My 1 Year Old Still Wakes up Every 3 or 4 Hours

The best thing for nighttime wakeups is not to feed. That keeps their tummy working and doesn't allow them to sleep fully. When she wakes, just use calming tecniques - patting on the back, binky, singing, etc. until she falls back to sleep. If she wakes but is not really fussy, let her work it outon her own. I had one that loved to scream into an empty room, but as soon as she got bored, she dropped back off. Not having a nightlight in the room will help as well. Good luck.

My granddaughter is 2 and does the same thing. Her bed is in my room. If she's not crying, I'll let her lay awake and she usually lays back down and goes to sleep. I just have to lay very still and hope my dog doesn't start "talking" to her. She'll eventually grow out of it.

I would try to make sure you are feeding her a snack that will fill her up befor bed and she will not need to eat as often at night. Although my baby woke up alot at night until she was almost 3 and now she is 4 and wakes up 2 times at least. my mother in law swears it has to do with what time she was born, at night so she thinks she needs to be up then. try to get her full and she should sleep good for more hours! I know people say to not feed after bed but sometimes that is just not realistic at 1 at 18 months she will be good not needing a bottle. Sweetie this is a trial and error job so good luck.:)

I can certainly relate because my daughter just turned 1 and is also waking up in the night still. She goes down at around 8:30, wants to nurse at 12:00 and 3:00. We are up again at 7:00! I have absolutely no advice since I can't seem to make anything work for us LOL but I just wanted you to know that you are not alone :) I did however notice you have a new baby too! Perhaps your 1 year old hasn't fully adjusted to having a new sibling?!? I hope things start running smoother for you since you not only have 1 to deal with at night but now 2!!! Good luck hun!

I'm sorry--my 2nd daughter woke up once a night every night until about 13 mos. about the time I stopped nursing her. When she stopped getting fed every night it helped, but we also had to let her cry-but not much. She still wakes when the weather is bad or is getting teeth (all 4 molars within a month was difficult) but it is so nice to sleep all night again. So, the first step is to stop feeding her in the night. I gave Lizzy yogurt before bed,(digests easily and quickly) so I knew she wouldnt be hungry and when she woke up I would hold her, rock her, sing to her. After a week or so of that you can switch to just patting her back, but eventually you may have to let her cry. I hope your new baby is like my 1st and sleeps through the night at 8 weeks. We were so blessed! We still are. God bless you- you've definitely got your hands full!

Did I understand right that you have a new baby as well? So your one year old may be out of whack for a little while. I have 5 children and some close in age. It was hard to be up with the baby and also a toddler, but I can assure you it can get better. I was never one to let my baby cry to teach them to go back to sleep on their own,but that works for some people. I know sometimes you want to try anything to get your child to just go back to sleep, but giving a bottle is not a good idea. Consoling mine and putting them back to bed usually worked but they are not always that easy. I can remember singing to them and patting their back until I nearly fell asleep standing up at the crib! When they turned 2 I calmly demanded that they go back to bed or they were disciplined. We treated it as an act of disobedience. It took about a week of tears and temper tantrums but it worked for me. My children now only wake up if they have a bad dream or they or sick. Good luck and remember to take naps when they do during the day so you aren't too tired to function and be a good mom.

We had this problem with my youngest son. The best advice I was given was to slowly lessen the amount of formula/milk you give her in the middle of the night. Children that age do not need to eat (unless she was pre-mature or is unhealthy in some way) in the middle of the night, but often get into the habit of eating then. Give her one ounce less every night, until you aren't giving her any at all. She may cry for a little bit on that last night. You can pick her up and comfort her for a minute or two, but then put her back down. She SHOULD get to a point where she doesn't wake up anymore. In addition to that, don't talk to her, don't turn the lights on, don't change her diaper unless she is dirty or really wet. Keep things "business only" so she gets the point that this isn't the time to be up. I won't say it's a hundred percent fix, but it may help in your situation. Waking up with a one year old is frustrating to say the least, but to have to wake up with her AND your one week old would drive me insane!! Good luck!!

Check out On becoming Babywise. It works.

