My son is almost 9 months old, and used to sleep at least 10 hours at night with no problem. For what feels like forever but is probably more like two weeks, he wakes up screaming in the night like someone is torturing him. Sometimes it seems like he's screaming in his sleep, other nights he is just wide awake and screaming. He will go to sleep if he is picked up, but then after he's asleep and we go to put him in his crib he wakes up screaming again. At this point, I think he wants the attention and I want to try to not pick him up and do some controlled crying. Last night I was up for an hour and a half with him screaming, and then my husband thought he had a tummyache so he picked him up and tried to comfort him. All told, last night he slept for about 5 and a half hours. I need some suggestions to get my sweet sleeping boy back!
Wow, thanks for so many great responses. Last night was a complete change. I gave him ibuprofen, baby orajel, and some homeopathic teething drops, and he only woke once, and went right back to sleep with his pacifier. It still took about 45 minutes to get him to sleep, but once he was there, he stayed there. I can't believe how wrong I was about him crying only for attention, poor little boy! He does go to the doctor for his nine-mo WCV, so I'll have his ears checked just in case, but I have a feeling it's teeth.
My daughter was born on the fifth. I still get up every night-that has not changed and I gave hope a long time ago. Is he hungry? Teething? Mine eats when she wakes up and goes back to sleep. I also notice whenever she has a milestone, for ex: crawling, more teeth her sleeping patterns change.
i would think it's teeth coming in.. my son did the same thing... i'd say meet his needs if he needs to be held hold him.
the hylands teething tablets worked for us ok too
I too vote for teeth..
a nice baby that suddenly turns horrible often hasa tooth coming in.. if you take a look into that little mouth you might see a new tooth..
try giving him some motrin (it last 6-8 hours) so he might sleep through the night.
I often try pain medicine for my kids if they are crying a lot.. often times it works..
I know that a toothache can make me crabby.
I've heard that night tremors stem from overtiredness. I would try putting him to bed earlier...anytime bet. 6-8 is a good target and make sure he's getting proper naps in his bed. He'll be better rested this way. Good luck!
Hi
At this age there is usually a real and good reason for the crying.
My first thought would be teeth. When they are awake there is enough going on around them that they can ignore the pain. But at night it can really bother them.
Next thought would be ear infection. Same reason as above.
Has he been drooling a lot more then usual or pulling on his ears?
If this keeps going try tylenal or motrin and if that doesn't help then I'd check with the baby's doctor. Especially since you've said this is not normal for him.
Good Luck
God Bless
K. SAHM of 3
I have had the same problem with my now 10 1/2 month old. I was very frustrated with trying new things to get her to go to sleep and stay asleep. I don't know if it was that she just grew out of it, or if it was trying not to rock her to sleep. I'm pretty sure that she is our last so I was trying to get as much snuggle time as possible but she got used to me holding her and would wake up as soon as I would lay her in her bed. I have since then stopped rocking her and tryed to get a bed time routine down with a little snuggle time just before I lay her down. However I make sure she is still awake when I lay her down. It took a week or so but now she will go to sleep, not always right away but she is much better about being in her crib when she wakes up. She is not screaming as soon as she wakes in the morning most days anymore either. Another thing that I have realized is she does better if I lay her down and stay a few minutes before I walk out. She likes her face rubbed while she settles a little in the bed so if ther is one thing you have noticed he likes to settle him that may work also. And I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing but she has a blanket we use during snuggle time that she sleeps with and a pacifier. I have recently read that pacifiers help prevent ear infections and do not affect childrens teeth. Hope you soon have a sleeping baby no matter what advice you take. Good luck.
