How do I get baby back to sleep?

Question

We have a 9 month old cutie. She enjoys being rocked or walked to sleep, and I love cuddling with her and putting her to sleep this way. This is something I am not willing to give up.

BUT she wakes up in the middle of the night and wants to play or get in but with us. She can not get comfortable and tousles while I am trying to rock or walk her back to sleep. She does not seem comfortable but she will not go back to sleep on her own, even though she is exhausted.

I have tried the 'cry it out' method a few times but I can not handle listening to her cry that long knowing that it is because she wants to be cuddled.

Is this just something that I need to wait out and eventually she will sleep though the night without waking?

Believe it or not, this is baby number 4... but I never had these issues with the other 3.. lol The were all sleeping through the night by 2 and 3 months. I guess I was lucky.. lol

Thanks for your suggestions.

Answer 1

Hi,

You don't have to let your baby cry it out to get to sleep ..... there are other ways!  My baby James had sleeping problems and several people said I should use the cry it out method but I just hated it. I felt like a wicked parent and would give in every time and go to comfort him.

Eventually though a friend recommended I try a baby sleep audio program that had worked for her baby. It had a number of techniques that I could use and amazingly the one I tried started to work the very first night. Within two weeks James was sleeping through the night and I'm pleased to say he has never had a problem with sleeping since.

Answer 2

Try just patting her back while she is in bed. If that doesn't work you will just have to let her cry it out. I know its hard but you need your rest too. I know you don't want to give up your cuddle time with her but she does need to learn to fall asleep by herself. That way she will stay asleep and not wake up just to be with you. You can still have your quiet cuddle time. Sit and read her a book or rock and sing her lullabies butt this does not mean you have to wait for her to fall  asleep before you lay her down. And it won't take her long to figure out how to fall asleep on her own. Just let her cry it out and every 5 minutes if she is still crying really hard just go in and try to pat her but don't pick her up.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

Poor you... You must be exhausted. Especially with 3 other little ones to care for!

I don't think this is something that will just go away... it sounds like a habit. If she's on solids already and eating well during the day, she is probably not hungry. It doesn't even sound like it's a teething problem.

Do you have a nightly routine? This may help signal that this is sleep time not a nap. It takes them a bit to learn the routine. Give her a few weeks to become familiar with it but be consistent. Do the exact same thing, in the same order, each night until she is familiar with the night routine. BUT that alone will not break her from rocking her. You will have to give her an opportunity to soothe herself without your help. There's a lot of different ways to do it. One is to let her cry it out. I realize you said this was not comfortable but at some point you're going to have to decide a) I continue to rock and soothe her or b) I let her learn how to do it for herself. It's SO hard to hear them cry but after the first few times (about 4 days) it gets MUCH BETTER! (I've done the cry it out with my little man -it took 4 days and he slept through the night by 3 1/2 months. You have to be consistant with this too if you are going to use it. For night sleep you let them cry until she is out and don't pick her up or you could have a set amount of time you will let her cry before you check and reassure her. If you do reassure her- just tell her you love her, go to sleep and don't pick her up. OR you could have a set amount of time for her to cry, if she goes beyond that time- go in pick her up and soothe her- this method tends to teach them just to cry to that set time before mom comes in. She's 9 months so she probably should be able to do it on her own... just give her the chance and use whatever method is best for the both of you and whatever you feel comfortable with. You are 'the mom' so whatever you choose, don't worry about what others think. (I know people look down on over rocking AND crying it out methods) Do some research on different sleep training methods... there's a ton.  

Answer 4

Is she waking because she is hungry?  Nurse or give her a bottle and she will go right back to sleep.