I had this same problem with my last child. Didnt with the first 2. She was up every couple of hours until about 18 mos. We tried everything. You name it. Funny thing was that she would tell you when she was tired and ready to go to bed. Putting her to bed was the easiest thing. Not so with the other two. It even got to where she would go to the fridge and get her sippy cup and put self into bed. By the way, she was sharing a room with bigger sisters. They did not disturb her in any way and we staggered her bedtime from theirs. This past May we moved to 3BR house and she got her own room. From that moment on, she has slept through the night. Go figure! She does have to have her musical elephant (with pull string) on and she has a light up bear that changes colors and turns off after 30 min. She likes better than a night light that stays on.

T.,

I encourage you to read Baby Wise and the Baby Whisperer. If you are too tired to read these at this point, ask your husband to read them and figure out what works for you using some of their techniques. I took some info from Baby Wise and made it work for me. Many of my friends recommend the other book. In the end, your child has to get more sleep than that at a time. Think of how tired you are and know that she is just as tired. You may have to let her cry when waking up for 5 minutes, then 10 etc... But, for her, the positives of getting up outweigh her cont. sleep, so things must change, so that she be encouraged to sleep. I will keep you in my prayers! Lack of sleep was the most difficult thing for me. I know that it is hard.

K.
mother of 4-yr-old twins and a 23 mth old

There is a book out there called "Healthy Sleeping Habits, Happy Child." Wonderful book and will help you through any other problems as kids grow and their sleeping patterns change. It realy helped me, as i am a first time mom also. I didn't think a book could actually help, but it was amazing. It will give you a couple of different things to try and you have to decide which is the best one for your baby.
Sounds like the wakings have become more of a habit than anything else. you will just have to break the habit...get the book.
Good luck.

Quit feeding her and tending to her in the middle of the night. The more you feed her or tend to her in the night, the more she will wake up. You may have to let her cry it out a few nights and then she will learn.

maybe try playing music

I to went through this - though it was many years ago. If she is waking up just to get a bottle and you know she can't possible be hungry - try water in a sippy cup and as little physical contact as you can and no speaking. After a few nights of just getting water, she probably won't wake up or even if she wakes she might get in the habit of putting herself back to sleep (because she knows she will only get water). It worked for me.

You might have a few long nights ahead, but worth it in the end.

It's great you are responding to her!! You are helping to build her trust in you and bonding with her. Good job Mama!

Some little ones wake more often than others. She may be thirsty, hungry or just need to be comforted. Sleep patterns also change as they are growing, new milestones or teething can disrupt their sleep. Even as grown ups we all have different sleeping patterns. Sometimes we wake up thirsty, have to use the restroom, or just need to know that our spouse is there next to us. But as adults we can care for our own needs. Imagine being dependent on someone else for those needs, it's the middle of the night, you are crying out and the person who cares for you is just ignoring you. I know I wouldn't want to be ignored just because that person wanted me to sleep (and not have their sleep interrupted too).

Just keep doing what you're doing. She'll get there eventually. My first three didn't have night wakings but my last baby did. He stopped waking in the night around 17-18mo.

I went through this with my oldest who is now 3. Someone gave me the book "Baby Wise" It is a great book, but very tough the first day or two. It is about getting them on a schedule and crying it out. With our daughter it took three days for us letting her cry it out and she has slept through the night since. I understand that the idea of letting them cry it out is really hard, but it is worth it in the end. I PROMISE!!!

What do you put in the bottle? Milk? If so, she may have trained herself to wake up because she's hungry. While it's preferable not to offer bottles in the middle of the night, especially after age 1, maybe a bottle or a sippy cup with a small amount of plain water might reverse her need to wake up for nourishment. Jest a thought...........

I completely agree with Heather F. I have 2 children, age 20 and 9, and I jokingly tell people that they slept through the night at 5 years old, not 5 months old. Not really, but they weren't sleeping through at 1 year old. I would think that maybe some extra love during the day would help also, since you have a newborn, the 1 year old may not be getting as much attention and needs it during the night. I'm a firm believer in attachment parenting...NOT crying it out.

A.

I strongly agree with letting them cry it out. i never let my 3yr old cry and he still wakes all hours of the night. i now let my 1yr old cry (lesson learned). My 3yr old is toughing it out too now. i figure one week with no sleep while they learn to soothe theirselves will be worth it in the long run. Good luck!