Still waking up in the middle of the night

[ProudMommy]

Ok, I have a question. Our daughter is 17 and a half months old now. Should she not be sleeping though the night? She goes to bed around 830 pm and somewhere between 2 and 3 she awakens (crying) and then one of us is up for an hour with her. The she sleeps till 6 am when we either wake her or she wakes us just before then.

Is this a normal sleep pattern to still be having at this age?

She ususally has one nap that lasts 2 hours at day care. I am not sure if that is a factor at all.

Thanks ladies.

[myrrah]

Mine woke several times per night at that age. PITA, but normal!

[chache]

Since every child is different, there is no perfect answer.

Whatever you do, don't make the middle of the night fun. Getting her out of her crib for an hour in the night may make her think that you're available to play or entertain her.

If you're quite sure that your daughter is not in pain (teething/stomach ache) or has a sopping diaper that she can't stand, I'd do what I did with my older daughter...

With our older daughter, we "ferberized" her at 7 months and since then we've had almost no problems at all. What I would do (and I know everyone may not agree--sorry!) is go into her room and tell her everything is OK and that she needs to go back to sleep and lay her back down in her crib. After reassuring her that she's OK, even if she's crying, I'd leave the room and let her cry for 5 to 10 minutes. If she's still crying after that time, I'd go back in and lay her back down and say "You're OK. Go back to sleep" and let her cry for another 10 minutes. Continue to do this until she falls asleep. Perservere. You may have to do this a few times in the night and for a few nights. It's exhausting, but in the end extremely rewarding. (Your reward is a good night's sleep!)

Keep us posted as to what you find works best for you and your family.

[mum-to-a&m]

My neice will be 2 in a couple of weeks and still gets up through the night. My dd was about 18mths before she quit waking up. She stopped getting a bottle long before that, but she would just wake up and cry. Its tough. Good luck. Some kids just aren't good sleepers.

[princess2808]

We co-sleep so I'm sure he gets up more that he needs to because the milk is right there. Aden is up on a normal night 2-3 times and a good night once. He has slept through 4 times since birth and I'm not sure if he just found his milk himself those nights.

I say it's normal. My moto is if it doesn't work for either you or baby then change it and change it so you are both happy. Children are people too though, not something to gain control over (not a specific reply to anyone, just a comment). You could try cosleeping (though I'm not sure that you'd want to start this now if you aren't already), or sleep on her floor for the night and gradually move out. Then if DD wake up and sees you she may not be so upset. Have you thought maybe she is having nightmares since she wakes up crying? No suggestions if this is the case just a possibility.

[Siana]

I think it's normal for young humans to have sleep patterns like that of your child. Here's an article about this from KellyMom, an evidence based, well-respected informational parenting site: Sleeping Through the Night

Both my kids were probably waking several times during the night at that age. Because we were bedsharing and they had a self-serve open-bar (LOL), it was rarely a disturbance.

[momof2and2]

My youngest will be 2 very very soon..and she still wakes up once or twice a night...But then again my 6 yr old wakes up once a night as does my 9 and 11 yr old. Fun house!! But I only have to get up and tend to my 2 yr old.

[MaryRPN]

Our dd is 3 and until recently would do the same thing - wake up crying and one of us would have to go in, but we would just cover her up, tell her it was the middle of the night and it was still time for sleeping. Some nights we would be up 3 or 4 times... this too will pass.

[shawnsmom]

My son used to do the same thing my DR told me to give him a low sugar snack before bed crackers and milk..... something like that he was hungry so he would wake up in the night ever since I did that it took a couple days but he never really did that again.

[amyunicorn]

Waking throughout the night can very well be considered "normal" still at this age, but staying up for an hour I wouldn't be able to handle. Nope, no way. Find a way that works for you to get her to lay back down and go back to sleep. My son is four and still wakes up, but I hear him and wait...and he usually goes back to sleep (at 3 years I had to put a gate up on his room to keep him from coming to our bed because then NONE of us would sleep).