My son is 8.5 months old, and after nearly three months of almost-ideal sleeping patterns, he has begun to fight sleep again. Last week, he was sleeping from between 7:30 p.m. to around 6:00 a.m. with only the occasional mid-night awakening. After our bedtime routine, he breastfed and went into his crib with no problem, falling asleep with a minimum of fuss. His naps were almost always two hours after his morning waking and about four hours after his first nap (so around 8:00 and 1:30).
For the past four days, however, even when he falls asleep at the breast, when I put him into his crib, he SCREAMS. Usually, he just whimpers, even when he's wide awake when I put him in bed. His naps have similarly deteriorated: he's been fighting me at 8:00 and waiting to fall asleep at 10:00, then falling asleep again late in the afternoon.
We don't know what sparked the change. He's a very active little man and has been crawling for three months, cruising for one month, and pushing walker toys for three weeks. He has six teeth that all came in with very little drama. He's still not waking during the night, but getting him asleep has become a nightmare. We usually let him cry for about 15 minutes, hoping he'll calm down (as he did before), but when I go check on him, he is standing in his bed, sweating and with a runny nose from the screaming. I feel so bad that I rock him again--until he is limp with sleep and I'm able to lay him down.
Please, if you have any suggestions--or even an explanation for this reversion--let me know!
Hi A.,
Your baby may be experiencing separation anxiety!
Call the La Leche League. They may have some answers:
www.lllusa.org or 1-800-525-3243
Here are some web sites that may help as well:
http://www.naturallynurturing.co.uk/sleep.html
http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/13/top-ten-ways-to-...
http://slumbersounds.com/baby-bedtime-rituals-info.htm
Hope this helps. Good luck. D.
If he doesn't have any of the "vampire" teeth or molars, they are tougher to cut. Just a thought.
he may be at the separation anxiety stage. my youngest had real issues with that and, i seem to remember, that around 9 months can be the start point. he also could have an ear infection. i would check that first (though, i would think that he would make up in the night if that were the case). if it's not the ears, then maybe try to alter your bedtime routine. a little longer one-on-one reading, rocking, what-have-you. then lay him down and tell him you'll be right back. then leave the room. if he cries, come back in and lay him back down (don't pick him up) and tell him you'll see him in the morning. they just have to learn that you WILL come back. another option, though, may also be food or naps. if he's taking 2 naps, experiment with just 1. if taking 1, try 2. babies sleep needs just change. (my youngest went from sleeping 20 hours a day, to 8 hours overnight.) and maybe he's still hungry. both my boys would go (and still go) through periods when they are just hungrier than usual. just try some rice cereal, before the final breast feeding. and, finally, (i'm just trying to think of anything it could be) it could be gas. at that age, at lot of new foods are being introduced. try just feeding him 1 thing for 2 days (carrots, milk, rice cereal, then peas, milk, and rice cereal). then you can isolate any problem foods. sorry to be so scattered. hope that helps!
the exact same thing happened to my son when he was about 8 mo. (he's now 9 mo)
He was always wonderful and pleasant to put down to bed. What I found is that, because he was so active crawling and cruising around, he was much thirstier/hungrier than he used to be. I started to give him an additional bottle right before bed and he would drink his fill. Then he would go down without a whimper, just as he used to. If Ian had plenty of formula already that day then I would give him water or watered down formula.
I gave this suggestion to others who have have the same problem, and the feedback I received was very positive - it worked for them, too!
One more thing I should mention. The additional bottle time before bed (or nursing, whatever it is that you do) allows for some more cuddling, and a cool-down period for your son after an active evening of crawling. I think this solution speaks to many issues that could be going on with him.
Good luck!
My son isn't as old as yours, so take this with a grain of salt...but it seems like every time he's about to go through a major change (or hit a big milestone) he has a week or two of bad sleep. Lots of crying and wakings. Maybe your son is about to walk?? Maybe he's having trouble reminding himself how to lay down on his own, after standing up? By this age, it's ok to let him cry longer (even though it's awful to listen to).
