt after school. Then we would all play together(for tireing out baby), bathe them in luke-warm bath & keep or make all lotions,powders,oils or what ever you may choose to use to rub baby down in as warm as possible.Dress her for bed as peacful but quickly as you can, rap her in warm bedding....dim the lights(or use night-lite) & put on some soothing music.Keeping my childrens mouths wiped out periododicly with a warm baby-cloth, then giving them a cool but firm teething ring usually helped me a WHOLE lot.

I can totally relate...my youngest daughter did that for a few months...I finally called the doc to ask for help. He said to let her cry it out...make sure she was well fed before bed, had a nice bottle and a warm bath. A few hours before bed turn down the lights, the tv, radio whatever is on and so she starts to get sleepy. When she is in bed if she cries just let her cry...it will be so hard at first..but after a few days my daughter stopped crying and now she is a little over a year and she knows when I put her into her crib it is time to sleep and she hardly even fusses anymore....it's not for everyone but it helped us alot...good luck!

I've been there--it was many years ago w/my first daughter(who is now 21). Thank the Lord my twins (now 17) were very good sleepers. One thing I found out--a schedule--though at times difficult to implement--& sometimes painful for our heartstrings as moms--is pertinent. It took about 3 years to break my oldest of waking up & going to bed at all hrs. Teething will exacerbate the problem--but it really doesn't hurt to let your baby cry--just try cking on her every 10 min or keep your monitor on--I know it's a killer (we also suffered thru this w/my 3.5 yr old grandson who we helped raise for a few yrs). If the little one is dry, not hungry, no fever, she will be fine. My sister has a 1 yr old son--he has restless nights w/his teething--but she sticks to a schedule give or take 30 min & it works great. Oh--another thing--we did find out there was a problem w/my oldest--she had major ear infections since 10 days old (& I nursed)--finally--age 2--we find out there was so much fluid/pressure on her hear drum when laying flat--it caused incredible pain but she didn't know how to articulate it--raised her mattress (the head of it) just a little bit--problem solved. Every child is different--one of my twins goes to bed when tired still--the other--fights the whole way. Best to you & hang in there--when she's 17--you'll wish you could shrink her down again.

I went through the same exact thing with my son for almost 3 months! From what you're saying, it sounds like she may not be getting enough sleep. How I learned this is though the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I never in a million years thought that he may not be getting enough sleep, but it's true. Babies can get soo overtired that they have a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep. Believe it or not, my set of twins go to bed at 7:30pm and sleep until 7:30am along with taking two naps a day (totaling about 1-1/2 - 2 hrs). That book saved my life! They are much happier babies and we are much happier parents. It was the best $16.00 that I've ever spent!!

Is she working on any other skills right now too? Both of my kids went through a week or more of disrupted sleep patterns anytime they were working on a new skill - sitting, standing, walking, talking, etc. They were just too busy working on the new skill that they didn't have time for sleeping. Once they mastered the new skill, they would return to their normal sleep pattern and even a little extra since they had lost some.

Another thought too - Are you cutting the longer nap because you are concerned that she is sleeping too much during the day and not tired at night? Approximately 12 hours sleep total seems a bit low for 7 months. Are you hoping she'll pick those extra 2 hours up at night if you take it from a nap? Has she always gone to bed at 130am? Or is that a change to also try to get her to stay asleep? It is really helpful to keep their sleep schedule and routines very consistent. Changing it can really throw them off. Strange as it seems, sometimes when they are tired, they don't sleep as well. You might check with your pediatrician about the amount of sleep she is getting. I don't remember the recommended amount off hand for that age, but both my 3 year old and 20 month old sleep about 12 hours at night and still need about 2-3 hour naps in the afternoon. Every child is different, but typically the amount of sleep needed decreases as they get older so that is why I wonder if your daughter might actually need to keep that nap for a while. Good Luck - sleep disruption is hard to cope with.

H.

It is probably because of her teething i would say cut out the second nap completely (the 45 min one) position the first nap so that its half way between when she woke up and when she goes to bed and when she decides to wake up in the middle of the night give her some oragel or tylenol to ease the pain and put her back to bed. If you let her keep on this pattern she may think its ok and keep doing.

I read in a book that the earlier you put the child to better, the better. He actually stated between 7-8:00 is the best time. There was a reason for this, but I can't remember exactly. However, I believe this is true. My daughter has always gone to bed at 8:00. The latest ever was 9:00. It's just routine and She has been a wonderful sleeper.

It also could be teething. When my daughter was 6-7 months old she started getting up again. When she did this, we would go into the room, lay her back down and leave. If she cried, we waited 10 min or so, and repeated what we did before. It only lasted 2-3 weeks.

I really do think that putting her down at an earlier bed time might help, try it. Maybe by 1:00am she's over exhausted!

Are you playing with her when she wakes up? My kids have always been good sleepers one thing I did was if they wake up before daytime I din't play with them or turn all the liights on. I think if you do that it confuses them beasue to me daytime is time for play nightime was to sleep.

So when you go to get her don't turn on every light, turn on enough so you can see what you are doing but if you keep things quiet and dark that may help. I always did what was needed and get them back to sleep. I hope that helps.

Good luck!!

She has her days and nights confused. It will take a couple days and nights to get her internal clock set with our clocks, but it will be important to be consistent with sleeping and waking times.

At this age, a child's sleep cycle is 90 minutes. This means they need at least 90 minute intervals of sleep for it to gve them any benefit.

