Getting a Full Nights Sleep with an 11 1/2 Month Old

Have you tried giving him a bottle w/baby rice cereal at bedtime? This usually got my kids to sleep pretty much thru the night. I hope this helps.

Hi S.-

Sounds normal to me. I don't think it's anything to blame on yourself. Maybe he is simply hungry. My daughter breastfed for 2 years and she woke up at least that many times a night to nurse. If you want to buy yourself some more time, maybe try giving him some cereal before bed to keep his tummy fuller while he sleeps. It's worth a shot. Just my two cents...

I recommend the book Babywise. This will help you in training your little one to sleep through the night. It worked for my 3 children and I give it for a gift to any new mom. My kids go to bed without a fight, even sometimes asking to go to bed, and sleep all through the night.
It is definitely a very helpful book!

Have you tried giving him a paci instead of a bottle? Or even give him water in a sippy cup. This worked for me & eventually we started sleeping through the night after about two months of trying everything!! Good luck

Doctor's say that a child this age doesn't need a bottle during the night. Nothing wrong with it, if you're okay, but it seems that maybe you're ready for a change. It's just a matter of training them that nighttime is not a time for eating. A couple of different approaches: The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. This didn't work for me, but my ds sleep problems weren't eating related. I think it will have some good advice for you. The other which worked for me was the Ferber method.

Hi S.,

I am just going off of my experiences here, and this totally might not be your case. Is there any chance that your son might have or had ear infections? I ask because my son has chronic infections (6 in the last 3 months!). Actually we are getting ready to have to do the tubes. But when he has an infection, we wakes up between 3 to 6 times a night wanting to be fed. Actually, it makes there ears feel better b/c the sucking relieves pressure? Is he extremely fussy at night or does he wake up screaming? If so, I'd have the ears checked.

If this is not the case, maybe he is just thirsty. My son does not have an active infection right now, so I have been trying something. I have started making him 1/2 of a bottle of breastmilk or formula and adding the other 1/2 with only water. We went from being up 6 times a night - but for the past week, he has only been up once. So, I'm thinking that either he was more thirsty than hungry, or that he doesn't think waking up for watery milk is worth it!

I don't agree with letting a baby cry it out, especially between 9 to 13 months when seperation anxiety is at the worst. (If a person is going to do sleep training, most people recommend it be done between 6 to 9 months.) But sometimes, letting baby cry for about 5 to 10 mins only, will wear them out a bit and show them that they really do want to go back to sleep. Sometimes my son goes back down quicker and easier if I let him cry just a few mins.

Sounds to me he gets on a schedule of waking up at the same time everynight, when he wakes up crying try not to give him a bottle, Maybe give him a sip of water, eventually he will go back to sleep. My son is 4 and still wakes up sometimes for milk. I can't tell you the last time I slept all night long. Good luck. Pediatric nurse J.

My suggestion is each night give him less milk. This has worked for several of my kids. Children get in a habit of waking up and if you give them the bottle they think each night when they awake they need to eat. I found that if you decrease the amount it helps.

I have a 13 year old boy. When he was that age, I rocked him to sleep to help him ween off the bottle. I did the same when he woke up in the night. I would rock him very fast and sing MANY songs to him and he would fall asleep every time. In the beginning, he would struggle to get free, but I just held him tightly and sang to him and he would just give up and fall asleep. Also, when he wake up in the night, give him about 5 minutes to see if you settles himself and go back to sleep (not that you haven't tried this). I had to teach my husband that you can't jump at a baby's every noise. Now, he understands. Good luck getting that much needed sleep.

From what my pediatrician told me, the child needs to learn to comfort himself. As long as he's not sick, not soaking wet or has a soiled diaper, and isn't injured, he needs to roll over and learn to go back to sleep until it's time to wake up in the morning. I was to wait - let him cry - give him time. If he was still crying at 10 minutes...go in there, lay him back down and pat him on the back briefly, and leave. Then - let him cry some more if he needed....and wait another 10 minutes, etc, etc.. Eventually he would learn that he has to go back to sleep and that he would not be "rewarded" for waking up all night. It took a couple of nights - and then he learned to go back to sleep by himself.
Also - I was told at the beginning to use the normal appliances around the house during nap times. To this day, he will sleep through any noise - has no trouble falling asleep.

At this age, he should be sleeping through the night. I would drop the nighttime bottle. Babies this age do not need it. Not to mention it isn't good for their teeth to sleep with milk sugars all in their mouth. When he wakes up, gently pat him on the back and reassure him that all is ok. Eventually he will catch on that he isn't getting a bottle and will sleep through the night. It will be hard the first couple of nights, but eventually he will catch on.
Also, you might try to get a white noise machine. I post this over and over, but I can't imagine living without the one I have in my son's room. I think this is helped my now 18 mo old start sleeping through the night at 5 mos. He has been a solid sleeper ever since.

You are not doing anything wrong. Just kid's personality. My daughter didn't sleep through the night until she was way pass 1 and everytime we gave her a bottle of milk. She will turn two this weekend and there are days she still gets up in the middle of the night for milk. There are friends' kids that sleeps 2 hours at a time until they passed 2 years old.

One advise is to make sure you brush his teeth at least twice a day, then after the middle of the night feeding use a try brush to brush off the milk from his teeth that was that the dentist told me. So far my daughter's teeth are in great condition.

I always feed my kids baby cereal at there last bottle feeding before bed and they slept normally 6 hours straight..

You are not doing anything wrong. My only suggestion is read up on the different sleep training programs. I did not sleep train my 2 year old and he still doesn't sleep through the night consistently. I am the mom who always thought the time I didn't go check on him something would be wrong. He's 2 and there has never been anything wrong.
Does your child eat enough at dinner to sustain him through the night? Maybe he's hungry.