Why Do Babies Wake up After Going to Sleep for the Night

I vote teething or ear infection as well. When she wakes I would give her Tylenol and maybe rub som teething ointment in he gums. I think a baby that goes from sleeping to not, has something going on. I don't think letting her cry a few minutes us terrible or anything, but if goes on too long, I think it's a sign of some issue.

Well to me, she is approaching a growth spurt.
At growth spurts, a baby naturally increases in appetite and thus, increases in frequency of feedings. They are growing.
And teething also occurs.
It is not true, that a baby has to be self soothing already.
Our Pediatrician never said that... but rather, for the 1st year of life... a baby needs to be fed on demand. Breast or Formula. Solids is not as nutritionally dense, as breastmilk or Formula and is not a replacement for nursing etc. And hence, a baby's PRIMARY source of nutrition, is from breast or Formula.

Crying it out, does not work, for some babies. For some it does, because they simply give up. And fall asleep from being so tired from crying.

I would get another Pediatrician.

Their tummies are tiny.
They metabolize it quickly.
They get hungry.
They wake.
They feed.
They are growing in many ways at one time.
24/7 day and night.
My kids had ginormous appetites as babies, and nursed often.

She could be teething, she could have an ear infection, she could be having a growth spurt and need to eat more. I didn't leave babies crying. If this is sudden waking, I'd try harder to find out what is causing it, so if there's an issue to be treated, you can do that.

First, everyone wakes in the middle of the night. Adults don't always realize we do it because we've done it our whole lives and very often we just move around a bit and go right back to sleep.

Second, food is just one of the many, many reasons a baby might wake at night. In addition to the reasons listed below, sometimes baby wakes because baby missed Mommy.

Go to her, comfort her. If you can find a reason, go for it. If not, love her and let her know that she is not alone and she is loved. She will grow out of this. Some kids are much closer to 2 years old before they truly sleep through the night. And most kids will need Mommy and Daddy from time to time. We are parents 24/7, not just during the waking hours.

She could be having a growth spurt. She could need help learning to self-soothe. She could be overly full and have a hurting belly. She could be afraid. She could be missing you. It could be anything, but she needs her parents.

The fact is that she's ONLY 8 1/2 months, not already 8 1/2 months. She's shouldn't "already" know how to self-soothe. She has to be taught. And honestly, as such a young baby she still needs her parents to soothe her! When she cries it's for a reason! When she wakes it's for a reason! She might not be feeling well.

Your doctor sounds like a whackadoodle. You need a pediatrician that better understands children, sheesh. Is this guy old school?

I let my oldest cry once , she cried until she threw up , NEVER AGAIN will I do that. It went against every instinct in my body. at 81/2 months shes reaching a growth spurt month, 9 months. So she's likely hungry. They don't need to self sooth, that's what mommies are for,to comfort their children.Babies can wake because they are sick , or getting sick, teething , nightmares ( yes babies can have nightmares), learning something new, hunger,too cold , too hot. I raised both my kids the same way, my oldest didn't sleep all night till she was 3 yrs old , yep 3 yrs old, she never napped as a newborn even. She has ADHD, she was afraid she'd miss something. My youngest slept all night at right around a year , which is actually a NORMAL time. Both raised the exact same way. Kids will sleep all night when they are ready ,not before. Most of the time babies that are forced to cry themselves to sleep have to do it again sometime.

Yes, and she had a double ear infection and this was the only sign. There are many reasons a baby wakes up crying, so you'll need to figure out why, this time.

Sometimes this night waking is a response to teething.....

it's not just babies, PEOPLE don't always sleep through the night.
the reasons are as varied as the people.
yes, self-soothing is an important thing to learn. but CIO is only one method,and if not employed thoughtfully and carefully can actually make things worse.
what did you do with your other babies?
khairete
S.

It could also be gas. Their bodies produce quite a bit as they adjust to eating solid foods.

I assume they still sell gas drops for babies... if so, try that and see if it helps. When my son went through a gassy stage, he would wake suddenly crying, but as soon as I gave him the gas drops he was back asleep on my shoulder and I just put him back in his crib. The end. He wasn't being clingy or hungry or anything else... he just had a gas bubble. And they hurt.
I'd give him the gas drops (or he'd pass some gas) and he'd be back asleep in a few seconds.

If she is teething, I would give her a natural teething tablet you can find at Wal-Mart, Rit-Aid or such, on her teeth before she goes to bed, if she is going through a growth spurt and is hungry, try putting a little baby cereal oatmeal in her bottle. They have nipples for that at the local store also. You could also try putting a soothing baby CD on, which might help. That always helped my son. Good luck!

Could also be reflux. How is she at nap time?

If she cries after being laid down, it might be that the change of position is hurting something, like her ears. What about her teeth? Does she have any new ones? Personally, I'm not a fan of crying it out. I did go check on DD and used a modified pick up/put down method to help her sleep. If this behavior is new, then there's something different going on with her.

Teething, bellyache, dream. So many reasons. When she gets up what do you do. Feed her. Sooth her, does she go back to sleep. If she stays awake for long periods, let her cry. If she is just waking and going back to sleep, I do not see a problem.

M. B is right - sometimes teething can cause baby to wake up. Have you determined if she's teething? If she is, give her tylenol before you put her to bed. It's also true that growth spurts happen, but I doubt that she would wake up that SOON because of a growth spurt if you are feeding her before she goes to bed. She may have gas, so if you burp her really good before she goes down, that may help.

Are you putting her down awake when you put her to bed? If you aren't, you should be. Her doctor is right - she should be self-soothing. If you don't give her the opportunity to, she will expect you to do it for her, and that includes waking herself up in order to get mommy to come back in and be with her.

You let her cry, or you can just sit in the floor beside her crib and put your hand through the slats and touch her leg. She'll stand up because she's old enough to do that now, but you stay on the floor and just touch her leg so that she will eventually lay down to be closer to you. Don't talk to her. Don't move around. Certainly don't pick her up. She will finally calm down. Take your hand away and just sit there. She will have to put herself to sleep. After a week or so of this, she will just stop waking up because she's not getting anywhere with it.

I highly recommend that you do this before she is weaned off of bottles, which should be in the next 3 1/2 months. The longer you wait, the harder it is. You certainly want her to be sleeping through the night by the time she gets out of the crib, or your life will very tough.

Dawn