She is probably over-tired too. Getting her on a schedule similar to the following is the one my experience has shown to be most successful:
Wake up somewhere between 6-8
Breakfast
Morning nap beginning between 9-10 and lasting 90 minutes
Lunch around 12:00
Afternoon nap beginning somewhere between 1-2 and and lasting at least 90 minutes, but make sure she is awake by 4/4:30
Dinner around 6
Bath and Bed somewhere between 7-8

Routine is important! Set up cues to signal that it is nap/bed time (ex: a specific book, cuddle time, darkness, soft music,etc).

The most important, and hardest thing is going to be ignoring her throughout the night if she wakes up. It can be hard to listen to her cry, but if you run to her, pick her up, let her play or put her in your bed the behavior is only being reinforced.

Good Luck!

Ok...I think it is her teeth, on the other hand my daughter did the same thing. she slept great she would wake up at like 6am, nap at 11am-1pm, and then nap again from 5-6pm, and go to bed at like 1am...I found out that was the prob....After a long discussion with my husband, we changed her routine in just a week...she has stuck with it...She wakes up at 8am, naps at 12:30-2:30 or 3pm , then bed id at 9pm...works out great...first off I would take away that second nap...from the first day you take the second nap away, I would get her ready for be at 8pm, feed her a small portion of rice cereal, then give her a bottle....Let her burp, and relax for 1hr...no stimulation from 8pm-9pm...just cuddleing, massaging, and relaxing...at 9pm I would put her in bed...You know at this point ..she is not hungry, she has a clean diaper, and she is dressed for bed...I also agree with the teething...this is the age where they seem to all come in at once...My daughter got her first tooth at 8 months, then 2nd at 9 months, and then nothing till 13 months, then she got 3 more in 1 week...OH MY!!!!You have to be comfortable with whatever you decide to do...All babies are different, and what works for mine may not wok for your lil girl...take care

I was reading an acticle today that a doctor wrote on how to get babies to sleep longer and he said that you should actually put the child to bed earlier (like around 7-9) and make sure it's completely dark. Another thing he mentioned is getting a noise machine to block anything out.

i used to give my daughter a bottle be fore i put her to bed but in the formula i mixed it with cereal it kept her full through the night

I agree with the mom who says she has her days and nights confused. I can't say I have ever known anyone who routinely puts their infant to bed between 1-2 am. Get in the habit now of a resoanable bed time or her sleep habits will only get worse. Don't try to cut out naps, your daughter needs 14 hours of sleep each day. Naps are very important. Get her to bed between 7-8 most will wake up between 6-8 then add two naps to equal AT LEAST 14 hours.

HELLO J.!
I FEEL YOU GIRL! MAYBE SHE SHOULD ONLY TAKE 1 NAP FOR 1 1/2. DO NOT LET HER TAKE ANOTHER ONE AND TRY PUTTING HER TO BED A 8PM AND SEE HOW THAT WORKS. REMEMBER NOTHING HAPPENS OVER NIGHT AND YOU ARE THE PARENT NOT YOUR DAUGHTER. I HOPE THIS HELPS. MY SON IS A NIGHT OWL ALSO BUT I FIND THAT THE MORE THEY DO THE FASTER AND HARDER THEY SLEEP!!! GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!

Hi J....

I absolutely know what you mean about waking up at night and then having hard time getting her back to sleep... I did keep the room dark, and just tried to hush her back to sleep... i put orajel on her teeth, gave her gas drops, nothing helped, gave her tylenol... and still... just very hard time of getting her to sleep without letting her to play for a little while and then try with back to bed... if I just tried to put her back to bed, then she just screamed and screamed... i also asked my doctor if something was wrong with her... but that time the doc i had just joked maybe there is... and said is ok and dont worry too much...
It lasted a while... i think she was around the age of yours now... but i really kept on not playing with her... just tried to keep her from crying... comfort her and soothe her... it could have been the teeth, as it started around when her first teeth started to cut... or i think it was real bad when her second set of teeth was coming...
I did get her not wanting to play, when she woke up at night... so we just had to quietly be there and comfort her and stuff.... she also as a newborn slept 6-8hrs straight at night(since few days old)... she ate well and gained tons, so i didnt need to worry about her starving and never woke her to eat...
Now that she is 15 months old, she sleeps in her room in her own bed... i do need to still sometimes go and comfort her, but she goes right back to sleep... and still, when she is cutting teeth, then all is much harder... but nothing like it used to... :)
so, about what you should do is just comfort her, but dont play games and other simulating activities... sing to her, keeps the lights off or dim.... touch her gums... if she squirms and seems to be in pain, rub some orajel on it... at night also tylenol is a good help... relieves the pain and helps her to sleep...
Hope i could help you... you can contact me for more info, if you want or just occational chat... :)

Hello!
I read in a book I have that you should try putting the baby to sleep 30 mins earlier if they are getting up in the middle of the night. My son is also 7 months (yesterday!), takes 2-3 naps during the day, and goes to bed by 8pm. Sometimes he wakes up around 12. We give him his paci, pat his back, & he goes back to sleep for the rest of the night. If he ever gets to bed after 8, then he wakes up a couple of times. So maybe try putting her to bed a litte earlier, see if that helps! It might be hard for the first coupld of nights since she is used to getting to get up or lay with you. Jayden was the same, but he adapted really quickly, and we are all well-rested now! Good luck!

oh my god i just wanted to say my daughter is going to be 7 months on the 22 also. we should get together sometime so they can meet

A.

i'm a strong believer in growth spurts! maybe it could be... just a thought... but just be consistent on bedtime and getting her to go back to sleep, etc. don't pick her up... we always put the chuchie back in (pacifier) and patted the backs and maybe rub their heads. if they would cry we'd let them go a little and go back in and do the same thing...i wouldn't pick them up and they'd eventually fall back asleep. and yes, i too believe that when kids (or even adults) are overtired they have a harder time getting and staying asleep. good luck