I really need some help. My son's just turned one and he still wont sleep through the night. I put him to sleep at 8pm. By 10 he's usually woken up once... and then again round 11... and I go to bed around midnight at which time he usually wakes up and I give up and bring him into bed with me for the rest of the night. I'm going to lose it soon. I've just spent an hour putting him back to sleep. I haven't had an uninterrupted night in forever. I'm living in a constant state of sleep deprivation. I'm not a fan of the idea of just leaving him to cry. I don't think I could do it. But I just don't know what to do. I don't know why he wont stay asleep. Help please!
What kind of exercise habits do the two of you have? Do you take frequent walks? Does he play outside a lot? What kind of eating habits are in the household? Are you breastfeeding? There are many factors that may lead to restlessness. I have never been a big fan of just letting my children lay there and cry either. I would suggest that if you have a family member or someone that you trust to watch him, for an hour or two, getting a nap. You gotta take care of mama too. It'll get better, just think, when he is a teenager, he'll sleep all the time.
maybe he's going to bed too early? does he take naps during the day? if so, cut one or both of them out. does he cry when you put him to bed the first time? does he maybe need a bed time snack? i have a 14month old and i've had problems with his sleeping patterns too, we're finally at a good place where he naps around noon for about an hour and a half, eats dinner around 5, has a snack around 6:30 and starts getting bathed and ready for bed around 7:30-8....he usually sleeps through, (once in awhile he does wake up and have a drink) till about 6am. just keep slightly adjusting the schedule until you find something that works.
He used to have two naps a day but we've recently cut that down to one, hoping that it would help him sleep through but no luck. I have to admit that, seeing as it's just coming out of winter, and we don't have a yard, he's been cooped up inside a lot. Now that it's getting warmer we're planning to take him out more to the park or beach. I stopped breastfeeding around 8 months. His eating pattern is fairly steady. Wake up, have breakfast. Have lunch around 1, dinner around 5:30. And he has snacks during the day as well. I put him to sleep at night with a bottle, so I don't think he should be waking up hungry. My WellChild nurse says he should be able to sleep right through from 7 til 7, but... it's just not happening. He just wakes up. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Everything, it feels like.
I'm sorry but your well child nurse is wrong. Very few babies sleep through the night by a year. The media portrays it differently, but most moms I talk to in real life and on another parenting forum think it's quite normal for that age. Unfortunately it leaves a lot of parents frustrated, and feeling like what they're doing is wrong. Big :grouphug: to you Momma. It's hard being sleep deprived. At one year, your child is going through a lot of milestones. These can cause him to wake more frequently because his mind is focused on figuring out how to do something. Just think about when you have something on your mind. It's hard to sleep right? Well same thing for a baby. Not to mention teething, growth spurts, etc. My daughter is 21mnths old, and it wasn't until about 16mnths that she fully started sleeping through the night. Even still, she occasionally has some bad nights. Just get as much rest as you can, nap when he naps, ask your partner to let you sleep in if and when its possible. Go to bed at the same time as him on nights that you're really exhausted. There's no guarantee that if you do sleep training like cry it out with your child that they will even sleep anyway, and most of the time it does more bad than good(and there's many studies out there to back that up), and could possibly damage your relationship with him. And just remember, this will pass, and soon enough you'll miss the night time snuggles(maybe not the waking so much though, lol).
Welcome to parenthood. :biggrin: :cheers2: I had a lot of trouble with Alexis staying asleep around a year old. She'd just started walking and I was told by quite a few people that's why she was waking up all the time. She did it when she learned to crawl also! (Which, of course, came first.) Perhaps you're putting baby to bed too early, like other mamas have said. Or, maybe baby is teething. Maybe your baby just doesn't feel comfortable in its own bed? Are you a co-sleeper?
Alexis slept through the night 98% of the time UNTIL she reached a year old! After she reached that milestone, she stopped for a few months, now she's back to sleeping all night.
One of mine is a great sleeper. The other is a terrible sleeper. Any changes at all or still not sleeping through the night? Do you think you may need to put that nap back in? I know it sounds like backwards thinking, but by the way you worded it, it seems that the poor nights started when the nap was taken away. Good luck! I know this struggle all too well.
I'm not a parent yet lol, but for some reason I read this whole thread and I discovered 2 things 1.The idea someone said about giving the baby exercise or activities is a really good idea and would solve your problem and 2. Someone in this thread has a really sexy signature
I've had this same struggle with my 5month old. She slept perfectly until about 3 and a half months old, then it got tricky. She'd be up until 4 or sometimes 5 in the morning crying and not going to sleep, so I had to implement some kind of routine. Taking out naps during the day did not work, in fact that made matters worse. In the end I tried a variation of sleep therapy, wherein I left her in her cot and didn't pick her up but still made sure she knew I was there and felt comforted. Things are getting better now, and how they used to be. And I'm dealing with a 5 month old who throws "toddler tantrums"! I'm serious, she rolls on her tummy and pounds the cot mattress with her fists and cries to be picked up! She never does that when she's hungry or needs changed, just to get attention! At 4 in the morning that wears you thin I can tell ya!
