Seeking Any Advise That Might Help Figure Out What Is Going On

I too have been in the same boat. We found out when my daughter started doing this that she had an ear infection. While she showed no other signs other than not sleeping at night. She has done this since she was 7 1/2 months old. We have had 5 ear infections in 2 1/2 months and we see an Ear nose and throat doc monday to see about getting tubes in her ears. All i could do was to hold her some nights so that we both might get some sleep. While it isn't the best choice sometimes it is the only thing that works.

My son did that too and i fed him baby cereal with a veggie or fruit in it so that he was ful when he went to bed. But if he is 9 months old you can try feeding him easy to eat food that you make daily as well..
But just so that you know once they eat "real peoples" food they usally wont eat the baby food anymore.
I hope that I helped a little Good luck and try to hang in there.

My son is around the same age and we started to give him little veggie or fruit puffs that seem to satisfy him before bed, mine is teething and yet doesn't wake up that often, but I also found that if you put a little rice cereal in his formula before bed it tends to help.. Also-- mashed potatos stays with little ones for awhile.. Try those before bed and see if that helps his sleeping.. Good luck.

I think this is a normal thing babies go through, he may be going through a growth spurt. There is a book my friend used for her son as he had terrible sleep habits, I believe it was called something like "healthy sleep habits, Happy child" I think it goes with the cry it out method.
Good Luck
S.

T.,

I had a very close friend go through this with her son - she started feeding him oatmeal just before bed - she found it coated his stomach and kept him sleeping.

Another friend of mine actually woke her daughter up at 10pm to do the same. I don't know that I'd recommend that - I am not someone who believes in waking them up.

Hi T.,

All the "experts" will tell tell you to have a night time routine, and to put him to bed in his crib while they are still awake. You can start reading and brushing teeth (there is baby tooth paste) after his evening snack or bottle. As far a putting him to bed (I think I seen this on one of those morning show or dateling or something) they say not let him fall asleep while holding then or nursing because he falls asleep one place and wake in another they don't know what to think. You can try to let him cry for a few minutes, a little longer each night.(he need to learn to comfort himself)If there is a blanky or favortie animal to hold give him that too. If that doesn't work, just sit in the room next to the crib till he falls and after a 3 night move a little closer to the door, and then a little farther away and so on until he falls asleep on his own. When he wake up, don't pick him up, but rub or pat his back for a momtent reassure him, give him the blankey or toy, and try the sitting in the room thing again. Also when he wakes up in the middle of the night, don't rush in but let him cry for a two minutes the first time, and then a little longer each night. Another thing to try is a "white noise" like a fan running,a relaxation tape with the wind blowing or water running sounds (when my oldest was a newborn I had a lulaby tape that had a heart beat play over and over till it was worn out). Hope this works.

L. Smith

First, I would strongly recommend you chat w/ your doctor if you haven't already. I've read several suggestions in this list that are unsettling because they are false in light of recent information. If you're not comfortable with his/her conclusion do get a second opinion... you know your baby best!

Second, I want to share w/ you my experiences.
My son (now 28 months) was a horrible sleeper. He went to bed at 6:30p and would wake at approx 6a... sounds pretty good,right? The problem is that he would wake up every 2 hours in between. We were told to feed him more solids - I would feed him everything he would take. We were told to stop the night time bottles - the child was taking 8-12 oz at a time most times. You cannot convince me he was not hungry when he was taking that much. We were told to stop responding to him every time - disagree w/ that one too. I firmly agree that he did not cry for nothing. He was always crying for a reason. Sometimes it just took me a while to figure out. Because I completely disagree w/ the cry-it-out method, I used some tips from the No-Cry-Sleep-Solution. The beauty of this program is it's flexibility. You can work with the solutions that fit your family best - there is no one right solution. It gave me a plan when I had no ideas what to do, how to fix it, or how to prevent it from becoming a snowball of bad habits. In the end, I truly believe his little nerves were just not ready for a full night of sleep.

My daughter (13mo) was a completely different story. Bed by 7p, up by 6a and not a peep in between... until lately. I checked for cutting teeth, I offered bottles, pacifiers, songs. It would take forever to find just the right combination of things to help her get back to sleep. She had just gotten a cold so I knew the nasal congestion was interferring w/ her sleep. Generally, she is an incredibly happy baby. During this cold she's been doing remarkably well. Although she has had an unexpected decrease in appetite for solids & fluids - I blamed it on the heat. The other day, her daycare called to advise she just wasn't herself. This child is so laid back that no matter how her day is going (good or bad), she just rolls with it. Based on their observations, I took her to the doctors. To my surprise, she was diagnosed with a double ear infection! No symptoms other than waking up once or twice a night. No fever. No fussiness when laying her down other than the fact that she'd rather be with me. Basically, no clues! For this reason, I suggest making sure your doc is aware of your son's sudden night wakings. It could very well be a normal developmental pattern (which occurs several times the first year), but there may also be something else going on. Give yourself that peace of mind.

Oh, and to add to my daughter's discomfort, as of today, she is cutting 7, YES 7! new teeth!!! This child has had 4 teeth appear over the course of 1 year. Now, this week, she has 7 coming through. You just never know when or how theses buggers are going to show up!

HI,
I have 2 boys, 2 and 1. My doctor told me to let them cry it out and usually after 3 nights they will learn to put themselves back to sleep and sleep through the night! Don't go into the room, even though it's hard not to. It worked for us. It is hard to let them cry for hours. But, like the doctor said, if you want to continue the pattern of getting no sleep...
Hope it works out well for you!

You need to buy a book by Dr. Ferber called "solving your child's sleep disorders"...it was recommended to me by our pediatrician as the ONLY sleep book to get. We got it, read it, and it was HARD for the first 2 days but stick it out...it will get better and you will be so happy in the long run. Be prepared for a lot of crying and sleep lost the first few days though...so schedule it on a Friday night or something so you have the weekend and aren't exhausted at work. You can get it in paperback at like Borders for like 15 bucks I think. It usually has nothing to do with food or lights in his room, it is all about behavior. Stick with it, it works!!! good luck!

Dear T.,
What I would suggest is if you are not really sure what is going on, is to talk to your pediatrician to be absolutely sure there are no physical issues.

