15-Month Daughter Still Won't Sleep Through Night

I haven't read other answers, so I apologize if I am duplicating, but my suggestion is to lose the pack n play. Both my boys slept through the night from 4-6 weeks on (last night my 10 week old slept 9pm-8:30am), in his crib in his own room. I know you said space is an issue, but perhaps a twin mattress or toddler bed would make a difference. Pack and Play mattresses are not very soft, and are just slightly padded. Even with a quilted sheet, it's still nothing compared to a real mattress. My kids sleep in them when we travel or stay with my hubby's family in the summers, but they never sleep as well or as soundly as in a real bed. Perhaps she wakes because she's uncomfortable, and now getting the bottle is a nice habit. A Pack and Play isn't a real bed, and wasn't made to be a permanent one.

Odd as it seems, try putting her to bed earlier and she may sleep longer. Try for an 8pm bedtime.

She's feeding out of habit and for the soothing effect of being held. She is not hungry. She is also taking in food and then sleeping with the residue in her mouth, which is a formula for tooth decay. She is also sleep deprived! She must must must sleep more without being awakened so much to focus on food. She's also too tied to you

You can soothe her back to sleep without the feeding. Start by not picking her up, but rubbing her back and talking soothingly. I'm not sure why CIO didn't work - did you just leave her there to cry, or did you soothe & walk away (10 minutes the first time, 15 the second, 25 the third, etc)?? Usually people take a 3 day weekend and plan ahead that they will not sleep much. They take turns soothing the child, "time for night night" or whatever code words you use, and teach her to self-soothe. But there is no picking up, and absolutely no feeding at all no matter what. We did this on the pediatrician's advice at 6 months because she said the baby absolutely had to sleep, and so did we. It took us 3 days - it may take you longer because she's so much older and these habits have been allowed to develop, but there is no other way.

There are plenty of books - just choose a method you like, and then be absolutely committed to it. Your daughter cries until you give in, because she knows you will give in. You and your partner must make a pact that you will not cave, no matter what. Commit to a full week no matter who has to take time off from work or call in sick. It will probably take less time, but if it takes the full week, so be it.

This is not just for your convenience - this is a health issue. You are driving your car completely sleep deprived (endangering self, child and others), your child is sleep-deprived (losing valuable brain development time) and you're on your way to a lifetime of dental problems for her. As tough as it is, and as much as you will be tempted to give in because it seems hopeless, don't cave! You will be SO glad you did it!

10PM is way, way too late of a bedtime for a baby this age. Try to have her in bed by 8 at the latest. She's overtired and this causes nightwaking. 7 hours between nap and bed is too long of an awake stretch. You may have to adjust to an earlier dinner to accommodate this earlier bedtime, but I think you'll see an improvement after a few days.

Why is she in a pack n play? They are good for an occasional night away but not every day. She must be so uncomfortable. You have a living room. Let her sleep there. Get her out of your room. She will have to CIO. There is no easy way to break this habit.

You must be exhausted :-(.
She is sleep training you! What a stinker!

I would first call pediatrician and have her checked out. I make sure to mention her getting so upset she gets sick. I am betting her reactions are getting stronger and stronger in order for you to react and give her what she wants.

Did you do the CIO method while she was in your room? That would be torture! She needs to be in another room.

After Ped. visit, I would make a 3-4 night plan of focusing on her sleeping. I would either have hubby go to her ( do it over the weekend...4th of July if he is off???) NOT you. Or have a friend, your mom, MIL, aunt, etc. anyone she knows but you. This will help her so much!

I would also put her to bed earlier as the others have suggested. Julie G. And Diane B. had some good suggestions.

I know there is a lot of good books out there for sleep training. Weissbluth book worked for me, find what works for you.

Sending you and your daughter some ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ's

My little guy started consistently sleeping through the night at 18 months. Before that he would wake from 1-3 times a night. Around 22 months something 'clicked' and he began sleeping through the night every night, with no real change from us. Hoping that happens for you too!

Because she's eating every time she wakes, maybe eating more (especially leading up to bedtime) would help? You could try offering food a few times during the evening to see if she'll snack (even if it's just uneaten dinner that she's snacking on).

I would ask the pediatrician for advice at this point, since it's late in the game to not be sleeping through the night. Ours recommended CIO at a few months and that worked like magic, fortunately, with both kids. However, there may be something else you can do on the advice of your kids' pediatrician. Time to ask an expert for advice.

