My son is 1 year and has always slept through the night except when he learned to walk. I am at my wits end because he sleeps for 6 hours and is wide awake and up crying in his crib. My husband and I have tried everything, soft music a bottle, a video...nothing works. He is up. His schedule got thrown off and now I can't get it on again. I would appreciate any suggestions. He isn't learning anything new and isn't getting any teeth as far as I can tell.
Thanks
Is he napping during the day? If so, monitor how long he is napping, he may be sleeping too long. My second child started weaning from naps at 18 months and totally stopped at 2 years old. I knew it was time to stop the naps when she stopped sleeping as much during the night.
Also, you could try letting him cry it out for a few nights. It will seem like torment but by the third night, you will probably see a difference.
I know what this is like.LOL.Is he getting his first yr molars by chance? I would check if you havent already.Second of all has he eaten any new foods lately? He may also be going through a growth spurt.I would suggest knocking a half hour off of his naps.See how that works.
You say his schedule got thrown off, sometimes it just takes a week or so for it to work itself out. This is very common around the holidays (lots of exciting energy) and in the summertime (stays light out longer). The best thing you can do is keep his routine as regular as possible. I also see that you stay at home. You can try just going with it, waking and sleeping as he does, and insist on a morning nap, especially if he woke up very early. When my kids went through this stage I would lay down with them, make sure the room is very dark and very quiet. We co-slept, but they all went through a stage where they would wake up before we would even get to bed! Just laying down with them and doing slow deep breathing (in through the nose for 4 counts, hold for 2 counts, out through the mouth for 4 counts) was usually enough to "relax" them to sleep. It also helps YOU chill out and release those feelings of frustration.
Try to remember, this is not something to "fix" this is a phase he is going through and it's your job (and privilege!) to help him work through it. Continue to be the loving mom you are and just relax, this too shall pass.
Just don't leave that baby in a room alone to "cry it out." It's cruel. Anything that seems like torment probably isn't a good solution (at least at this age).
what about playdates?
My daughter went through this too. Anytime something new came up, new food, bottle, sippy cups, whatever. Have you tried letting him settle himself down before going in to his room?
It is very normal for a child to stop sleeping as well once they start walking. How exciting to learn something new & be able to see things from a totally new level, all the neat things they can get into etc. If I were them, I would rather explore & learn then sleep. It only took my son a few days to get back to a set sleeping routine, but he has always been a 13 hr a night sleeper (with little or no naps during day). We stuck to a routine for bedtimes (dinner, then bath, then pj's & sit on daddy's lap with cup of milk as he watches 1 episode of Backyardigans, then into the crib. He has always had the same bedtime & routine since he was about 6 months old). He cried the first few nights & we would just comfort him & remind him it was bedtime. Then we would leave the room for a few more minutes (each trip extended by a few minutes...2 min then 5 min- we never had to go in past 10 min. once he realized we were serious). Of course you need to do what makes you confortable & only you know what works for your child. My son went thru a seperation anxiety phase at night, where he would cry until my husbdan held him for a few hrs while they watched tv (from 3am-5am). We went thru this for 3 weeks & were so exhausted we forgot he was the child & we were the parents- it made us all very cranky. The pediatrician actually told us we needed to stop letting him watch tv in the middle of the night if he got up, so we gave him the choice of his crib or rocking in our arms. If he struggled to get down, we would put him in the crib & remind him it was bedtime. It hurt us to hear him cry & be upset, but within 3 days he was back to sleeping thru the nights.
Try the link below, it has a lot of info on sleeping issues & some uggestions.
http://www.babycenter.com/baby/babysleep/index
Hope these ideas help. -S.-
M.,
My son has always had trouble with sleep and sleep routines. One disruption and it would weeks to get him back on track. I hate to recommend the cio method, but that is the only thing that has worked for me. If I were to respond to his cries or pleas it would continue even longer or he would cry harder in order to get my attention.