Babies have reasons to cry,unfortunately,being non verbal,the parents have to guess their way through until the answer is found. With my 2 kids,sometimes,itseemed as though we might never sleep again. Lots of reassurance,rocking and such goes a long way, it is pretty hard to spoil a baby. Best of luck and God bless you and your family. Parenting is about the hardest job possible.

Sincerely,
N. F,mother of 2 married 14 and 1/2 years

Hi T.,
Sorry to hear you are having so much trouble with your 9 month old child.Too bad they don't come with instructions!!!!
You might want to feed him more foods,mashed potatoes,greem beans,carrots(cut into tiny pieces)cereals with apple juice)stay with him while he is eating....feeed him late afternoon when he gets up from nap...then again at dinner time.at this age food is very appealing and he NOT interested in the bottle much (over the period of 24 hours keep track of formula consumption).
When a child wakes up in middle of night in a DARK ROOM THEY ARE SCARED...LEAVE NIGHT LIGHT ON, you need to reassure him, pick him up love him offer him bottle,talk,sing,reassure him rock him,so he will relax & drift off. each time make it shorter & shorter,so you can put him down awake to go to sleep.just feed him more food,every day he will let you know when he is full!!

AskDrSears.com is a great resource for "all things Baby" Remember that your little one is going through a big adjustment right now. Mobility is a powerful milestone, but it is tough. Don't worry about giving him the love he needs right now. If he slept through the night before he probably will again. (My 20 month old has NEVER slept through the night...I know how tired you must be.)

My ten month old son is the same way right now. He has been crawling for awhile now but has just started to pull himself up also. We have found that if we turn his cd player on at night and put it on repeat with lullaby music on and it has seemed to help. We do keep it very low in volume. I have found that taking him to the chiropractor once a month has helped also. There are chriopractors that just specialize in babies ans they work wonders. I also have a 2 1/2 year old that had the same problem and however after a check up with the doctor when she was 8-10 months old she was diagnosed with acid reflux and could not lay flat on her back and need to be proped up. It is something to look into. Good luck
A. P

Hi.

If you find he doesn't have an ear infection, or is sick, I would try to get him to fall back asleep on his own. When my girls would wake at night, I would wait a few minutes to see it they were just crying out in their sleep, if they didn't stop I would go in and comfort them by patting their back and making soothing noises, but don't stay more than a couple minutes. Try not to take him out of his crib. Leave the room for five minutes. If he's still crying, go back and soothe him again and leave. Adding five minute increments each time. But the bottom line is do what you feels right to you as a mother. If letting him cry for long is heartwrenching for you, go in every five minutes.

FYI...I've also heard that night wakings can happen because of growth spurts...

T.
I HAD THE SAME THING WITH MY DAUGHTER AT THAT AGE. FOR 2-3 WEEKS THIS HAPPENED. I STARTED TO GIVE HER A SNACK AT NIGHT BEFORE SHE WENT TO BED LIKE CRACKERS OR BANANA AND THEN THE MILK. THAT REALLY SEEMED TO HELP. ALSO STARTING TABLE FOODS AT THIS AGE IS OK THAT WILL MAKE YOUR BABY MORE FULL ALSO
GOOD LUCK
A. B

Hi T. S.,

I have two children and I work for the WIC PROGRAM. I have some things to mention to think about. If your child is 9 monthsa old and had been sleeping thru the night and just started waking up. Please be aware that this is a phase. A phase that we do not want to encourage. We all need our sleep, exspecially full time working parents. Part of this phase is seperation anxiety. Has he been fussier during the day when you are not in sight. I don't mean when your not home. But if
you are home and leave the room, does he fuss more than usual? That is just one thing to keep in mind. I would encourage you to offer him water in the bottle and discontinue the rocking back to sleep. Of course its very easy to give out advice but you need to decide what is going to work for your family. By offering him water and less contact he will grow board of waking and start sleeping thru the night again.

As for his diet, He should be drinking approx 28-32 oz. of formula. He should be drinking no more than 4 oz. of juice and you could include up to 8 oz. water in 24 hrs. I would limit juice and water if he is not drinking the minimum intake of
28 oz. Have you tried not warming the formula and placing it in a cup? Juice and water should also be pffered in a cup, except for the middle of the night bottle. That should be water only. I would start with 4 oz. and in a week reduce to 3 oz. then a week later offer 2oz then a week later try 1 oz. if he hasn't stopped waking. You would not want to provide juice or formula in the midle of the night. This can cause premature rotting of the teeth.

As for his diet....

He should be eating breakfast and bottle. You can offer the bottle first if his intake is on the low side. I would encourage a mid morning snack, cut up fruit or animal crackers, something small but healthy. Then he should eat lunch and a couple of hour later offer another snck. Then offer dinner and even a bottle before bed. Has he started any increased textures? Cherrios is a good choice at this age. One developmental stage that happens at this age is the pincer grasp reflex. You will know when that happens because he will start picking up all the things on the ground that you would not want him to, Dirt, ect. Use this developmental stage to your advantage. As we increase textures, it can be really scary. That gag reflex kicks in and we can be intimidated or accually belive that the child is choking. Just remember if he can cry or cough he would be ok for the moment. Any concerns I would dial 911 or consider a class in cpr/first aid.

Back to the gag reflex. If you usually feed purreed veggies and want to offer the veggies that you are eating then place some on his feeding tray and let him touch the food. It will be a messy process but when they touch the food before eating it, they tend to gag less because they become aware of the texture prior to putting it in the mouth. A great trick is a cheap shower curtain under the high chair. This will aid the clean up process.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the american acadamy of pediatrics does not recommend giving any cows milk or honey before the age of 1 yr. old. The cows milk can cause intestional bleeding that isn't always visible in the diaper. It can also produce a permanant allergy to cows milk. He can have yogurt, cheese, pudding and icecream but no milk to drink. About two weeks before his birthday offer 4 oz. of milk in a cup and wait 24 hours before offering more. Keep offering the four oz. for 2-5 days and increase to 8 oz. after the few days. Remember that when he turns a year old he should only be drinking 16oz but no more than 20oz. of milk in 24 hours. Milk doesn't have the nutrional content of formula and will fill him up and could cause some picky eating. At 1 year old he should have no more than 8-12 oz. of juice in a cup. 1, 4 oz. cup of juice will provide him with 100% vitamin c for the day, after that it is considered empty calories and can create picky eaters.

