how to get my 9 month old to sleep thru the nite?

[luvmy2boyz]

Do you know how I can do this?  It is very frustrating.  PLEASE HELP

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

It is true that, unless your child displays some unusual sleep disturbance/disorder (and these do not occur very often), he/she should be able to sleep through the night at his age. But there is not a single answer to your question. It depends on the particulalrs. Can you tell us more about the situation? What is the current routine? When does h/she wake up? What do you do when he/she wakes up? How does the baby respond to your approach?

[siredifice]

Read the book called "Babywise" and follow it to a tee.  I can guarantee your child will be sleeping through the night within a week.  But, don't skip any steps.  My youngest daughter was sleeping through the night at 4 weeks thanks to Babywise.

[louloumum]

Have you tried the Sleep Sense Program - it is a book with different sections for different ages on how to get your child into a regular sleep routine.  We tried it when our son was 5 months because he woke every hour and it worked but you must be consistant with it. The book was written by a female psychiatrist in America and you can purchase it on line too.  When we put the program in place we also bought a black and white TV monitor so that we could see him to make sure he was ok.  It was a life saver for us.  Best of luck - persistance is the key, it might be hard at first but it is worth it.

[girlybuff]

BABYWISE has been called an unsafe and unfit way to sleep train which in it of itself is just ridiculous.  The American Academy of PEdiatrics denounces that book as it's cruel and uses unusual punishment so I don't care what you do but do NOT follow that book.
Schedule is key ut sometimes you can't do anything.  Babies sleep when they're ready.  I know.  My DD just started sleeping through the night at 15 months old and boy have I been tired but you know what, it is what it is.  There are no set time rules.  We think as parents that our kids should be sleeping through the night at a certain age.  The babyb is still an infant at 9 months.  Stick to a schedule and eventually they will learn to sleep on their on.

[girlybuff]

I'm borrowing this from someone else I saw write this but here is a quote from BABYWISE:

""After babies reach only 6 months of age, parents are instructed to begin punitive disciplinary measures such as "squeezing or swatting" of the child's hands or "isolation" in the crib for "rebellious" infractions including "foolishness," "malicious defiance" or even playing with food on the highchair tray. Ezzo explains to parents that the use of "pain" and "discomfort" can be essential disciplinary tools. After age 2 and a half, children who have a toileting accident are required to clean themselves up."  

How nice does that sound???

[MomofDG]

Try "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." It's good for helping you help your baby "self soothe" and fall back to sleep when he/she wakes up. It also talks about how to NOT rush in the room every time your baby cries -- you have to give him/her the chance to work it on their own. That's not to say you want to leave your baby crying for an hour or anything like that, but a few minutes will help teach them that they can sleep on their own. It also teaches you not to rock your baby fully asleep because then he/she is dependent on the motion. You can rock; just be sure to put the baby in his/her crib while still awake so they can help themselves fall asleep each time. I also like the "Baby Whisperer" book which talks about EASY -- eat, activity, sleep, you time. Helps make the baby NOT dependent on food to fall asleep. Good luck!

[j11478]

I used a toned down version of baby wise to help establish good sleeping habits for my baby. I wasn't comfortable following the book to a T, but I used the overall concept with great results. As a new mother it helped me understand how to create a comfortable eat, play, sleep routine for my baby.

[888mom]

Most important thing we found out was starting to use an overnight diaper.  We use Huggies Overnights.  They absorb more than the regular diaper for overnight usage so child feels dry.  Maybe won't wake up so often to get changed.  Also tanking her up on baby oatmeal to give her full feeling so she wouldn't wake up hungry.

Call your pediatrician because I think they need to ask lots of questions about what you are doing to get her to sleep, what you've tried, etc..  My daughter had lots of sleep problems.  To  figure out what worked, it was lots of  trial and error.  You don't have to schedule a visit, but leave the particular details with the nurse on the phone and ask for a call back with an answer or ask if they can photo copy anything from a book or recommend a book to read.  My daughter didn't sleep through the night until she was 15 months old.  Some things I found out that worked were tanking her up with some baby oatmeal before bed. I found tanking her up with milk only made her wet her diaper overnight, which she hated, and woke up to be changed, so I stopped giving her milk too cllose to bed so she wouldn't get that wet diaper too badly overnight. Not lettign her watch any TV or anything electronic toys that had sounds or lights a couple hours before bedtime.  A bedtime routine that was the same every night that involved bathtime, booktime, and laying her in the crib.  If bathtime revs them up, don't do bathtime at night.  I found it relaxed my daughter, but it doesn't always for all kids.  Even then, she still wasn't sleepingn all the way through the night, but she was sleeping longer.  By 15 months, she was finally getting 10 hours a night without waking up.  

[888mom]

Most important thing we found out was starting to use an overnight diaper.  We use Huggies Overnights.  They absorb more than the regular diaper for overnight usage so child feels dry.  Maybe won't wake up so often to get changed.  Also tanking her up on baby oatmeal to give her full feeling so she wouldn't wake up hungry.

Call your pediatrician because I think they need to ask lots of questions about what you are doing to get her to sleep, what you've tried, etc..  My daughter had lots of sleep problems.  To  figure out what worked, it was lots of  trial and error.  You don't have to schedule a visit, but leave the particular details with the nurse on the phone and ask for a call back with an answer or ask if they can photo copy anything from a book or recommend a book to read.  My daughter didn't sleep through the night until she was 15 months old.  Some things I found out that worked were tanking her up with some baby oatmeal before bed. I found tanking her up with milk only made her wet her diaper overnight, which she hated, and woke up to be changed, so I stopped giving her milk too cllose to bed so she wouldn't get that wet diaper too badly overnight. Not lettign her watch any TV or anything electronic toys that had sounds or lights a couple hours before bedtime.  A bedtime routine that was the same every night that involved bathtime, booktime, and laying her in the crib.  If bathtime revs them up, don't do bathtime at night.  I found it relaxed my daughter, but it doesn't always for all kids.  Even then, she still wasn't sleepingn all the way through the night, but she was sleeping longer.  By 15 months, she was finally getting 10 hours a night without waking up.