9-Month-old Trouble Sleeping

Yes, yes and yes.

This is a huge period for BIG changes to your little one and to top it off he was just sick. Colds usually take up to two weeks after symptoms are no longer visible to completely leave the body, so he could have residual stuffiness or discomfort due to the cold. Also, teething will disrupt sleep and of course finally he's crawling and his body is learning to be mobile. This all means disruptions to sleep and changes in behavior.

Really, the best advice anyone gave me was to just 'roll with the punches'. Don't take this as the end of a 'great sleeper' just a hiccup in the road that can be gotten past with love, guidance and patience.

I'm not a fan of CIO in most cases, and especially not when the issue is just a change to the norm. My suggestion is see how much soothing your little one really needs. At some points, with my son, just rubbing his back would calm him before the crying started and other times I'd have to pick him up and rock/sing to him a bit before he's calm down. Often my son as he got more capable of movement would wake but not fully, and my interaction would wake him up more and then, the panic would ensue...so this is key, make sure he really needs something before you jump in there.

Also, teething can be a killer at night and cause wakings. I used Clove Oil on my son's gums at night and this would help with swelling and pain, and reduce our need to wait for Motrin or Tylenol to kick in. Plus, all natural and no chemicals...win-win for us.

Being more mobile can cause comfort issues. My son at the age he began crawling also starting rolling over in bed and disturbing himself awake. In these cases, I would pick him up with soft words and calm him until almost asleep and then place him back in bed to allow him to self soothe back to sleep. We co-sleep in a variety of ways and this was very disruptive for everyone, but once he got used to his movements and adjusted he slept find...took about two weeks.

There is nothing wrong with meeting the needs of your baby...it's not forming bad habits or letting him manipulate you...it's just being a Mommy. Follow your Mommy instincts and let them guide you. Also, don't forget to ask for help! Let Dad pick up some of the slack too, even if just once or twice during the week, so baby knows he can depend on Daddy too.

Good Luck and please remember be patient, be loving and don't forget to breath.

http://www.babycenter.com/404_why-is-my-baby-suddenly-wak...

Babies quickly learn new habits! These are often learned from something like sickness or teething changing their sleep routine. You need to first be consistent with your bedtime routine and then you are going to have to let him cry it out until he goes to sleep. By letting him cry for an hour- you teach him that after an hour you will get him... It is horrible, but trust me getting up every night to soothe him back to sleep is worse for you and him. You both need your sleep.
At 11-months, I would quit the swaddle, it is necessary that your son learns how to soothe himself to sleep. This is actually a very important life skill.
Crying is his way of protesting that he doesn't like this- it doesn't mean he is hurt or that he shouldn't go to sleep. An older child would be yelling, "Mama come here...!!!"
He should be getting 14-15 hours of sleep a day (including 2 naps during the day). Here are some general sleep tips from my New Year's blog entry: http://www.lullabyluna.com/2008/12/happy-new-year.html, although it seems like you probably have that down.
Some ideas on making this easier:
-Distract yourself as he cries- I have had babies cry for as little as 10 minutes and as many as 4 hours. It is going to probably take about 3 days for him to be sleeping through the night and figuring out how he will soothe himself. He will learn, and things will be great! You will all be well-slept; he will wake up happy...
-Go in and check on him (don't feed him, don't pick him up) at decided time intervals- making the intervals longer each time (Ferber method). You can rub his back, say some calming words, make sure he isn't stuck, and then quietly leave. (Don't turn on lights or do anything stimulating). Sometimes it seems this makes things worse- so you will have to see how it works for you.
-Get a video cam- so you can see that he is ok and not go in.
-Make a deal with your husband that neither of you are going to pick him up... you are committed to letting him figure out how to self-soothe so you can all get the sleep you need to function.

Good luck. It is hard, but you can do it!

C., sleep consultant, sleep blog writer www.lullabyluna.com

Since it started with a cold, I would rule out an ear infection, just to be safe. Sometimes they are sneaky. Babies don't always pull their ears,

It could just be a phase, though.

Your son is probably just going through teething and a growth spurt on top of recovering from his cold. Growth spurts generally happen every 2-3 months for the first year. Basically they get up more frequently because they are hungry.

My DD, who is 2 now, slept through the night 12 hours at 3 months of age. But during those growth spurts (they usually last only a week or two) she would get up 2 times a night and just FEED. And I mean pork down anything she could get her hands on. Then when she was full, she'd go right back to sleep as long I/Daddy didn't overstimulate her. We just fed her in her darkened room and rocked her while she ate.

She is a late bloomer with teeth and didn't really start teething until she was like 10 months old. She gets all the classic symptoms...mild fevers, crankiness, clingy-ness, diarrhea all of that when she is cuttin teeth. What worked for her was to give her full doses of Hylands Teething Tablets and a cold milk bottle to drink when she started "complaining". Usually every 4-6 hours or so. that usually lasted a week or two at most.

And sometimes we would get the triple combo like you are dealing with now. A sick kid who is teething and going through a growth spurt.

I would just slowly start getting back to your normal schedule. You may have to let him cry it out a bit..depending on the type of cry his is doing. If he is doing the shrieking "I am totally scared, freaked, in pain out cry" or the "I am really hungry" cry, go to him and take care of his needs. But if he is just doing the nagging "I want attention cry", you can let him cry it out. Crying doesn't hurt babies. It much harder on us parents who have to hear it or who feel guilty about it. With my son (who is now 4) we only had 1 or 2 really tough periods when we had to let him CIO for long periods of time. The first was when we first moved down to San Diego. That was a big adjustment for him. So for the first 3 weeks he got up multiple times at night crying. I think the longest we let him go was 2 hours and that was at week 3. After that super long CIO night, he started sleeping more, and by the end of that week he was back to his normal schedule. With my daughter, I think the longest was about 1 hour. Then she fell asleep.

my daughter (now 16 months) takes at least a week or two to sleep through the night after a disruption like sickness, travel, or teething. Just about when I'm tempted to go through the painful process of C.I.O, she starts sleeping through the night again. When she is getting up in the night, I just give her a bottle and she usually goes down with that.

You said you still swaddle. I've heard its unsafe to swaddle once a baby can roll over because they can suffocate. You may want to research that. Best of luck, home things turn around soon.

K.,

I am amazed that you are able to swaddle a 9 month old!! We stopped swaddling our 3 girls (now 3, 22 months, and 7 months) as soon as they could roll over. We didn't want them getting tangled in the blanket and our Dr. recommended it for the same safety reasons. SO, I am thinking that possibly he is getting frustrated in the swaddle? And in combination with being uncomfortable from the painful teething, he is crying out. We use Hyland Teething tabs, Tylenol, and the fabulous Orajel Teething Swabs. The teething most definatly will keep them up, so be diligent with these helpful meds. It is painful when they are "cutting" through, but once they peak through the gums it gets better :) I suggest no more swaddle, give him these meds, and everyone will soon be sleeping much better :)
All the best! S.