@ A Loss

Kudos to all these wonderful women who gave you great, non-judgmental advice even though you attacked them before and after you asked for help.

Vacations can often take a while to recover from ... the first time we went on vacation and came back it took nearly a month! I would reduce her nap by 30 min and see if that helps ease the transition. If there was a large time difference you may want to call the pedi about the use of melatonin to help adjust the body clock.

I agree with some of the previous posters that 5:45 is too early to go to bed. At 9 months, my sons went to bed between 7:00 and 8:00 and awoke around 7:00ish in the morning. I would definately try putting her to bed later and see if that helps. Best of luck.

This was really hard to read with all of the '2's and 4's' in there.

5:45 is really early for bed. Why don't you try putting her to bed at 7:00?

I am not againnt CIO, but 2 hours is just wrong. It's not like she is 2 years old. She is 9 months and still a baby- she needs you.

Whoa. 5:45pm to 8am is a REALLY long stretch of sleep and seems like a pretty unreasonable expectation. Of course she is crying for two hours-she is not ready for bed. She probably doesn't even need that much sleep total, all day, counting naps. I would move bedtime to 7 or 7:30 and I'll bet she'll get back on track with the falling asleep. Good luck.

Put her to bed, two hours later. Since she is already crying for two hours when you put her down, by that time she is really worked up...and probably over-tired. You might not like this, but...allowing a baby to cry for two hours, is unacceptable. I am not against CIO, but I am against that. She is learning that you will allow her to be upset for HOURS. That means, she will not be confident...which means...she will not feel secure enough to fall asleep.

Separation anxiety starts around 9 months, maybe that has more to do with it than sleep patterns. Maybe time to start a bedtime routine with her to give her a little more structure/security. Wash or bathe, pj's, read a story, sing a song, turn on the night light, blow kisses....

ETA - WOW!! This poster sent me a nastygram & personally attacked me. I will never change my opinion... letting a baby cry for 2 hours is cruel & abnormal. If you put your life out there, then expect feedback, good & bad, and whether or not you asked for it. I even tried to give her constructive criticism & she still got mad. If you're so secure in your parenting style, then it shouldn't matter what everyone else thinks, right?!

5:45pm is too early. 2 hours of crying is too long. I'd think both of those issues were related, & part of your problem, honestly. I mean, 2 hours! Poor baby, she's probably so worked up, she can't sleep at that point. I did not do CIO, but from what I've read, that is not the proper way to do it.

Try a soothing bedtime routine & push the bedtime back to 7 or 7:30 & see what happens.

And I'm wondering why you've being CIO for 3 months & your child is still not sleeping well... it makes me think it's not working.

You can come here to ask for help & advice, yet demand that we not critique CIO. It's obvious what you're doing is not working, and a change needs to be made. You have gotten some great advice here, I hope you take it into consideration.

If you are still putting her to bed at 5:45 try putting her in later. Sorry but
two hours is a long time to let a baby cry. Is she hungry? Maybe she needs
a bottle before going down.

CIO is fine but letting her cry for two hours is a REALLY long time. It seems like she is sleeping a really long stretch at night. I would try putting her to bed later @ around 7 and see if she does better. Make sure you have a really good, predictable bedtime routine too such as bath, bottle, and a story. I also have a little music toy that plays soft music for 15 minutes after I leave the room. I would also go get her ears checked to rule out an ear infection just in case.

Letting a baby cry for 2 hours is just gut wrenching.
She's getting a little older, her schedule got messed up, I doubt she will go back to the schedule you were on. She might not be requiring that huge stretch of sleep that you had her on anymore.
She's letting you know that things need to be changed up a bit and readjusted.
She's getting older and is more alert and enjoys being around the activity, she might need a little more physical playing to wear her out so she can relax easier in the evenings. She's at the age where she is beginning to understand language, this is the perfect age to start reading to her in the evenings.

I have been doing a lot of reading on sleep issues as my nine month old twins are running me ragged. Most of the research I've done agrees, there will be times that the child just won't want to go to sleep. It usually coincides with development of some sort. She's learning a new skill (like one of my daughters is standing without holding onto anything) and she wants to practice. Or she's teething and in need of comfort. Or new neural pathways are forming and she's busy taking in the world around her from a new perspective. It happens.