The honey can cause infant botulism. Remember to read labels....honey nut cherrios, perperige farm cinnamin toast are a couple of things that have honey in them. When he turns a year old, something magical happens as thier gut matures and can break down the botulism agent in the body.

Last but not least.... A jar of baby food is the equivalent to 1 tablespoon of table food (they add alot of water to purreed foods). So do not panick, if it seems like he's not eating that much. Our job as a parent is to offer the food, and when I say offer.... that means put it on his plate wheather it is a food that he likes or not. Some children will need to look at a new food 15-20 times before they will even touch it. Once they touch it, then they will be more willing to try it. So, today he might not like baby purred pea's but might enjot picking them up 1 by 1 and decide to like that food again. Our job as a parent is to offer the foods and the childs job is to decide if, when and how much to eat. Remember this is one of the only times that a person eats because they are hungry. They have not learned .... I'm bored, I'll eat. Its in front of me I will eat....ect. I would try a routine of breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner , snack, formula being offered at a minimum of 28 oz. of formula. You also have 3 months to get that routine down. If now he only is eating 3 meals and no sncks, then slowly introduce it. This is a great time to offer table food becides or instead of jarred baby food. A banana will offer a texture experience and probably be more fun to eat.

I think I tryed to cover everything. I'm sorry if this was too long. If you have further questions feel free to ask me and I would be happy to answer.

Good luck! God Bless! And remember...... any phase you are in right now is the worst phase of your life. We make it thru that one and another phase will replace the last one, then that becomes the most difficult phase of your life. They all will pass. The most important thing to keep in mind when asking for advice.... you may get alot of opinions (weather you ask for them or not) You are the parent and you know your child best. Just remember to smile when Grandma or your niebor or a stranger at the grocery store, or even your doctor offers advice. Consider what is being said. Hopefully out of the goodness of thier heart or concern. But As I said.... you know your lifestyle and your child and you have the ultamite call on what will work for your house. Alot of people would encourage letting them cry it out and this will train them to sleep thru the night. That would not work in my house. Everybody would be awake and really cranky in the morning. So, I tryed something different. Just remember if you start something like giving formula in the middle of the night then that will be anouther routine you will have to wean them from.

H. B.

Ok, I see by the other answers that few of you would agree but my thought are the same as Jen's. If your child is missing you during the day, is it really so wrong to let him have that connection at night. I was never one to let my babies "cry it out" and I find it interesting that Ferber has recently come out and softened his view on the matter. We have a 10 yr. old and a 4 yr. old. Ocasionally our 4 year old will wake up and crawl in bed with us for a couple of hours in the morning.. usually when he is in a particularly outgoing phase during the day and learning something new about himself or the world. I feel like he is looking for the comfort and security to be more outgoing during the day by finding comfort in the safety of mom and dads arms at night. When the boys were babies, we would put them down in their cribs at bedtime. If they woke at night we would move them to our bed. Don't worry about giving them too much attention when they are babies. They grow up so very fast... it seems impossible that our oldest is 10! Believe me he is far from clingy now and, although he is a very loving boy, it doesn't even occur to him to sleep anywhere but his own bed.

It's hard to say what's causing your son to wake up in the middle of the night again. If I'm recalling correctly, when my 11 month old was 9 months, she spent a good week or 2 waking up in the middle of the night. We didn't know what was causing it and naturally, our fear was that she wasn't going to sleep through the night again. We resorted back to our old tricks of handling her wakings with as less commotion as possible, little light, little noise, do whatever needs to be done be it diaper change or feeding and get her back to bed asap. As the weather got warmer we discovered that she was waking up in the middle of the night completely parched, and dying of thirst. Out of complete randomness, we offered her a sippy cup one night and she just guzzled down the water. From then on, we gave her a sippy with water to drink before we put her to bed and that helped.

With your son being newly mobile, that can also cause him to wake up in the middle of the night. It's hard to say for sure, but they could be dreaming about their day and all the excitement that comes along with being newly mobile and their discoveries.

My son is also 9 mo and on the move - we notice that baby food just isn't doing it for him anymore. We give him bitter biscuts and pretty much let him eat what ever he wants... One trick I have found that works wonders... my husband gives our sona nice long warm shower wrap him up in a warm towel and give hima bottle while i am putting a diaper on then straight to bed. we also got a strobe light for his room so if he wakes up at night there are things going on for him to look at instead of a pitch black room - that's scarry! I also keep 1 stuffed animal in bed with him so he has someone to snuggle p with if he does wake up... usually he'll go back to sleep in 10 to 15 minutes

Hello,
I thought maybe i would respond to this question. I went through this stage. It sucks. I bought a book for this time in my sons life. The book is called ( caring for your baby and young child) birth to age 5. The book told me a lot. I am not one to turn to a book but we didnt know what to do. The book called it seperation anxieties attacks. They wake up looking for you and these continue for months to come. The book also says do not go in there and pick them up. Go in there reassure you are still there then wait 10-15 mins. Repeat. We did this and i will tell you it took a couple days but it worked. As the months went by the night cries stopped but as he got older we had to do this at bedtime cause he would do it at bedtime. If you can afford this book some suggetions are very good.

My son at 9 months was off the bottle and on real milk i know they dont recommend it. He was chewing on the nipple and once he started getting table food he didnt want that anymore. Doctors as far as i am consired know medical things that are wrong but they are not with our children 24/7. We are the ones that know our children and there routine.

I hope this was helpful
S.

Well, i thought i was the only one going threw this. My daughter is 11 months old and she is begining to walk.I cant blame teething yet because she has not got one yet!!!!!!!!!! So my baby wakes up restless and hungry. So mabey your baby is hungry in the middle of the night too. My child was a great sleeper to until 1 week ago, mabey this is just a little phase they go through and things will be back to normal!!!!!(PLEASE)

M.

