How Do I Get My 11 Month Old to Sleep?

When she wakes up crying is she standing up? If she is she might be scared to fall down. You might have to show her how to get down from the standing position.

I agree and re-iterate what someone else already said- try very hard not to pick them up. I have an 11 month old daughter too, and she sleeps really well through the night. We initially used the cry it out method at 4 months, which worked well. After she learned to stand, though, that did not work, in fact she seemed to get hysterical. I think they need to learn how to get back down from standing. I started going in at 5, 10, then 15 min and just laying her down. No talking, lights, etc. I would just lay her down, give her her paci, pat her back for a few seconds and go out quietly. This worked wonderfully. I think she just needed to know mama was still around and she wasn't alone. I hardly ever have to go in, and when I do, it is rarely more than once unless something else is going on: teething, severe gas, sickness, etc.

rice cereal b4 bed. It fills the tummy up and helps them stay asleep.

just so you know this is totally normal and i wouldn't be surprised if you get a zillion responses like mine. as the babies develop and become more alert to your coming and going thier desire to be near you increases, especially as they become more independent they need you more. there's nothing wrong with doing whatever you can to get her back to sleep. if you really don't want to cosleep her maybe the best thing to do is tuck yourself in for several days or longer of soothing her back to sleep till she realizes that the cry-it-out torture is over. CIO is really not a good idea, it shouldn't be part of mainstream parenting at all. children can choke to death or vomit or go into respiratory arrest from excessive crying. please don't leave your child alone to cry, it's not safe no matter what your doctor says. how would you like it if you were lonely and your husband told you too bad suck it up by yourself? wouldn't feel good, would it.

and BTW my son is almost 3 and just started sleeping thru the night 3 months ago. my daughter is 1 and gets up 2xs per night to nurse. that's just the way it is. they sleep thru when they are ready and not before.

good luck.

Change her nap time during the day. You might have to start withholding nap time (if it used to be 3 times a day, go to 2) (if 2 times a day for 2 hours, shorten it to 1 1/2 hour). As they get older, so does their sleeping habits - for some reason, it's always been this way. My friend did it to her son and her son was cranky at first, but he got used to it and he slept throughout the night.

I remember that my DD started waking up more when she could stand in her crib. She was tired but just wanted to practice her new skills. We would do the Ferber cry it out method. It did take a long time for a couple nights, but she got the point that it was bed time and not play time. I think this normal.

hmmm,, the only thing that occurs to me, is when my son was ready to make a change he would stop sleeping thru and come in to me. At 13 Months old - he was just "done" sleeping in his crib he would wake up every night, i gave in and put his crib mattress on the floor (but put a super play yard around it for my peace of mind at least he couldn't go anywhere) he went right to sleep. Once I knew he was ready for that I got the step 2 firetruck bed for him and then a year later he started waking up every night again and I finally took him out of his toddler bed and into a twin mattress on the floor, he's again sleeping well. Good luck..

you say she's just learned to stand up in her crib? Does she know how to get down? When they are going through developmental changes, they can have more frequent night wakings. Also, what does her day look like? Is she on a regular routine? Around a year, they transition to 1 nap a day. My daughter is 16 months. She was NOT ready for 1 nap a day at 12 months, but her sitter went on maternity leave and we had to put her in daycare, and they do 1 nap a day at 12 months. That caused some night wakings too. Our daughter has always been a really good night sleeper. We think it is because we are consistent about what we do. When she wakes up in the middle of the night, first I listen to hear what kind of cry it is. Fussing, or more urgent. If it is the more urgent kind, I get up and check on her to make sure she is okay. I am careful NOT to interact with her. I don't want to give her a reason to wake up. It's not social hour. I make sure that physically everything is okay. Dry, not too hot or cold, etc. Also, I do not pick her up. I hug her in her crib and set her lay her back down. Make sure she's got her favorite blankie. Then I leave. Usually, she's fine after that. If not, our rule is 3x and then we're done. I wait 5 minutes longer the next time I go in, then 5 minutes longer the next time. etc. I almost never get to 3x. Occasionally, I think a nightmare or something has woken her. I can usually tell because her crying is different. Those times, I pick her up and give her a little cuddle. Also, if she is sick or teething, it's a different ballgame. Could she be sick or teething? Anything else? Anything new in her day or life? Could seem like nothing to you, but even if you've been working late lately...or she's changed from bottles to sippies... that can be an adjustment. My daughter, has just started to show me when she's not very happy with me. She'll look away and shake her head no. I hope this helps!

do you put her down awake?? it's critical to put baby down drowsy but awake so she actually falls asleep on her own and when she wakes during night she can do it agian on her own.

it may take some crying, but it is worth it. Trust me.. been there!

We had the same problem with our daughter and it went on for 2 months, even after letting her co-sleep. She's fine now (still sort of co-sleeping) but her are some suggestions:

try a bottle, she may be hungry
she could be teething, use oragel and tylenol
she may have an ear infection
may be gas.....use mylecon or change formula
last but not least it could be night terrors...

We found for us that it was a combination of teeething (she got 5 teeth in 8 weeks!!) and gas...we switched her to soy milk...so far we are good!!

Good Luck!!!!!!!!

Have you considered that she could be having a growth spurt and is hungry? That is very common for babies who were sleeping through the night. Just a thought.

HOw is she napping? When my son was going through the same exact thing (easy to bed, but woke up a zillion times) I reread pages of my Weissbluth (Healthy Sleep, Happy Baby, blah blah) book to look for suggestions. The book mentioned some high percentage of babies at that age still need 2 naps and that if that second nap isn't happening, it could be disturbing night sleep. So I committed to getting that second nap in again (I had started to go stir crazy and wanted out) and it worked! Weissbluth's theory is that they won't sleep well at night if overtired.

Good luck!

Wear a t-shirt all day (make sure it has your purfume and body lotion smell on it). Give it to her, along with a spill proof bottle of water at night and an extra binkie. Worked like a charm with my son. He curled up on my shirt and went to sleep. When he woke at night, I heard him find the bottle, take a drink, pop in the binkie, and go back to sleep. We started this at 9 months (dr recommended) and he's 14 months now. Still sleeping through the night and loves my t-shirts. I try and give him a new one each day or every other day. Sometimes, just rubbing lotion on my hands and wiping them off on a clean t-shirt and spritzing it with purfume works too. He puts it to his nose and breathes in, smiles and loves it! Good luck!

Buy the book - how to solve your child's sleep problems by Dr. Richard Ferber

C.,

My son is the same age, I work FT outside the home and he's in daycare. He will usually nurse to sleep around 8 PM but still nurses several times during the night (maybe 10 or 11 PM, 2, 4, and 6 AM). For myself, I have found that co- sleeping for part of the night is the only way I can get any sleep and I won't do CIO, but I understand that you don't want to co-sleep. Have you read the "No Cry Sleep Solution"? That book has lots of good suggestions for many different parenting styles. Best of luck with whatever you try!

Is she teething? Try rubbing her gums and using oragel to see if that soothes her... maybe if her gums are a little numb, she won't wake again when you put her back down in the crib..???

My daughter started waking from 7 months periodically and it was always due to teething discomfort...

Good luck!

Might she be hungry in the middle of the night? My son, just 1 yr old, recently started waking in the night.. I give him 4 oz and he goes right back to sleep. Alternatively, I try to make sure he drinks a full 8oz before sleep and has a hearty dinner. Good luck!