He may just be testing boundaries, and wanting to stay up later- just like the big boy he is! It's ok for him to be mad about not wanting to go to bed- stay strong!
He sounds like a smart, strong boy. I have a feeling he'll be a handfull! :)
My son is 16 mo. and I went through all of that. It's totally normal at that age for their sleep patterns to change... they will be changing for the next few years! He is most likely teething as well. Just put him down when he's tired for naps and when it's bedtime. I'll pick up my son if he doesn't stop crying after 5 minutes. But everyone is different. 80% of the time, he'll fall asleep in his crib after crying for a couple minutes though. Sometimes he's teething and needs tylenol. Sometimes he just wants to fall asleep with me and then I take him to his crib. Soon it'll be one nap a day around 12 months old. There will be many days in the next few months when he'll miss naps all together. Then the next day he'll sleep for 4 hours. It's very difficult to rely on any daily routines from here on out. So much development and change is happening (esp. with teething). You gotta just go with the flow.
Has he been tugging on his ears? Have his ears checked for an ear infection. Every tiem my daughter acted that way, it was pain from teeth or ears. You may not see any other sysmptome. For my daughter, it was only at night, no fever. If you are suspicious, offer some Tylenol and see if it helps.
Not sure suggestions is what I Have for you but at least you are not alone. Our son is 19 months and the same thing happened to us at 8 months. He slept great from 3.5 months till 8 months. Then it became a horrible experience to put him down (just like you are describing). I couldn't continue to let him cry because it just made him more hysterical. That's really not the way to go. Nurse him to sleep until he is drowsy and try to put him down and if he still screams, nurse him to sleep and then transfer him to his crib. Yes, I know everyone says not to do that, but both of you will be happier. My son finally stopped needing to nurse to sleep at a year old and he would nurse until drowsy and then I would just rub his stomach until he fell asleep. We still need to be with him until he falls asleep and he still wakes up sometimes at night. It just might be a short phase for your son or a longer one like ours (hopefully for you that will not be the case). You are not doing anything wrong. Keep your bedtime routine and all. Be there for him because you are his parents and that's your job. He will learn to fall asleep on his own when he is ready for it again. It is inconvenient for us but that's our job. And think about it, do you like going to sleep without your husband? I bet you don't. Why would a child like to go to sleep without his parents around? It just doesn't make sense.
The little guy may be suffering sleep changes due to teething alone, which causes lots of problems. he is young to have the teeth like that, especially 6 at one time. he could have bowel or urinary problems leading to gas or stomach aches, etc. or if there has been any sudden changes at home or things he is picking up on, it could be scaring him. if he has 6 teeth, it may be time to start a little of the baby cereal at night to help him sleep. the rice stuff or something similar that a baby his age can have. our pediatrician said to introduce it slowly, and that it would help our daughter sleep and it did. it was warmed and she ate enough to fall asleep and slept through the night. we cut a slit in the bottom of the nipple on the bottle so that she could drink it from the bottle warmed over. does he have any allergies to things? that also can cause changes that his breathing is different and maybe it startles him or he is going through the typical about to be 9mo separation anxiety that he wants you with him all the time, including bed time now. Just some things we went through. Hope it helps. Let me know.
Sounds like my son only it stared at six months. It could be so many different things that aren't health threats, unless you are noticing other differences, that the cause does not matter so as what you do. Most likely it is seperation anxiety. Unfortunately, babies go in and out of this phase more than once. The best thing is to reassure your son that you are there. There are many ways to do this, rocking him, standing by the crib and rubbing tummy, laying down with him. Find somthing that works with you and your son and your routine. Most times our intincts about our children work out just fine. My son is now 21 months and still wakes during the night, but usually only for a few minutes. It has simply become part of our routine. We know that someday he will either sleep through the night or learn how to put himself back to sleep on his own.
My 10 month old (previously she was perfectly on a schedule, you could set your watch by her naps) has just given up a nap and has taken up screaming for hours instead at night. I don't know if it is the age or the weather. I hope someone has a logical explanation out there!!!