T., I'm sorry to hear your son isn't sleeping. I know how that is! I wonder if you have considered taking him to the doctor for tests? If you have tried solid foods and any other ideas and nothing seems to be working, maybe some blood tests would help.
I'm not saying this to scare you, but my son reverted to not sleeping through the night again at about 13 months. I tried everything - more milk, more food, eating just before bed, music - you name it. He just seemed to be fussy. I ended up trying a gluten free diet because I have Celiacs I thought maybe he might as well. Through self diagnosis, and the GI pediatrion's tests, we found out that he's allergic to gluten. Once gluten was out of his system, he actually started eating better and sleeping through the night.
I don't know if you've ever heard of Celiacs or know someone who has it, and I'm sure your son doesn't have it, I'm just saying after all your many efforts, see if the problem isn't medical. I hope your son is fine and it's just lack of sleep but if it is medical, once you fix it, you'll all start sleeping again!
Good Luck! - J.

Hi T.,

I have a 16 month old son who was just like your baby. You may not think he's teething, but they work on those little teeth until they are about 3 years old. You said he's crawling and pulling himself up, that's one of the things that will make them a little restless at night. When they start to learn how to do new things, they will want to "practice" them all the time, esp in the crib. I have tried the food thing, belive me, it doesn't work. Sometimes I found he sleeps better when he doesn't get a lot of food before bedtime. Oh, and if he's got a diaper rash, when he wets his diaper at night, it may be waking him up. One last thought. He may be just experienceing a lot of new things and he's dreaming about them at night, scaring him. I also found that by his age it's okay not to pick him up in the middle of the night, just rub his back and sing or hum to him until he falls asleep by himself. Yes, this is hard for everyone in the house the first few nights, but this way he'll know you are there for him, but it helps him know how to go back to sleep on his own when he does wake in the middle of the night. Good luck!

T.,

I'm not sure if you've received this info, but here goes: Get the book "Wonder Weeks - How to Turn Your Baby's 8 great Fussy Phases into Magical Leaps Forward" by Hetty Vanderijt and Frans Plooij. It's been a great help to me in understanding the ups and downs of my 7 month old. It sounds like your baby is nearing or at Week 37 which is a milestone...and "symptoms" include sleeping poorly and changes in eating habits, etc.

I got the book online for $7.00...hope it helps you.

Good Luck, S.

Hi T.,

I have an 8 month old. If you are worried about food, I feed mine some vanilla yogurt before bed, and that will take a long time for his little tummy to digest. Sometimes I mix a little bit of jam with it for a little fruit flavor. This goes well. Your baby may be getting in the habit of waking up at night, because it only takes a couple of days for them to start doing it all the time. Mine started doing this, so I fed her yogurt and if she was teeting (low grade fever, drooling a lot, white on the gums, wants to gnaw on your finger), then I would give her some tylenol and teething tablets before bed. This worked except when she was in the habit of waking up. After all this, if nothing else was causing her waking up and staying awake, I would do what supernanny suggests: Tell him goodnight, hugs & kisses and lay him down awake and sit on the floor next to his crib(no eye contact) or leave the room. If he gets extremely upset (probably will) after 1 minute give short hug and I love you and lay him back down, repeat this every minute as needed. It will be VERY hard, but he will realize you will comfort him if he needs it and learn to soothe himself to sleep. My husband had to practically sit on me while we went through this, but after 2-3 nights she has slept through the night practically every night since then. Good luck!

Have you tried letting him sleep in your bed? He might wake in the middle of the nite because he's not used to being alone. There are definitely two ways to look at it.
1. Letting him sleep in your bed is teaching him to be dependent on you and he won't learn to calm himself.
2. If he does sleep through the nite or wakes but goes back to sleep quickly, you are comforting him and you are getting your much needed sleep.
I opted to look at it the second way. My son slept fine by himself until about 10 months and then we spent a month trying all different things to keep him asleep. Most are listed here. Finally, someone suggested he was just missing me. Because I work full time, I thought there might be some trutth in it. It worked. He finally started sleeping through the nite again. My husband even liked it because it meant I was a much happier person with more sleep.
I did notice that during the nite he would fuss a bit, move around and reach out for me. Once he was able to touch me he settled back down without ever actually waking up.
After about 6 months we put him back in his bed and he has never had the problem again.

Do you feed him at night when he wakes up?If you do or if you rock him he just gotten used to that,it doesnt take long.Our daughter did the same thing, and we got up right away and feed her until somebody told us,that she is ok without food at this age.So we did not get up right away and let her cry, it only took seven minutes,until she fell back to sleep but you got to time it ,because seven minutes seems very long listen to crying,and it will make you feel better.The second night it only took four minutes and so on.She just had to learn how to soothe herself without food or us holding her.

I would suggest that maybe your son has an ear infection or something. With my two daughters when they woke up in the middle of the night it was usually because they were coming down with something. At times it was because they were hungry, but usually it was more than that. My oldest was so easy going that it was so hard to tell if she was sick. Hopefully that is helpful. -A.

It sounds like maybe the reason your baby is waking up every night is because he knows that if he does, Mommy or Daddy will come in a rock him for two hours.I don't know if you used a certian method or trick to get him to sleep through the night before, but it might be time to check out some books... my personal favorite is The Baby Whisperer but there are tons of others. As for eating, babies won't starve themselves and kids (unlike adults) know exactly when to stop eating once they're full. I think if you take away the night time attention, you're going to have better luck. Hope this helps!

When my son was little, he had multiple allergies, we had to give him milk with a little rice cereal in int. If you give him some cereal at night, that might help keep his belly full to sleep longer. And don't worry about him getting fat...my son is almost 23 and he stands 6'4 and weighs 167 lbs!!! (-:

We were seeing a behavior specialist when my daugther was about 12 or 18 months(it's been awhile, I am not sure how old she was) One of the things he told us is that if she falls asleep with us rocking her or holding her, when she wakes up in the night, she needs what put her to sleep in the first place, to put her back to sleep. He suggested not having any contact with her after our bedtime routine. (Which he stressed was very important to have a routine to follow everynight. ie bath, story ect). He suggested putting her to bed and having her learn to calm herself down and put herself to sleep. We could go in every 5 minutes or so just so she could see us and know that we didn't abandon her if she was screaming, but we weren't supposed to pick her up. This was so hard for me for a couple of days. But it only took a couple of days. She was able to go down with her own devices, pacifer, blanket, mobile music and not need me to hold her or rock her or lay with her. We still had to get up at times and find her pacifer if it had fallen through the crib onto the floor, but as soon as we gave it to her, she was asleep in seconds.