I comfort myself with the knowledge that this is a phase and it will pass. I stock up on caffeinated beverages and try to enjoy her glee when she succeeds in standing unsupported. Or the interesting babbling I can hear her try when there's not so much noise from her siblings. (Her sister gets her one-on-one time in the morning.)

Ask for help when it's getting too much. A nap for Mommy can work wonders.

If she's been "teething" for 6 months but has not yet cut a single tooth, then it's not her teeth that are making her uncomfortable. I'd look for other causes: indigestion, hunger, thirst, needing more quality sleep, overheating or being too cool, needing more attention or cuddling, etc. Babies need comforting even more than adults when they're not feeling well, or if something hurts.

My general rule of parenting has always been to look for a different approach if what I'm doing is not working. Two weeks is just barely enough time for an upset schedule to get re-established, so maybe keep up your current process a bit longer. But it's also very common for babies' whole schedule to change dramatically from one place in the growth cycle to the next, and around 9 months is one of the common places for that change to occur, so she could have just coincidentally had the vacation upset at the same time.

When littles go into a new developmental stage, it very often happens that their sleep is upset for awhile. At 9 months, many babies are just on the cusp of learning to walk, which is exceedingly stimulating to their little nervous systems. The first attempts at words also tend to happen around then. Nightmares are known to happen in kids that young, and separation anxiety becomes a real issue for many babies. All of these can interfere with sleep.

And there is always the possibility that she's actually about to cut a tooth, which can be terribly uncomfortable. You might try some baby tylenol at night to see if it helps.

Here's a most informative website that gives a great deal of information on children's sleep. Perhaps you'll find some good ideas here: http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/sleep.htm

Good luck. So much of the first couple of years with any child is guesswork, and every child is different.

IMO, 5:45 is way to early to put her to bed. Try establishing a solid bedtime routine that she can learn and adapt to easily. Also I would move her bedtime later. Maybe there is too much sleeping going on with naps and bedtime.

Letting her CIO for 2 hours is not good either. Obviously something is wrong, whether it be she is hungry, not tired, etc.

ok I did cio with my oldest also worked like a dream with him. 2 hrs is to long for cio. Now with my youngest I don't. Reasons why is when he was a baby he ate so much that he was constantly hungry. after that passed we went through ear infections. He has had so many problems with ear infections I did not use cio. I knew he didn't feel good. Now If I know he is fighting it I will make him cio after I make sure nothing else is wrong. I make him cio very seldom due to ear issues. Make sure her ears arent infected she isn't hungry and give medications for teeth. Just cause it worked for your oldest doesn't mean it is right for the baby and I think by the way you are describing it something is wrong with the baby. Get them to a doctor and make sure I am wrong.

I don't have an issue with the CIO method,but two hours is too long.It sounds like she might still need a second nap or needs her one nap to be a little bit later.In my opinion 5:30 is way too early for bed.I wouldn't put a child to bed for the night any earlier than 7:00.It's a possibility she is protesting it for such a lengthy time because she knows everyone else is still up.Babies are smart!Make sure and try a bedtime routine to prepare her for bedtime.Maybe she gets a bottle,then a bath,and then a book read to her,and then it's time for her to go to her crib.

A three hour nap until 2 and then you expect her to go to bed at 5:30? My kids napped maybe 30 min twice a day and went to bed at 8. All kids are different and this one is not going for this routine. Way too much sleep expected and not enough feeding and holding.
You sound defensive about everything. Calm down and just enjoy the baby instead of controlling the baby all the time.

I am shocked that she wants to sleep for a 14+ hour stretch, if I'm reading your post correctly. I'm not sure if you want her to sleep all evening for some reason, but I would think that two naps might be a better schedule. JMO...

Btw, I too believe in CIO, but sometimes transition periods require some flexibility. Don't worry that you'll ruin your progress, since she's probably pretty confused about just about everything right now ;) Do what makes sense now and go back to tough love once things settle down...

Good luck - hope you and she get some sleep soon~

Maybe she isn't really ready for bed. Can you try and give her 2 naps or put her to bed later?My son is 14 months old and he still takes 2 naps a day wich is odd but he needs it. He gets up between 6 and 7 am and goes down for his first nap around 9:30 and takes another around3:30-4pm. He will sleep an hour to an hour and a half at a time. He then goes to bed around 9pm. As far as teething my son got his first tooth at 9 months and then 5 more teeth at once so he was sooo fussy at night. He wouldn't eat or sleep. So yes she could be teething that bad. Good luck.