Can you just bring her to bed with you? Either that or get her a real mattress instead of the pack and play, she might be uncomfortable.
But taking her to the doctor is a little extreme at this point unless there are other things going on you haven't mentioned. And yes, you are going to have to cut out the soy milk and switch to just water, she's old enough now. The delivery system doesn't matter, the milk will rot her teeth. Your husband can stay up with her and hold her while she cries about it, providing comfort and water. You should go visit a good friend that weekend, nightweaning in this way should take about 2-3 nights :) Having kids means your sleep is disturbed, time for this "man of the house" (who uses that term anymore? is it still 1970?) to man up.

Oh my goodness, you must be exhausted!!

I think a trip to the pediatrician is a good first start, just to rule out any problems, but I also think that you may want to begin weaning her from the bottle... it will be hard, but I think she has developed a habit of waking and the bottle may be to blame.

Are you sure you can't carve out some space for her to sleep outside of your room? That may also be contributing to the waking. She doesn't know how to soothe herself back to sleep because you are right there to do the job for her! :)

Good luck. I know it's hard to hear your little one cry, and I commend you for sticking it out as long as you have! But by now, you BOTH should be sleeping much better than you are. Keep us posted on your progress!

ETA: Just thought of this... is she cutting some molars?? That might have something to do with it.

Does she drink a lot during the day? I don't usually think of milk as food so much as a drink. Could she be very thirsty?

Also, it does sound like she really likes to snuggle. Have you ever let her sleep in your bed with you? Co sleeping can be a lifesaver. When our kids were little they would sometimes sleep I our bed. When they woke in the middle of the night they would feel around for us, find us, feel secure and go back to sleep. Sometimes we didn't even wake up.

My child never slept until 9am. We were up and about well before 9am.
---I wonder what would happen if she got up at 7am, napped from 12- 1 pm. and had dinner at 6pm, instead of 7pm?? Although, some kids are not sleepers !!

Soy is genetically engineered unless it's organic. I feel sick if I eat genetically altered foods.... I would get her off of that. Does she have allergies?

I have one child that NEVER slept and she had sensory issues and OT worked wonders. She would sleep though if she was in our bed.

Some kids just don't sleep all night. I haven't had one that did out of all my grand kids.

They just need to wake up. I'd tell her she can wake up but she has to stay in her room. She can play or do what ever but she has to stay in her room.

If you have a gate up or her door shut where she can't open it then she could get up and not bother anything or anyone.

If you need sleep this badly then have hubby get up with her a few nights in a row. Or have MIL or mom come stay and take night duty. Your health is at risk of you're not getting enough rest.

You have to break the feeding habit. She will cry. You can either hold her while she cries, or not, but she will continue to wake for a bottle as long as you let her.

You could try startling her back to sleep. So, 5 minutes before she usually wakes, make some noise. Not a lot, but enough to gently stir her. She should just roll back over. Give that a try, and see if mixing up the routine doesn't change things..maybe you could shift the wake up times later and later.

As to the day naps. She goes and goes like that because she is overtired and on adrenaline. This isn't a good thing. Quality naps feed quality nighttime sleep. She should be getting roughly 13-14 hours total sleep. Yes, it's a lot, but they still need it! Does she have a good nap routine? If not, then she can't sleep at night because she is overtired. When overtired, they then need help going back to sleep between sleep cycles. When well rested, they just roll over between cycles. If she isn't napping well, then the first thing to do is work on the daytime sleep. Then try the starting thing, and then try water again, but DO not give in. Just keep holding her, and if she throws her self back, put her down. Whisper to her, "this is how it feels when you are tired. Your are just tired. It's OK." Or anything that is comforting. Stay relaxed and let your calm become her calm. They take their cue from you, so being calm is key. They quickly learn. It's only a few nights, and then everyone can sleep every night.

My 16 month old has spent the last four nights waking and screaming with molars coming in. It's waking everyone. Such is life with small ones in the house, your man can deal for a couple of days. If he can't, then he shouldn't be having kids. This is the very stuff of parenting.

Now, if you don't really want sleep, you can do what my one friend does. She gives the bottle until two, and then gradually tries to sleep train. She had an easy time with her oldest, no clue how it's going with her youngest.