I think that is about the age when they start to realize that they can minipulate you. My suggestion to you is feed him smushy food, anything that is soft snd can be smushed up. Have him eat with you at dinner time, and give him some mashed potatoes, something that is heavy to fill up his tummy. Then his bottle before bed time, or how ever you do things at bed time. If he eats with you at dinner and he eats a good amount, by the time he goes to sleep you should feel very confident that there is no way he can be hungry. If he wakes up in the middle of the night, and you don't feel like there is anything really wrong with him, leave him be. He will go back to sleep and will realize that since mommy and daddy aren't comming in here anymore to get me, its not worth waking up. Have you tried introducing the sippy cup to him? This is the age where they make their transition from being just a baby to being more of a "real" person. My son quit eating baby food at 6 months and only had 2 front teeth. I had a really hard time finding things for him to eat. you have to be creative. I hope I have helped. Good luck to you and you husband! Jenn

He's probably suffering from separation anxiety. He's probably waking up and now he realizes he's alone. Before this he didn't know he was alone. Removing the night light scares him because now he's in the dark and his room doesn't seem familiar anymore. We went through the same thing with both of our kids. I have a 7 yr old daughter and 1 yr old son.

I have done some research on this (mainly because my son started to do this exact thing at about the same age) and this is due to separation anxiety. Starting at around nine months, babies become more aware of their surroundings. When they wake in the middle of the night, they suddenly are aware that mommy (and/or daddy) is not there. As for advice, it�s a toughie. When my son started waking in the night I would pick him up and if he didn�t immediately fall back to sleep, I assumed he was hungry, so I would feed him and then rock him back to sleep. These are all the things that you are NOT supposed to do (I found out too late!) Many months of sleepless nights ensued for both me and my son. I would recommend that you get a good book � like �the no-cry sleep solution�. But you can do a search on amazon.com there are a lot of books out there. I hope that helps and good luck!

It is all about schedule. Something changed in his schedule that has caused it in someway. Maybe nap time is different, or feeding times have altered a little. Perhaps been out on too many arons, ect.. I too have a child just over 9 1/2 months. Over tiredness is the biggest reason a child will not sleep thru the night. I have done allot of research on this in particular due to my daughter not sleeping thru the night until in her sixth month. He needs to have set nap times and set eating times and not too much running around. He needs to go to bed same time every night and awake same time every morning. So look for clues to when he seems tired during the day and put him down for sleep. Let him sleep as long as he need. At this age two naps are appropriate. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. My girl wakes at 6-7ish sometimes even 730 allways down at 9 and she sleeps anywhere from half an hour to two , two and half hrs. Then she is up and about down again around 130 to two. Sleeps as long as she needs again can go from half and hr to two and a half hrs long. Let me know if I can help any further. I totally understand how you feel. It is hard; try to sleep when he does over the weekend to take care of you. Blessings.

Hi T.,

I have a 14 month old and around 10-11 months she went through the same thing. We finally had to let her 'cry it out' where she screamed and cried for an hour but has never done it again since and now sleeps through the night (other than when sick or teething). Are you feeding him a bottle right before bed? That would maybe help as well. It is hard to know what is going on with these little ones sometimes, but good luck with whatever you try!

M.

I've been told that around this age they will start to wake up because their excited about their new abilities and just want to play. Also, I was told when they start going through seperation anxiety they will do this as well. I have no advice on how to stop this but, was told the time will past then they'll stop.

T.,

I've read, and experienced myself, that as infants are going through big motor changes (such as pulling to stand and crawling) their sleep patterns will change. Just be patient...it will pass. I would suggest trying not to do too much to get him back to sleep as he will probably get used to it and start forming habits. As far as the eating situation, as long as he can use his two fingers as a "pincher", he should be able to eat finger foods. You should be able to give him a variety of table foods (as long as they are soft enough), as well. Don't stress out too much about all this. Things tend to work themselves out.

P.S. I am a pediatrician in training and a mother of a 14 month old daughter...I hope I've been able to help some.

Honestly, if it is not teething, it sounds like maybe an ear infection. If he is not drinking as much as usual and is waking at night more often, it is very likely. Babies with ear infections can seem fine all day but at night after they have been laying down for a while the pressure builds up and causes more pain. If it is an ear infection and you catch it early enough, he could start sleeping and drinking better as soon as antibiotics are started. Hope this helps.

T.
mother of four

Despite the "not recomended" factor, we used to put a bit of rice cereal in the nighttime bottle to satiate our eldest. We also had to get diapers that were a size bigger so that he wouldn't be wet. If gas is not an issue, and he seems to only cry, get him a kidsafe stuffed animal (a light one that is just big enough to squeeze in his arms and bite on) and then leave him to cry. Most children (and most adults) will wake up several times during the night, but the key is to let them learn to sleep on their own. If the crying lasts more than 15 - 20 minutes without showing signs of tapering off, then he truely needs something, but most kids will cool down and learn to go back to sleep on their own.

HI! My name is A., Married with number six on the way. I t almost sounds like his formula is suddenly not agreeing with him. My last child was doing that and we had her on regular enfamil. The poor kid thou, we didn't figure out her problem until I put her on regular milk. She now drinks goat milk and sleeps gret through the night with no screaming at night or during the day. It also could be a food allergy to something he may be eating. I would suggest changing formula so soy or something without milk base and possibly watching to see what food could be upsetting his little tummy, or maybe an ear infection.

A.

