13 Month Old Screaming for Hour or More in Middle of Night EVERY THIRD NIGHT

This is only my opinion - I would suggest when you go in her room, do not pick her up. It is very difficult, but it will help. Put her in a night-time diaper with lots of cream right before she goes to bed the 1st time so you don't not need to change her. Gently lay her down and tell her it is time to go to sleep. SHE WILL CRY. Continue to lay her down evertime she gets up. DO NOT PICK HER UP. I bet it will take 3 times to break the cycle. As I have told many other people asking about sleep issues - Get the book The Baby Whisperer. She does not believe in "crying it out".

Sounds like bad dreams to me. My son is almost 5 now, and experience that when he was about 2. It was horrible but only lasted a few weeks. Hang in there, I'm sure it'll pass by.

I had a friend who's son had night terrors, but I think he was 2 1/2. I am not sure how soon they can start, but you might Google "night terrors" to see if your DD fits the pattern.
hope you both catch some z's soon! liz

Hi Everyone!! I hope I don't sound like a mean person, but I have problems with a lot of the advice that has been given concerning sleeping issues. I feel like the "crying it out" method is getting a bad rap. I don't know about other people who have used this method, but for myself, it has worked like a charm. My son walks to his crib and wants in the second I say " it's nite-nite time, Graydon". When he was adjusting to the whole napping issue, I never let him cry for hours on end, which is what I think a lot of people assume the "crying it out" method is. SO UNTRUE!!! When we started our napping routine, I checked on him every fifteen minutes, reassured him, and layed him back down. I never picked him up. I never layed in the room with him. I never rocked him to sleep. I never let him sleep in my bed. I love my baby, and it was hard to hear him cry, but what helped me, was knowing that he was becoming independent and would be able to survive without me. I thought that was what being a parent is all about. I want him to depend on himself to be able to fall asleep, eat, play, and generally, just have a balanced, healthy life. I don't mean to say there are not other ways to raise a healthy baby, I just get annoyed to see so many people denounce the "cio" method, as if we just leave them in their rooms crying for hours. The Method is so far opposite from that, it is absurd. The "cio" method to me, is about creating independence in your child so that he/she can succeed in their lives WITHOUT you!! I hope I am not sounding rude, I just want to stress the importance of independence in a child, because it is what will carry a person thru life more than anything else. I hope I have made my feelings clear and I wish the best of luck to everyone who has a child, because lord knows, it ain't easy!!!!

I don't have a child this age and have never been through this, but I did find an article that might give you some options:

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/toddler/sleep/habits18to24mon...

Bless your heart! It will get better!!!!

Jodi

My Doctor Had us "reset" our daughter sleep schedule when she was doing this. You give them the appropriate dose of benadryl before bed or wake them about an hour into their sleep cycle and put them back to sleep. That will reset their REM wich also might be the problem.

Oh my gosh, what a coincidence my daughter does the same thing sometimes. Another weird coincidence is that her name is Isabelle, and my husband's name is David too!! =) My Isabelle is 15 months old, but occasionally she does the same thing it is like she is not tired anymore and just decides it time to get up and play. The only thing I have found is to let her sleep with my husband and I. I know that is not the best solution but it is the only thing that works for us. I think she sees that we are sleeping and it is night-night time so she goes back to sleep. Like I said it is definitely not the best solution, and I am sure she is walking all over us and she knows we are at her mercy at 3am in the morning!!Sorry I do not have better advice, but it works for us plus we all get sleep!

Have you considered whether it could be reflux? my ds did this and forever I thought it was a sleep issue. Same thing-NOTHING worked even if I tried to soothe him. I even had my mom come stay and the crying was almost too much for both of us even taking shifts...anyway turned out he had severe stomach lining irritation from reflux and needed a med change...i am on kid #2 with severe reflux, so email me if you have any ques about it!!
R.

Go a size larger on the diaper or use a different brand for the night so that the night time changes stop.

Try having your husband do the change if you still need to .. though you shouldn't have to change her. I know my kids were more rowdy with me than my hubby.

And put her down to sleep and let her comfort herself. She is safe and fine. Basically, she is acting out 'cause she knows she can. As a mom, it is so hard but see if you can hand on and have your hubby tell her to sleep and pat her back while she stays in the crib. Good luck.

I have always brought my kids to bed with me in those situations. Many other parents tried to make me feel guilty like I was doing something wrong (even though many many generations have done the same thing). However, after discussing my daughters sleeping habits with a pediatric allergist and explaining why I knew her sleeping habits (she slept on the floor next to my bed frequently at that age (6)). He very calmly said that the family bed was perfectly fine and he even recommended it atleast until they approached puberty. My older two children are 11 and 9 and they almost always sleep together in a room or in their own beds. Periodically they still have bad dreams and come snuggle for a little while before returning to their beds. I happen to like this style and my husband (although he wasn't raised with it) has also come around to seeing the benefits of comforting and offering security to your children when they need it most. Take or leave it. It has worked beautifully and I have a 9 month old I am raising that way again!

I agree with not letting her cry it out, but also not picking her up. Just go in and soothe her- let her know that you're there and you love her. One thing we did when our son was 13 months (some go through separation anxiety between like 13 and 18 months) was we bought a cot as Sam's Club and we would soothe him without picking him up and then lie on the cot in his room until he was calm enough and/or fell asleep. It worked great. The cot is great because it can be put away in a closet when you're done. (Ours is actually still in the room- he'll use it as his "big boy bed" soon enough- he won't fall out of it because the edges go up. You sink in the middle. If you do opt for it, let me know and I'll give advice on how to make it most comfortable.) I think if they're going through separation anxiety and you just leave them alone and let them cry by themselves, it can make it worse. My son is now 2.5 and has no anxiety about being separated- can be complete strangers and he just kisses me and says "bye!".