14 Month Old Recently Waking up at Night

Hi D., I think your little one has gotten into the habbit of waking up and as long as she is not wet or hungry she is just wanting attention. You should check on her but don't pick her up. I know how hard it is to let then cry it out. When my husband came home after a six month deployment our daughter did not like it when we moved her into her own room. She had been sleeping in her crib but in our room. I did the ten minute thing. I checked on her to make sure she did not really need anything and then left. I stayed away for ten minutes and then came back to check on her. I did that for a few nights and then I increased the time. I know it is hard, it takes longer to break a habbit than it does to get one. Good luck-Shan

Hey D.,
I have a day care and hear about this alot. There are a couple of things that might be going on, night terrors being one of them. Night terrors are pretty normal and can be caused by several things, eating too close to bed time (water is ok), stress (both environmental and personal), teething and/or growth spurts.....
Some things my parents have tried are:
Keep the stuff in her room where it is (if you've moved it)
Recording a story/song in your voice, switching it on and going back to bed
Put her to bed a little later to break the timing cycle
Put an item of clothing that you've worn, into her crib so she has some of you 'presence'
And my personal favorite...
Have Dad rock her back to sleep!
I hope this helps, I know how hard it is to keep the 'boat' steady with so many waves....
Good Luck!
L.

I have a 17-month old but we had a similar problem around 12 months. We eventually got him to realize we would not be staying in with him by consistently going in very briefly to check on him and then leaving right away. I never could handle letting him cry any longer than 7 or 8 minutes at a time so I truly understand how hard that is. One of the suggestions I read when they are waking at the same time each night is to wake them 30-60 minutes before the usual time to try to break the habit, and then let them go back to sleep. I couldn't seem to bring myself to do this (it seems counter-intuitive to wake them to get them to sleep!) but this was an expert talking so maybe there's some validity. I hope this helps.

Hi D.!

I have a 6 y girl and an 18 month old boy. I would highly recommend co-sleeping or some variant there in. We have one "bed" room. My girl sleeps in a loft bed above our queen in which me and my husband and our son sleep in. We do have a toddler bed in the same room in preparations for when he is ready for his own bed. Until then, I plan on doing what comes naturally. I don't believe it training them that night time means they can't rely on your comfort. I can tell you that I am sOO much more rested with my boy than I ever was with my girl whom I tried to make sleep in a separate room. To put it in perspective, families have been sleeping together for eons and still do all over the world. It's just us and a few others that have tried to separate everyone.

I wish you peace as you sort out what works for you.

K.

I have two teenagers so I remember those nights. It is a possibility that she is having some separation anxiety and or bad dreams which I have read children can start to have and be aware of them( in other words they can be scared by them and know they are scared) as young as 6 mos.Also you might think about shortening her naps or if possible move to earlier in the day. I am not sure of your methods or routines so it is just a suggestion. Remember they do grow up and as with your 6 year old it won't last forever. "Understandingly", Angi

Hi D., my daughter is 16 months and started doing the same thing about 14 months. Sorry to say that she is still waking up but I give her a bottle of milk and diaper change and put her right back to bed. I also thought is was her teeth so I tried everything before bed but nothing seemed to make a difference. I think it is just a stage they go through, separation anxiety, but let her cry alittle while first to see if she will put herself back to sleep. Hopefully the stage will end soon!!

My daughter started waking in the middle of the night at about 13 1/2 months (she'd been a perfect sleeper until then.) My pediatrician friend suggested that she might be having nightmares--apparently, they start being capable of having them at just about this age. My daughter has pretty much worked through it at 16 months. Although this might sound callous, I suggest earplugs for you and especially for your 6 year old. If your baby really needs you, I guarantee you will hear her...trust me! Hang in there!