T.,
First of all, What time does he actually fall asleep in the beginning of the night? What time does he wake? Does he seem to wake at the same time every night when he wakes up?
Are you feeding him any solid foods yet? When he wakes up, does he want to eat or drink?
I had a similar problem with my second son. I figured out that I was actually putting him to bed too late. He needed to get to sleep earlier to get into a very deep REM cycle earlier and that is what kept him asleep. Sometimes if kids go to bed late (800-900) or later, they don't get into a proper REM cycle early enough,(everyone has normal waking periods throughout the night), but if babies don't get into a deep enough sleep, sometimes it is difficult to fall back asleep on their own. This of course, starts the awful cycle of mom or dad rocking, walking, feeding their child back to sleep, and the child then depends on the parent to get them back to sleep.
First thing you need to do is to REALLY pay attention to the evening pattern before your baby goes to sleep. Then decide if it's a sleep issue or a "Mommy come get me issue". Rarely do kids wake up because they are hungry, unless they are actually calorie deprived.
Anyway, let me know about the sleep stuff and I will try to help you.
My pediatrician has a great book about sleep issues that he lent to me. I we think it's a sleep issue, I'll call and find out the name of the book for you.
G.

it's usually one of two things, his naps are to long during the day or he's getting hungry at night. you say he's not taking the formula as well, start taking him off the formula. start giving him milk more. and loose the jarred baby food, if he has teeth you can give him regular food, just in small bits. you can rock him at night but, not for the full time he's awake, he will wake his self up looking for it. also let him stay up a little later at night and wear his self down completely. i am a mother of 5 grown children, none were on formula past 3-5 months and all were eating table food by 5-6 months. and they are all very healthy. they took 2 naps a day one in the morning lasting 1 hour and the second after lunch also lasting one hour. have your day care try this.

Do you put cereal in that last bottle before bed? My son did this about that age too. We would it was because he was hungry and so we started making is last bottle with cereal so it was alosts too thick. We had to cut the hole in the nipple bigger but hit made a big difference. Also on thing that it could be is growing pains. Tey gininvg sdo ibprophen just before ben and if still wakes up tey rubbing his leggs and arms. This is shat our doctor had tols us. Sometime too it may be nightmares or a tummy ache if he is having a sensitivity to food. Is there anything new he has been eating since just before this started?

Boy, this hits close to home. We struggled and struggled with this and now (we hope!) it is over. Our son did the same thing...great sleeper then all of a sudden he started waking up at about 1 or 2 a.m. - he'd had a nice long nap and was ready to play, eat, etc. I got up with him, fed him, played, rocked, etc. Then one night I thought, 'Who WOULDN'T want to wake up in the middle of the night if you'd be fed, played with, rocked. etc.?' I talked to his doctor (I was too embarrassed to tell her I was feeding him, playing with him, etc.) and she said she recommended letting him fuss himself back to sleep so we didn't start any bad habits (it was already too late!) It was hard the first night, but he did go back to sleep on his own and on the 4th night he didn't wake up. Good luck!

Maybe try Pediasure before bed if you dont think your baby is getting enough to eat. It will fill him up and give him lots of good nutrients at the same time.

I hope that helps
K.

I am no expert, but I have a 8 month old and she has been sleeping 12 hours through the night for about 4 months. And between 2-4 months only woke up once at 4 am to feed and then slept till 7 am (going to bed at 7). We had to use the cry it out method which broke my heart, but she learned to fall asleep on her own without our help. It took a couple of days and she really didn't cry much, so she was a fast learner. Last month we had to make her room dark also because she started to wake up with the sun at 5 am instead of her normal 7 am wake time still going to bed at 7 pm. We still use a dim night light but used black out shades for the window. I noticed that keeping a normal sleep schedule throughout the day and night helped her sleep better throught the night. Plus since we knew she was ok going 12 hours without food or help from us, if she did wake in the middle of the night we had to let her fall back asleep on her own. Now if she does wake she doesn't make a sound and goes back to sleep on her own. Plus we use an air purifier to help drain out any noises of cars going by in the middle of the night or other noises that may wake her. That has been the best thing we ever invested in. I haven't noticed her sleeping anymore since we have started feeding her solid foods so I don't know if that is the problem. Maybe try putting him to bed at an earlier time. I know that has help my daughter and other friends that I know. 7 seems early, but the later I put her down the earlier she wakes up. So for some strange reason a bed time between 6-8 is the best for them. Let me know if this helps at all. I would definitely try the purifier if you don't already have one.

He has hit the world of learning and it can be overwhelming by night fall to have so much on your mind, so to speak. Also having food too soon before bed can leave him feeling sick in the tummy. Definately offer more table food though, his body will hold on to that longer and his tummy may feel better as a result.

As for his bedtime: Create a calm bedtime ritual but don't make too many changes to the current one you have, night-light must stay included! Try reading a book with him in the crib. Rocking is great but he is old enough to self sooth with you by his side rather then in your arms. Some soft music or white noise is helpful as well (small fan?!)through the night.

Do keep in mind too that if your stressed and tired he will pick up on that too.

Hope this helps.

My son every so often has this issue. He'll wake up with no excuse and just scream and cry like he's in pain. I usually assume a cramp or gas so in my half-awake state I start to try and rub them out. I have now learned that he has ear aches when teeth are trying to come in or he has a little runny nose. He doesn't run a fever or have a stuffy nose when he gets ear infections so there's no sign pointing to a diagnosis. I hope this helps, but I also hope he doesn't have an ear infection.

I am definitely not an expert and every child is different however, when my daughter did this to us, my doctor told us that we absolutely had to let her cry and learn how to sooze herself back to sleep. We were doing the same thing you are doing. She was not even a crier...she was a scremaer! urgh... One night she screamed for 4 hours straight. I about lost my mind and cried myself back to sleep. My husband had to keep holding me back from going to her.

Through all of the heartache, it worked and she started to sooze herself back to sleep. As a mother...It was extremely hard however, it worked.

A wonderful reference that I have used when my girls were little is: www.babycenter.com You input your childs age and they send you weekly emails on what stages your child should be in. You can also look up advice from other mother's (Topics that have already been discussed and answered).

Hang in there,
Marybeh

Sounds like he could be hungry. I'm sure he has some teeth and can probably start chewing some soft foods. Cereals are good and seem to satisfy for awhile, but what he probably needs are foods higher in protien. The carbs in cereal are used up quickly but protein stays in the system longer and takes longer to burn off. He's also more active so he needs more fuel.Yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. Ground meats and such.

