How can I get my 13 month old to sleep all night again?

Question

My baby who is 13 months old now has always slept near 10 hrs a night, with the occasional surprises that she will only sleep 5 hrs the night, but then she will take a long 4 hr nap after staying awake for a few hrs. But lately for the past 2 wks she goes to bed at about 1am and wakes up at 7am and ive tried putting her in the bed with me and my husband to see if she goes back to bed but she doesnt and stays awake until she gets tired again and takes that long nap. We are night owls here and go to sleep between 12-1am, so thats when her bedtime will be but Im worried something is wrong with her because shes been doing that for 2 wks stra8 and im sleep deprived and so is baby, and she's starting to get those little dark circles around her eyes wich everyone has been noticing. So I would love some advice. Letting her cry it out isnt an option because my husband has to be up in the morning.

Answer 1

I never let my little one cry it out either. I'm sure the sleep change is caused by something. I tried putting him to bed with me too but that's just taking a step back. So, I suppose a few things could help. a) make sure night time routine is good (toothbrush, book, bed) and also limit liquid before bed (in case potty is what wakes her). Maybe she's getting new teeth, so have some form of numbing gel handy.

Since I'm sure her howl wakes your hubby anyway, go to her room and give her binkie, blankie or whatever she needs and lay her back down and leave without making eye contact. Only let her cry 5 min and try again. I did this with my son and by the 3rd night I let him cry for about 12 min and sure enough he put himself back to sleep. Now he is 18 months and it is very very seldom he'll want to be up at night. He sleeps 11-12 hours straight (thank goodness after a year of sleepless nights!).