14-Month-old Getting up in the Middle of the Night!

I have to wake up in the middle of the night and eat all the time. i think he probably is being very slow to adjust to the time change. BUT don't discredit the possibility that he has a very fast metabolism, as I do and one side of my family does. My grandfather, my mother and my son all get VERY hungry in the middle of the night. I simply cannot sleep when I feel that way. And I have always been slender.
My husband is very slow to adjust to time changes tho, and i think that this is what you are experiencing. I bet his emals are all off too.

Hello
I disagree with feeding in the middle of the night. Be firm, offer a cup of water and back to bed, explaining this is night time and time to sleep. He can eat in the morning. You are the MOM and at that weight and age he can certainly go 10hours without eating. It sounds like you are allowing bad habits to grow and then he will run all over you!

He should have the capacity to self sooth and understand when you are being firm..A.

Hi C.,

I bet you'll receive a lot of great advise on this one!

My two cents:
He's obviously hungry and sometimes travel can not only throw off sleeping but also eating patterns. So if he's back on track with sleep he must still have an eating schedule thing happening. If I were you I would keep him in his crib but bring him some water so he can fill that uncomfortable hungry feeling until it's time to get up. If you start letting him get out of bed now, he'll start to think 4:30 is a good time to get up (at least that's how mine is).

Also, I recently remembered that if I eat a really big dinner I'm REALLY starving in the morning but if I eat a small dinner I'm not hungry first thing in the morning. Maybe try to make sure he's not overeating right before bed too? Just a thought.

Good luck!!!! Yawn, I know it's exhausting!

xoxo,
T.

p.s.
congrats on your recent marriage!

Hi C.,
I HIGHLY recommend reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth to age appropriate sleep needs and schedules. The first thing I would do is move his bedtime earlier. Dr. Weissbluth states that one of the biggest reasons for night waking is too late of bedtime. Give him some protein like meat or cheese before bed (don't forget to brush his teeth afterwards). If he is going to bed at 7:30pm, try slowly moving his bedtime earlier by 10-15 mins until it is closer to 6:30pm. I know it sounds weird, but an earlier bedtime will make him sleep better and longer. Ideal naps should be around 9am and 1pm for a minimum of 1 hour. You might need to let him cry it out a few nights until he gets the message that once in bed at night he is to stay until morning. It may sound harsh, but you have stated that he has never been a great sleeper and it may be because you aren't syncing with his biological sleep rhythms and he isn't well rested. It IS possible to help him become a good sleeper if you are willing to make adjustments to his schedule to give him what he needs sleep wise. The night waking has become a habit and by responding, you are reinforcing that habit. If you want more info, please email me.
Sincerely,
L.
mom to a 3 1/2 yr old EXCELLENT sleeper.

Hi C.,

My 14-month old daughter just went through the same thing - we went on a little trip over New Years and then she got a bad cold so she has been waking several times a night. Before she would sleep 11-12 hours straight. She was also in the last 2 weeks getting up and making the eat sign because she is going through a major growth spurt. The main thing, I found, is to not let any of these things go on too long or they become a habit - such as picking them up when they wake up or feeding them at night. So it has taken a good week of being really consistent on our bedtime routine and when she wakes up just giving her a quick hug and telling her to go back to sleep. She cried for a few days but now I feel she is back to sleeping consistently.

When my son was almost 11 months old, I took him to Europe. Boy, did that ruin his schedule! I have to say it took him a good 3, maybe 4 weeks before he was back to normal. Just when they get used to the time change while traveling, we bring them home and mess it all up again. And your son was sick, too! Their bodies don't know what time it is. Just try your hardest to be as consistent during the day and for your routines as possible, it will go back to normal. Sorry I don't have more advice, it's more of an "I've been there" reply :)

It sounds like he is just adjusting to jet lag and being really sick. It takes a while for toddler's to adjust after traveling. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Let it go for a week longer and if he is not back on his normal routine call your pedi. It sounds normal to me. Toddler's go through funky stages and this may be one, again, especially after traveling and being sick.

Hi!

My daughter is almost 14 months old and lately has also been waking up at night. She has had a cold which turned into an ear infection. I have been told that when a child has an ear infection they tend to have a hard time sleeping at night. I don't know if this is the case for your son, but you may want to have his ears checked. I hope that he starts sleeping through the night soon!

Blessings,

G.

Hi C.,

you should look in the archives on mammsource, a question on sleeping was just asked not too long ago.

Calcium and magnesium helps people sleep and stay asleep. Some milk before bedtime, and maybe some "real" turkey will help him sleep through. If you don't want to give food, give fulvic acid and a calcium supplement. The fulvic has all the trace minerals to help uptake of calcium, and it has the magnesium in it. You can find it at the health food store or online. It's a liquid that has really no taste, so it is easy to take.

The best way to "reset the clock" is to not feed him in the middle of the night. Then the next night he should sleep through.

He may be JUST that hungry....my son is a year old and 26 pounds and he has gotten up almost every night at 3:30 and eaten a FULL bottle since the day he was born. He's a big kid with a big appetite and is very active during the day. He might be growing too, or just hungry after being sick.....give it a little while longer, it sounds like he's moving towards sleeping thru the night.....3:30 moved to 4:30, 4:30 could move to 5:30......and so on.

But from one sleep deprived mama to the next......we should start a support group where half watch the kids and the other half sleeps for a few hours each week.

I'm told it gets better.