Try the idea of giving him more substatial foods. My fear though is that he is learning how to manipulate his Mommy and Daddy. I have two children and with both there came a time when I had to tough it out and try not to respond when I knew that all the baby wanted was attention. It is the hardest thing in the world to do, I know. When he first cries go in and acknowledge that you heard him, gently tell him it is time to sleep now, lay him back down and leave. He will no doubt start up again but try hard not to respond. It will take a long time before he gets it that you are not going to indulge him. But he will finally go to sleep. The next night he will cry a little less, and a little less every night untill he is sleeping through again. The first night you might not be able to stay away the whole time he is crying. Its OK if you go back in and repeat the gentle reminder that it is sleeping time and lay him back down. It is important that he knows you hear him but that you are firm about bed time.

E.

Hi T.! That can be so frusterating and tiring when your little one gets up during the night. My daughter who is now 3 1/2 did that often at that age for about a year! I found out that she had ear infections and laying down made it hurt more. I never knew that she had the ear infection and I felt so bad when I found out because I would let her cry it out until she fell asleep. So the lesson I learned was if she started getting up in the night not able to sleep I would take her in the the doctor and 9 times out of 10 she would have an ear infection. We were very close to getting tubes in her ears because she kept getting them. Thank goodness she grew out of them. Good luck with it all, maybe you should get his ears looked at!

I suggest that you should check with his doctor or nurse for possible ear infections. My older daughter had a couple of ear infections with no fever, but with "unusual" behaviors in late evening/night. It seems that it takes too long to put him back to sleep. My daughter's 3rd ear infection brought just about the same symptoms - not eating much for dinner and waking up at night, although playing well and eating well during the daytime. Good luck!

I'm sorry this is going on. Hang in there!! I'm no sleep expert or doctor but it seems to me like several things might be going on. Crawling is a huge milestone and can affect sleep with separation issues. Not only can you disappear, so can he! Also more solids would probably be good too. Baby food doesn't stick with him as long as foods that retain a bit of their fiber and crawling takes a ton of energy. I don't know if you are trying any real solids but try giving him small, sliced up pieces of whatever purees he is eating or depending on what you have introduced and any allergy issues, you can begin to give him bits of whatever you are eating. It sounds like you are trying everything and it will work itself out. The other side is be careful how much attention you are giving him at night. Our amazing kidlets are VERY smart creatures and if he is getting a ton of mileage out of his night time yelling, you might be in for a long haul. I have done some things with my kids that seemed to work with periodic night-wakings. I'm happy to email further with you privately. I often think it is a GOOD thing our babies are so dang cute, because there's nothing cute about 3a.m.! Hug him and love him. He's only a babe once!

T.,
I remember my daughter going through a stage of waking up at night too, although she had been a great sleeper since 5 weeks old. Babies have a great way of training parents instead of us training them. One word of advise I was given was to NOT take my daughter out of the crib at night when she would wake up. We set aside a few nights to get her through this stage. I took the first night and then my husband took the next night. We would go in and lay her back down and rub her back and then leave the room. We were pleasantly surprised that it only took two nights to get her back to sleeping through the night.
Hang in there!

H.

My first guess would be EAR INFECTION my daughter does that when she has a ear infection. If you are absolutely sleep deprived you could try letting him sleep with you in bed I know it's a bad habit to get into but you gotta sleep too. Or if you go to the doctor and there is no ear infection I would try the let 'em cry or occupy themselves routine, it's really hard because you just want to run in there and grab your son but after a few nights he'll get back on track.

T., Before you let him cry I would try taking him to an Ears Nose and Throat doctor to check for fluid behind his ear drum. Its a quick and easy in office test. Fluid behind the ear drum will cause babies to not want to suck on bottles, and makes it too uncomfortable to sleep well. This is not something your pediatrician can see so you will have to have an ENT check him out. Good luck, C.

My daughter did this twice the first time it was an ear infection and the second time was severe allergies the Dr gave us medicine for every night and if she doesnt take it every night she will not sleep thru.... you might get your baby checked out!

My best friend had that problem with her son, too. He would wake up and just want to play in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, babies do not know the difference between day and night. They don't care if you have to get up and go to work in the morning. She figured it was due to his newly learned motor skills and that he was too excited to sleep. My daughter sometimes wakes up shortly after we go to bed and we just soothe her back to sleep if she doesn't do it herself, or sometimes we give her a little Tylenol, but that is always our last resort, but of course it is the one that puts her back to sleep. She is almost 20 months and she just cut her first teeth last month. I know, hard to believe, but we never knew if she was teething because it took so long for them to come out. The Tylenol helped because she must have been in pain. It works quickly.
Good Luck

Hello,
Don't give him more food unless its the normal thing for you to do i.e. his schdule. I am thinking colic, try soy formula and don't put cereal in his bottle he will get over gorged and get a tummy ache. That will cause gas, if you feel he has had suffecient amount of food at dinner time try giving him baby juice, or water. What worked for me when my daughter had colic is rocking her on my legs belly side down, bouncing or whatever it seems to settle the gas, there is an over the counter tummy medicine for babies, it comes in a little bottle with a dropper. I have never used it cause didn't know about it but know of people who have and they swear by it. Another thing to try is elevating the head of his bed. Let me know if this helps I sure hope it does I know how it feels. Take care and good luck.

Your situation sounds familiar. Whenever my daughter (now 15 months old) was going through a major milestone, such as learning to crawl, she wouldn't sleep as well for 1-2 weeks. What seemed to work was using the Ferber method, which means going into the room and soothing the baby without picking him/her up. As soon as he/she is quiet leave the room. If the crying continues go in at larger intervals--1st after 5 minutes, then 10, 15, etc. It's difficult to ignore the crying in the beginning, but if you're consistent then after a few days the situation will improve. You also mentioned food, which very well could be part of it. He should be ready for soft finger foods (pears, sliced grapes, wheat bread, etc.). My daughter started them at around 7 months and it really helped with her small motor skills, as well as keeping her tummy happy. Good luck getting through this sleeping binge. Be aware that it may happen again when your son starts to walk--oh, the joy of parenthood.