Hmmm. Well you posted the question and want opinions and you sure got em! Idk I didn't do cio but aren't you supposed to do it in like 20 min intervals? It breaks my heart thinking a 9 month old baby cries in her crib by herself for 2 hrs knowing no one is gonna comfort her. She isn't a toddler she's a baby. Its not working obviously. I say 2 hours later for bed and she will adjust better. Do you expect your other kids to sleep 15 hrs? Hell im lazy sometimes but I couldn't sleep that long! Take the advice you've been given and use it. If we came off ugly, sorry. Im not a" babier" type mom but that even made me sad!

I agree with many of the other posters that letting a baby cry for 2 hours is mean and completely unacceptable under any circumstance. Of course you don't seem like the kind of person that has the ability to realize or acknowledge this. Also, I have never heard of a 9 month old sleeping that long. There is most definitely something wrong here. Maybe it's just a lack of knowledge. You should run to the nearest bookstore and get a book on the CIO Method and the developmental needs of infants.

vacation always screws them up and can take up to a month to 'fix' sometimes, but I'd say she's grown out of the early bedtime and may even just need 1 nap. My 1st son went to 1 LONG nap around 6m, bedtime around 7:30 or 8. My 2nd son seems to do better going to bed around 8:30 and 2 shorter naps. Re-read the CIO method books/research though, you'll get some new info and things to try. The No Cry Sleep Solution has fantastic ideas as to WHY their sleep patterns change and offers advice about letting them fuss or not... If you know why she's waking up it will help you figure out what to do. Humphries strips are miracles if she is teething. They sell them at walgreens, have camomile... in them to help w/inflamation & sleep.

Growth spurt time... and no, I don't agree with CIO - but thought I should remind you about the growth spurt, which changes everything for a time.

I feel your pain! I do let my kids cio-they dont usually cry for long just a few minutes but about 2 months ago ( they are 9 1/2 months now) teething hit big time and some times they will cry for what seems like forever! When my kids cry for more than 30minutes I usually give them a bath and that usually works. Mine also go to bed early around 630. Good luck I know the cio can be tough but it isnt torture.

I'll bet she can tell the sun is out longer so the days are longer and she's going to bed way too early. 15 hours of sleep at night is too much, especially if she's taking a nap.

I see you have gotten a lot of responses already, but yeah, I think bed time might be able to be later, maybe try a 3:30 nap and an 8pm bed time? I think it sounds like she is telling you she isn't tired enough to sleep all night at that time. She probably is exhausted by like 5pm and too restless to settle down even to nap. I think maybe getting her back on a two nap schedule for a little longer could really help. I don't think she can from a morning nap until bedtime quite yet. All babies are different and she may fight the afternoon nap for a bit, but give her an hour and get her up if she fusses the whole time. If you do it and she sees she will get to get up after and go to bed later, she will adjust. I always have my little one choose a "baby", at her age I would just say, 'here's your baby' and give him little baby kisses from the animal. A small stuffed animal to love on and cuddle with goes a long way. Don't know if you are nursing, but I used to nurse mine at that age before napping and it worked awesome. Maybe nursing or a bottle, a baby stuffed animal and a little rocking will do the trick. That is how I bed mine down and it works great, well minus the nursing bc he is weaned. He is 18 months now and goes down with no trouble awake, half asleep, or asleep makes no difference. Just get her lined out where she understands the schedule and I think she will do better. Good luck mama!! It's hard to keep up with how fast they change!

we did the cio with both kids. our first after he was a year and the second when she was about six months old. two hours is too long to allow her to cio. if she is still going to bed before six you might need to adjust that time. she is getting older and might not need that much sleep. our 16 month old sleeps from 8 till 8. i would push back the bed time. if she cries more than 15 mins do you go in there and comfort her? i believe that is the way the cio method works. good luck.

Could be a bit of teething, but could be a growth spurt too. Increase her food intake all day long, and after 3 days (takes the body time to register the increae) she'll sleep through again.