A., my daughter went through the same thing. She was six months old when it started. She would cry (screaming) in her sleep like she was being hurt or was scared out of her mind. She would be fine when she woke up (after being consoled for a few quick minutes). I did some intenet research. The only conclusion we could come to was night terrors. That's exactly what it was. After a few weeks she was fine. We would try to let her sleep through it. Or rub her back (while she was sleeping). I'm sorry. I hope it doesn't last long. Hang in there.
my dtr sleeps anywhere from 12-14hrs a night, unless she is teething,getting sick, or overtired. when she first started teething, i think she would wake every night for a month. 1yr molars were the WORST, but motrin/tylenol and frozen washclothes helped wonders. also, the slightest change in their schedule can make the night horrible. when we stay out past 8:30, she will usually wake up once or twice that night b/c she's overtired and i have found that an overtired baby is worse than a teething baby...in my opinion. if it doesn't get better, get her ears checked. good luck.
Hi,
I just wanted to tell you you are not alone on this matter. We are currently going through the EXACT same thing with our 9 month old. I noticed 2 nights ago that if I let him sleep on me he is able to sleep. Last night I didn't even put him in the crib...I just slept with him and put him in the crib around 2am. I guessed this may be caused by gas or his teeth (since it started so abruptly), however, I don't understand why he is okay (meaning he doesn't cry) if I sleep with him. I would think if his teeth were coming in he would not stop crying. I do think something is going on and this is not a cry for attention alone. If I were you I would give him the comfort he needs. From the readings I have done it is important to comfort your child if they need it.
Good luck (to you and me :oP)!
Hi A. -
You got a lot of great responses and it looks like you may have found the answer! But, we went and still go through bouts of night wakings with my 20-month old son. They are tough on you and them!
Just an FYI for the future of something you MAY want to try (though every baby responds well to different techniques!).. We were not cry-it-out people, so when we knew my son was healthy and it wasn't a sickness, tooth etc., we have really good luck doing pick up/put down as suggested by the Bbay Whisperer. We would go in and pick up and hold him only until he was calm. THe moment he was calm, we would set him back in his crib. Even if he started crying on the way down, we would complete the put down and pick him up again immediately if he was crying. We would do this until he could lay him down and he was calm. It worked well with our son and he would cry a little, but we never left him alone to cry. We always comforted him and reassured him right away, but it also encouraged him to self sooth.
Obviosuly this is NOT a good technique to use when a child is sick or in pain, but if you have ruled those out, it might help you! It can take a little while to get them back to sleep and it may last for a few days or a week, but it worked for us and him!
Good luck.
He may be having night tremors, separation anxiety, or maybe even acid reflux or gas. Try propping his matress up a bit and see if that helps. If not, maybe a night lite in his room. I hope this helps!
R.
I'd have him checked for an ear infection for sure. It may just be developmental, though. 9 months is sometimes a weird age. I'd comfort him even though he may get used to it. He has no sense of time and may feel frightened and abandoned. First, I'd have a doctor check him out right away. I wouldn't worry about him wanting attention. Of course he does - he's a baby! You'll all get through this time. Sometimes kids need a lot more from us than we expected, and those times can be during the night.
Hi A.,
I answered a post like this a couple months back, suggesting that the child may have an ear infection, and the mom took him to the Dr. and found out that he indeed did have one. Even though he was fine during the day and had no fever. Those infections can present in so many different ways from one child to another. When a baby's ears are infected it hurts worse when laying down due to the pressure the fluid puts on the eardrum. I have 3 kids, one is 14, one 10 and a 1 yr old. ALL of them have/had ear issues......not to say that is necesarrily what is going on, but DEFINATELY worth some investigating. If it's not the ears, it may be some other pain causing ailment.....maybe teeth or something else. Maybe for the sake of eliminating that possibility, you could give him motrin tonight and see if that helps him get through the night. If so, that may be an indication that he is experiencing pain. Also, any time that there is a lasting noticeable shift in your childs behavior, it probably warrants a visit to the Pediatrician. I'm kind of a softie, so the idea that a little one might be hurting at night just breaks my heart. Also, having done this for a lot of years :o) don't torture yourself by making him cry back to sleep if it makes you uncomfortable. I never let my babies cry at night and they never slept with me and the 2 older ones are VERY independent and well adjusted young men. I would just pop in there and rock them back to sleep....... GOOD LUCK!!