We read every book there was on sleep! The only one that finally worked for us was "Solve your Child's Sleep Problems" by Dr. Ferber. It seems harsh, but our daughter was waking up every 2-3 hours to be fed or rocked at 6 months, and now she sleeps 12 hours at night! If she wakes up, she can put herself right back to sleep on her own. Good Luck!

I would suggest giving either more finger foods or give a snack before bed. I'd say you should be able to rock your child but I wouldn't do it over two weeks. I'd just go in there and check to make sure baby is too wet, poopy, sick, teething, or too hot or cold. If all that is fine I'd just tell him it's time to go back to bed and leave the room. It could just be a phase. My DD sleep pattern has changed several times and sometimes it's really good and other times it's not so great.

T.,
There could be many reasons why your son is not sleeping through the night anymore. Babies change their pattrens all the time. Also, you mentioned he has begun standing up and crawling. When babies start new "achievements/milestones" they tend to wake up at night. I have been told they knid of think about it until they master it. It is very hard to do, but if you can bare it, let him cry it out. He is old enough to do that. He needs to learn how to soothe himself and fall asleep on his own. Unfortunately, rocking him and going into his room, just makes it worse. It will be a hard few days, but it is worth it.
Good Luck,
D. Stephenson
____@____.com

I have 2 (almost 4 and almost 2). I have found that when they are going through major developmental milestones such as crawling, walking,talking, etc. their little brains just can't turn it off. They have trouble sleeping because they are truly just so excited about learning something new. I learned the hard way that you should not always go to them when they cry. My first was very difficult because of that. It really is OK to let them cry a little. At 9 months old, your child already knows how to comfort himself back to sleep. Let him try to work it out. It is hard to listen to them cry, but sometimes you need to let them. Good luck!

Have you taken him to the doctor? Alot of times it is an inner ear infection. I have been through 5 kids and all of the symptoms sound like the ear infection. I thought feeding more food closer to bed time would help too. It actually makes them more full and harder to sleep.

Is he pulling himself to stand in the crib, but can't yet sit back down from standing? That could be one possibility... if it's the case he will stop staying awake once he learns to sit/lay back down.

Try putting some cereal in his formula to thicken it a bit at night...that'll calm the tummy and stick to his ribs as well. I agree with the other response about table food...he probably needs "heavier" foods now...but I'd try the cereal, first, and then the more solid foods during the day so you can see what his response to it will be.
Good luck!

It has been over a year since my daughter was that old but I remember her eating more and drinking less at that age. I think the best thing you can do is start planning a daily meal plan for your son. I don't remember if at that age they can eat eggs but if so I would definitly push proteins! At that age they should be eating a new food every week, mashed. Have you gone to WIC? Even if you don't need the food vouchers they are VERY informative and offer help on nutrition. I think mainly when a child has sleeping problems food/nutrition, a change in the home, or an illness is usually the cause. Some ear issues can go unnoticed for a long time, something to consider. Also parentstages.com, huggies.com are some of the websites that offer good advice on many topics.

Hi T.,

This sounds very familiar! Both of my kids went through this stage. My daughter would wake up because she was hungry, usually during her growth spurts, and my son suffered separation anxiety when he was around 8 or 9 months old. We followed a bedtime routine: snack, bath, story, cuddle time, etc., and into the crib. With my son I would stay and stroke his face and tell him I loved him and that I would be close by and then I would leave the room. Because he didn't suck his thumb or pacifier and didn't have any special toys he was attached to, bedtime was difficult. I would simply go into his room every 5 mintues if he was crying to reassure him that all was okay and eventually he would calm down. This stage will pass, I assure you. My son is 4-1/2 now and still doesn't like going to bed but as long as we're consistent with his bedtime routine and remain firm on that, he doesn't argue (too much). He's just a social little guy who doesn't want to miss anything and feels secure when someone is close by. He has always done well with sleeping in my husband's and my bed (and still likes it), but it's something that we just don't allow too often. If you're a beleiver in co-sleeping, that's an option so your son feels close to you and when he wakes up in the middle of the night he'll see you close by and will (hopefully) settle down again.

With regard to food have you tried a higher stage of baby food? My kids were on finger foods at 9 months; I gave them ravioli cut up in small pieces, cooked peas, cut up cooked carrots, noodles, pieces of cooked chicken, and pieces of American cheese. They also loved YoBaby yogurt because they could spoon it up themselves - very messy, but fun. And I put some cereal in it to thicken it up a bit.

Good luck!

You can try putting some baby cereal in his bottle before bed. My so had the same problem for a little and that worked. It sits a little heavier in the stomach and keeps them satisfied longer. It is worth a try. The worst thing that could happen is it doesn't work. Also have you tried playing some classical music for him? That might work. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

N.

www.babysites.com/sites/ninaknisley

lets look at the details...did this sudden period continue after a teething episode? also, not to put mom and dad down, but baby could possibly have figured out that since momma and daddy are gone during the day, and since attention has been granted while teething and all else, that this is a good way to get that attention demanded...you love your son and don't want anything to make him uncomfortable and if he was hurt at night, or had a bad dream ( which is possible) you want to comfort him. but as stated below, if we do whatever our children demand of us, it won't stop. 9 months is difficult...more for the little guys because they know what is going on, they seem to mature faster than the physical elements and get frustrated easily because we they cannot say " look ma, hold me, rock me, feed me and sing" but they can think it...little ones that age can learn sign language...but as for mom and dad...if it is draining you during the day to stay up all night, then work...baby knows your tired and frustrated and won't let down. it's my personal opinon that you may want to give it a couple nights of crying and not attending...(music is good...i'd go with nature sounds because vocals can put more of a burden on wanting mom and dads voice.) and see if that helps...then you could have more energy when you come home from work..if you have a baby monitor in the rooms, then you could tell the difference between a " come here mama" cry and a " pain " cry...

good luck. please let us know what works.

S.

Yeah... keep a routine and comfort him when he wakes but don't pick him up or turn on lights etc. just let hime know that you're there... it's just a phase.

Has anything else changed recently? A different babysitter or the family dynamics? Is he screaming and crying when he wakes up and refusing to go back to sleep? He may be suffering from night terrors. Check to see what his eyes look like and whether or not he's looking at you or through you. I hate to suggest this because it may become a problem later, but maybe you should move him into your room for a little while to see if that helps.