Help!! Sleep training a 1 year old who wakes up every 1-2 hours!

[mjkacmom]

DS didn't sleep through the night until he was 3.5, and it was at Disneyland, and it was awesome, but it was on HIS time. I'm the adult, I can handle it, I can handle anything he throws at me. He is the new one trying to find his way in the world.

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3 1/2! I would've been out of my mind! I'm the adult, and there's no way I could've handled that. I also HATED to co-sleep (tried it a bit with dd #1 - I didn't sleep at all). What works for one family doesn't work for all. Intead of waiting years for my kids to figure it out, I spent 2 nights instead, and all of my kids ended up sleeping 12 hours straight every night, and napping 4 hours a day, by 6 months (not all needed to CIO, only 2 of them). Keep in mind that most people have another baby in the house when they have a 3 1/2 year old - not everyone can focus on just one baby/toddler/child at a time. Some of us are playing zone defense!

 

[jenrose66]

I did CIO with my first DS. It worked great. He was 10 months old at the time and same as your DD waking up every couple hours. I heard horror stories that he was going to cry for hours. He cried for 25 minutes the first night, 10 minutes the night after, and whined a little for another day or two and that was it. I couldn't believe I hadn't done it earlier.

Now lets talk about my 2nd DS. He's currently 8 months. At about 6 and a half months we decided it was his turn to CIO. The force is strong in this one

First night was 2 hours of screaming, next night was close to an hour...then he'd go right to sleep for a couple days. Then he'd cry for 30 to 45 mins for a couple nights.

So now it's been a couple months since we've been making him sleep on his own and he gets up a couple times a night. Usually I just put the pacifier back in his mouth and put his stuffed monkey back in his arms and he'll go back to sleep. Also some nights he'll still cry for 30 to 45 minutes.

My husband works nights, I have a long day with the kids. DS is up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6am...he'll sleep 1 hour at around 10am and another hour or 2 at 1:30pm...so when I put him to sleep at 7:30pm I'm not messing around. He needs to sleep, if he won't sleep he cries. I need to put my other DS to sleep so Ben needs to work it out on his own...unless he is sick of course.

As far as your daughter sleeping. She may not even notice the screaming. Jack totally tunes out his brother and their rooms are right next to each other. His sleep has not suffered at all during these last few months...a hotel does seem a little extreme. If anything, maybe just get earplugs.

 

[anniemae]

We did kind of a combo of the CIO and the super nanny. I suggest checking out the super nanny book if your library has it. I found it very good. Basically you start out sitting by your child's bed while they go to sleep, then you gradually move the chair closer to the door each night. Your child will protest, but it seems to be less dramatic than CIO. Eventually, you are at the door, then in the hall, but in his sight, then out of sight and you are home free! When you are out of his sight, you can gently talk to him so he knows you are there. The book explains it in detail and all the different scenarios you may encounter.

Good luck in whatever method you choose!

 

[mefordis]

I'd like to add that she woke up every 2 hours last night BUT only cried about 15 mins each time after we went in there to soothe her. Tonight we won't be picking her up. Might be worse. We'll see.

Thank you for all the posts so far-- I've read each and every one of them and they are greatly appreciated! Once we get through this I can honestly say you have all helped me in your own way.

 

[sunnyday123]

I'd like to add that she woke up every 2 hours last night BUT only cried about 15 mins each time after we went in there to soothe her. Tonight we won't be picking her up. Might be worse. We'll see.

Thank you for all the posts so far-- I've read each and every one of them and they are greatly appreciated! Once we get through this I can honestly say you have all helped me in your own way.

Awesome! She'll be sleeping through the night before you know it!!

 

[HeatherH]

Sounds like you're on the right path! Keep it up! Hopefully your sleepless nights will be behind you soon.

 

[padams]

Hoping for a quiet night for you. The post about the ear infections is a good point. We figured out when my younger DS had an ear infection because he would wake up a lot at night screaming and crying. Get her ears checked by your pediatrician.

Keep us posted. So many of us have been in your sleepy shoes. I recall one sleepless night actually becoming delusional enough to ask my DH whether the baby would ever sleep again. I was afraid I was going to have to be awake for eternity.

Now only if these sleep suggestions would work on my 9 week old puppy.