No Longer Sleeping Through the Night

I would be hesitant about letting her cry it out. Since this is a sudden change for you, it likely is due to some factor other than habit, like teething or a growth spurt. My son went through spurts often during his first year and would wake every two hours out of hunger for about a week or so. If it is hunger or teething, then ignoring her is cruel. Look for the signs of teething like drooling, touching her mouth, swollen, gums, etc. If it goes on for longer than a week, it's likely not a growth spurt or teething situation.

You might not like this answer - you might just need patience to wait this phase out. I would say teething is a likely culprit, my daughters have done this exact same thing. Night fears could be a problem as well, especially if your child has become more attached to you during the day recently. For both my girls, teething problems manifested mostly at night, with frequent wakings, as much as every 1 1/2. By my second daughter, I learned to give Motrin before she went down for the night (it lasts longer than Tylenol, and works better in my opinion)and we could all get better sleep. My second has been worse with teething, she'll still wake up every 4 hours or so, but it's much better than before. And when she's finally done teething, I can sleep train her again.

It is probably teething. Which happens most at night and can be painful. Plus kids change their sleeping habits a lot during the course of newborn to 3. Try giving her some tylenol or teething tablets if she wakes crying. She cannot settle back down if she is in pain. Check her gums and see if they are red or swollen, a dose of tylenol before bedtime could help too. She is a little young to cry it out still, I would go to her and rock and cuddle her, see if tylenol will help and teething tablets are a life saver! It is at about 10 mos that you let them cry it out a while longer since your daughter is capable of sleeping a lot longer something is bothering her at night.
Hang in there.

My 10 month old did the same thing. He was teething. The first one was no big deal but the next 3 were horrible. He would wake up all through the night and sometimes only an hour after going down. He spent a couple of weeks just sleeping with us and occasionally taking tylenol. Once the 4 front teeth came through he went right back to sleeping through the night by himself. We didn't have to enforce any cry it out method he just returned to his old schedule by himself. So comfort her now and soon she will sleep through the night again.

although I too believe in letting them cry it out... it is to a certain extent. I had a child who would work herself into a frenzy as well about the same age. So there is some discretion to be used. The thing that I have found to work best is go in at first or third peep of sadness and DO NOT pick them up. Put your face next to theirs and breath calmly stroke the length of their body with mild pressure or soft fingers on their t-zone (forehead and bridge of nose)slowly move away with soothing sounds and lessening pressure or spreading out the time between touch.

Also a growth spurt or teething is entirely possible. If they aren't calmed and back to sleep by this they may be hungry but after a few days of night feedings the growth spurt should be over as their need for more food should be so go back to trying to soothe them without picking them up. My daughter was a lot more work, or I should say time, than my son in this method, her personality is a lot more vibrant as well... so keep that in mind. To see if it might be teething pain see how she responds when you press on her gums. good luck!

Is she getting enough to eat during the day? My daughter did the same thing when she was about 8 months old, and the doctor told us to give her 1 more solid meal during the day, and that did the trick. She was just hungry.

I empathize. My 8 month old son has been doing that too. I thought it was teeth when he first started, but turned out that he had ear infections. If there are other things going on (i.e. persistent runny nose, cough), might call the MD. I have also started reading a book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." It has helped me to consider other things to try (i.e. enforcing nap time). We are still working through the situation. Good Luck. Hope things settle for y'all soon.

Hi D.,

I can sympathize - as my 8 1/2 month old has started waking up several times a night. We've never tried the cry it out method and it has been a long adventure as far as sleeping habits; along the way we have had phases of waking once a night, phases of waking MANY times a night, and phases of sleeping 11 plus hrs. So I think babies go thru phases and different sleep habits even those babies that sleep good. Teething defintely has an impact on my daughter. this probably doesnt offer much help...but good to hear others stories sometimes.

There can be lots of reasons babies go through phases where they start waking up, including teething, growth spurts, bad dreams, or changes in routine. It makes sense that the baby would want you - how can any one fault a child for wanting love and affection? Usually if you meet your child's needs and give them the affection and comfort they need, the phase will pass, because they know they can rely on you when things are uncomfortable or scary.

My favorite book for understanding children's sleep patterns and how to encourage good sleep is Sweet Dreams by Dr Paul Fleiss. My favorite website for etting quick advice and answers is www.askdrsears.com Both help parents balance their needs with the needs of their children so everyone feels loved and satisfied.

Isn't parenting full of constant surprises? I feel like I am playing the guess what game all the time. Before you try letting her cry it out I would have her checked out by her pediatrician. There are alot of things that could be keeping her from sleeping...like a urinanry tract infection or teething, or GI issues. Remeber, you are a great mother!!! Keep it up! You'll find an answer soon. Also, the breathing issue (unless she has a respiratory infection going on-again have your baby be checked by her pediatrician), she is most likely catching her breath because it is a protective mechanism so that she gets enough oxegyn. According to "Pediatric Nursing: Caring for Children and their families-2nd edition" by Potts and Mandleco during temper tantrums,some toddlers hold their breath until they are blue in the face-this is scarier than it seems. The literature indicates that "breath holding is harmless. The child may faint, but will automatically begin breathing again as soon as carbon dioxide builds up and stimulates the respiratory center [in the brain]" (Mandleco & Potts p.258). In my opinion some times crying it out is similar in some ways to a temper tantrum. Good luck!!

