For the past few months, Noah had been doing pretty well sleeping at night. He would go to bed around 7PM and sleep until around 4:30AM… snack and then fall back asleep until at least 6:30. We had even worked on getting him to take his 2 daytime naps in his crib, instead of on me. Sure there was the occasional night where he would be wide awake at 4:30 and we would end up going into his room to play it off before going back to bed, but those were not the norm and only happened every now and then.
Lately though a few short hours after going to bed, Noah stops being the sweet innocent little boy you see here:
and turns into this….
(picture was found here)
I have no clue what has been getting into him, but it started with him waking up at 1:30am the first night and refusing (aka screaming his lungs out) to go back to sleep. The next night was the same way. The 3rd night he woke at midnight… then at 11:30, then for two nights at 10:30 and then for the past two nights he has been doing the same thing right away when we put him to bed… at his normal time mind you, with no change in schedule. I’ve learned to stop the screaming sessions by calming him down in his crib and then I stand or sit there patting his head or hand until he falls asleep. Then I slowly and very, very quietly try to leave the room. Even though that’s something that is working (for now), it’s not the ideal solution and definitely not the way I would like to continue putting him to sleep.
We tried to figure out what was causing all of this… we thought maybe he was waking up because his diaper was leaking… so we switched to nighttime diapers in size 4 and though there are no more leaks, he’s still waking up. Then Ray thought he might be hungry… we gave him a bottle, but it still didn’t help. As soon as we would put him in his crib the screaming would start again. There were one or two times where I sat there and rocked him until he (we both) fell asleep and then I would transfer him back to his crib (when I woke up that is) only to have him wake up again within the hour. Other times he would just come into our bed and sleep there.
I have the feeling this is being brought on by separation anxiety… which may have been made worse than normal due to his recent weaning from being nursed (the well finally ran dry – it was bound to happen sometime during this pregnancy). The question is now… how do we get him to start going back to bed like he used to, all nice and calm, and how do we get him to stop waking up before 4:30 and screaming his head off? (No matter how often he wakes up in the middle of the night, he still gets up at 4:30, just like he always did, only unlike the other wakings he’s all kisses and sunshine at this time!)
If I weren’t pregnant I would suck it up and say that sleep is overrated, but I can’t do that. I am exhausted and can barely cope in the mornings. There are many many days where I look forward to nap time… because it means naps for both of us! I could deal with him waking up at 4:30, but this has just gotten out of control!
Have any of you dealt with this with your children? What did you do to get thing back to normal? Any and all tips are much appreciated!!!
Starting at 6 months, my little bunnykins would go to sleep at 7:30pm and then wake up at 7am without a peep during the night. Now that she’s just turned one we’re finding that everything has gone crazy -her naps are very inconsisent (some days will be one nap, others will be 2 and then some days none!). She’s waking up in the middle of the night and her eating habits have totally changed. I took her to the doctor yesterday and he said that it’s probably due to a growth spurt.
I’m hoping this spurt won’t last too long!
I am sure you thought of this, but I have to throw it out there… what about his ears? I just know that the first thing my kids did when they had trouble with their ears is scream bloody murder when they were laying down in bed.
Okay, that out of the way…
Joley goes through phases with sleeping. Johnny was always a great sleeper. With Joley, I just keep the same schedule we always had. Don’t change anything you were doing before because the more you change the schedule, the more alert he is going to be to the changes. Does that make sense? Kids are so smart so if he sees you will now be coming in with a bottle, he will fuss to get it. If he knows you will come in and rock him to sleep every night, he will do that. If he knows he may end up in your bed, that is what he will aim for.
I am so sorry this may be about separation. 🙁 Can you start a new thing at bedtime where you sit and rock him and feed him a bottle and then lay him down? That way he gets his mommy time right before bed? We did that with Johnny and it worked great.
I am not saying let him cry. I am just saying to keep things even. Go in his room, lay him down with a paci(if he takes one) and then pat his back. Avoid picking him up over and over and avoid talking to him too much. Being consistent with what you do is the key to a smart little guy like you have.
((hugs))
Is he teething or could it be an ear infection? My Everly is having major sleep issues now that she’s teething… Just a thought.
Just show him a picture of his favorite uncle, that should keep him from crying.
I have no advice to offer. Just wanted to let you know that my thoughts are with you as you try and sort out Noah’s sleeping issues.
I’m not sure but some of the comments seem pretty feasible. I do hope it’s a short-lived phase.
Geez Hon, I am sorry. The ear thing sounds pretty good. I remember one time I had Lindsey at the doctor and he said that she had an infection. I had no clue!!
Maybe you should start thinking about dropping the morning nap. Just do an afternoon nap. Put him down shortly after lunch. Make sure he wakes up before 4 and put him down around 8 at night.
Just a suggestion:)
BTW, I sent you an email but my aol is flaking on me lately. Thank you so much for the Rembrandt strips and the gifts for the girls. I just got done using it and the girls love the paper. The hamster is so cute!!
My first thought was ears too, but how about teeth? Does he have molars coming in? Callie has screamed out in the night a few times, and we think it’s because of this. Also, after she turned one, her sleep pattern’s have gotten wonky. Thankfully, though, 99% of the time, she is still STTN.
I can’t imagine being prego and dealing with this. Hugs to you!
hope you are getting some sleep these days, i am sure you need it! also hope he is feeling better!!!