My son has always had sleep issues. We have a pretty good bedtime routine with very little problems that starts around 7:30: bath, brush teeth, read a few books, kiss good night, shut off the lights and leave his room. He doesn't cry when we leave. It's great...until about midnight to 3AM. Every night he wakes up at least once (sometimes up to 3 times) crying, sometimes screaming. When I go into his room he's sometimes standing up in the crib. I usually only have to lay him back down and give him his pacifier and walk away. He may cry for 30 seconds but usually goes back to sleep. How do we stop this behavior? I am so tired all day because I keep waking up in the middle of the night. My husband and I have played with his bedtime, given him milk before bed, taken milk away, played with the temperature, you name it. I used to use a night light but thought this was distracting him so we took it out. His crib was in our room until he was 11 months and thinking we were the ones distracting him we moved him to his own room. Nothing has helped. I've tried to let him CIO but we haven't been able to do it for very long (mostly b/c we just want to sleep and can't sleep through the crying). Should we really just bite the bullet and let him CIO until he stops waking up or is there a better (less painful for everyone involved) method? I need advice. Please don't recommend another book. I got the Weissbluth book and to be honest after working 8+ hours and all the stuff I have to do at home I don't have the attention span and patience to read it. Frankly I just wasted money buying it because I can't get past chapter 3.
The only thing that worked for us was the CIO method. It was really tough for a couple of nights, but now when my son wakes up, he puts himself right back down. It took about four nights for it to "stick", but you can't give in!
Good luck!
Does he have a "lovie"? My son has a small blanket with a teddybear head and arms attached. It is, I think, the main reason he can soothe himself at night unless he is sick of course. We also love our "aquarium" that is attached to the side of the crib. I turn it on when its time to lay him down and its so easy for him to press the button if he wakes up at night. We have it on the light and music setting. Its about 35 dollars and worth every cent!! I know you are frustrated but please try this before subjecting your son and yourselves to the torture of CIO. BTW, if my son does cry and wake up at night it is usually a teething or other physical issue so I go in there and soothe him. I don't think you can force a child to soothe themselves. They just give up.
I also wanted to add, what time do yu put him to bed? We put our 19 month old to bed at 9:30/10:00. I found that any earlier he was not tired and would wake up. Also, we feed him fruity oatmeal with lots of baby oatmeal right before bed to make sure his tummy is full. Could your son be hungry?
Hi G.,
I went through the same thing with my daughter. Pacifiers can be great but they can also be the cause of frequent night wakings. How ever a child learns to fall asleep most times is what they will need when they come from a deep sleep during the night. I did put a night light in my daughters room and put 5 or 6 pacifiers in the crib so when she woke she could see them put it in and put herself back to sleep. I also had a music box in her crib that she fell asleep to every night. I had to let her cry a little and figure it out on her own but it did work. The crying is difficult to listen to but it worked for us after a few nights. I would try it on the weekend so you can rest during the day and catch up on missed sleep. He may also be startled when he wakes and it is so dark. I don't think the nightlight will be a distraction it may help. If you do try cry it out I would go in the first time to check on him so he knows you are there and you can also make sure he is okay. Then turn on the music just lay him down, say night night, and do not go back in. Sometimes my daughter would wake up every hour. I was a zombie and really did cry it out out of desperation. Good luck I hope you get sleep soon!!!
Try playing music. I play music for my kids when they are falling asleep. It helps them if they wake during the night. This way during the night if he wakes during the night all you have to do is replace the binky, turn on his music and leave the room. My daughter is 2 and I still have to go in most nights just to give her the binky and turn on her music. I would say 5 out of 7 nights I have to do just that. CIO doesn't always work. My daughter could CIO for hours if I let her. Just go in, lay him down, give him the binky, turn on the music and tell him it's still sleepy time.