My little guy has been having the same problems. I would like to thank those that have responded. My little guy has many medical issues that sometimes we forget that he is still a baby and is going through "baby things" like teething. Personally I will be trying the Advil (I don't like Tylenol) tonight and see if I can get a bit more sleep. I'm pretty sure mine is teething. Thanks again.

Hello D., I remember my children's schedules changed often when they were little. No worries, this one will change, too! With your guidance and patience, you can all sleep peacefully.

I recommend reading, "The No Cry Sleep Solution," by Elizabeth Pantley. She writes about all kinds of normal sleep patterns for babies and how to support her and yourself during these early years. I hear that you and your husband don't mind letting her "cry it out," but what if you didn't have to?! What if you could all be happy? You deserve it. ~T.

she would be cute teeth know i would try teeth pills it will
put her to sleep it work on my kids it nice that they can sleep all night with teeth coming you will fine that this work great

I agree with Michelle M, There is probably another cause, and letting her cry is not fair to her, give some tylenol or motrin before you lay her down for the night. Some babies show obvious signs of teething while others are only effected at night while they are sleeping, and if this is the worst of her teething, be thankfull :). As Michelle mentioned a growth spurt will also effect her sleeping, it is a little painful to grow so much in a year, and the pain meds will help with that also. Try not to go to her right away, wait a few minutes and if she doesn't settle down go in and offer her some comfort.

We had the same problem with our little guy. We finally realized we were training him to wake up and need our comfort to fall back asleep. Three nights of lots of crying and little sleep for any of us cured the problem. Good luck!

Oh man, my first son had me up for two months straight, from 7 months until 9 months. It was horrible. He sounded like he was in pain a little bit, so at first I felt sorry for him and soothed him and got him back to bed. But after a few weeks of that, I was too tired to feel sorry for him anymore and figured he was just getting in bad sleeping habits. I tried everything to get him back on a good schedule, sort of tough-love. Crying it out worked for us, too, but not anymore. Nothing worked. I was exhausted after 2 months of being up every night! Right as he turned 9 months, though, suddenly his gums got all swollen and red, and I could see 6 teeth pushing their way through all at once. Poor thing! I know that teething can hurt a long time before you can see the teeth, or even before you see any redness and swelling. I felt so bad. If I'd known, I would have given him some Tylenol so he wouldn't hurt so bad for 2 months!
Of course, I have no idea if that's what is happening to your daughter, but you can try some Tylenol before bed and see if it helps.

My son who is one now did the exact same thing. He use to sleep through the night then all the sudden around 8 months started getting up twice a night. My son also stopped taking a pacifier so that wouldn't help. I had the same concern. But my freind said her son did the same thing then just grew out of it. At 11 months he went back. Between those couple of months I would give him a bottle of water to suck on. I don't know if that is much help because there is not a definite solution but my son grew out of it by 1. Also it helped him when he had a little white noise in the room. The humidifier worked great for that.

i would strongly recommend the book, healthy sleep habits happy child. it goes into depth that same problem and many more. the book was written by the founder of a childrens sleep institute. he really knows what he is talking about!!! i have researched him out. best of luck!!!

My daughter did the same thing at about the same age, when she got really upset I would go in and get her, especially if my husband had to get up early for work, however we also believe in letting her cry it out and that worked after a bout a week. We also started feed ing her some oatmeal about 1 hour before bed, I think she was getting hungary at night.
Taking the pacifier away at night also helped. When she couldn't find it to put it in her own mouth she would cry for me to do it. Now that she doesn't use it she doesn't cry for it anymore.

my 7 month old does same thing i just let her cry it out. my dr told me that is the only way to break them of the habbit. he said some specialist told him even if they throw up dont get them.

There is a good chance she is teething. Try giving her motrin before she goes to bed and see if that helps. If not, I would try the cry it out thing again, she could just be getting up out of habbit. I know whenever our daughter (now 3) woke up that many times in the night it always turned out to be her teeth that hurt her or an ear infection.

Good luck!

It may be that your daughter is hitting a growth spurt and needs to be fed at that time. This is completely normal. My first daughter started sleeping through the night at 10 weeks, but whenever she hit a growth spurt she wanted to eat once or twice a night. I would feed her and as she got over it, she would slowly start sleeping through the night.

Another possibility is she's teething... which hurts and will wake them up. A pacifier will help, so does a little Orajel or Tylenol.

There is a reason she's waking up and crying herself into hysterics. Don't assume she's doing it for attention; she probably needs your help.