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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    102

    Default We're wiped... 9 month old doesn't want to sleep, keeps pulling self up in crib!

    Hi,
    This seems to be pretty common in the posts I've read here, so I take some consolation in that! It looks like 7-9 month olds suddenly change their sleep habits, but we don't know what to do.

    Our DD slept beautifully till about 7 months. Then suddenly one night, that was it. She was waking up again during the night. I can't remember when or how we started bringing her into our bed, but pretty soon, she started sleeping with us 75-100% of the night... we just needed to do anything we could for her (and us) to sleep.

    I shouldn't even be writing this in the past tense... we're still doing it, but starting tonight, we're trying to change this pattern by Ferberizing (which we're horrible at and inconsistent with). The issue is that now that she's learned to pull herself up to standing, we're really worried about her getting hurt, so one of us is always there in the room with her while she's screaming! Totally not the way Ferber works, I know!

    So my question for all of you is what do/did you do when your little one started pulling up and falling down and getting hurt?? Is there anything I can put on her crib railings to protect her? Last week, for example, she pulled up to her knees. She had been asleep and then all of a sudden started crying. When I went to her room, I found her on her knees holding on to the railing. When I approached her to pick her up, she let go and fell backwards and hit her head on the side of the crib! My heart dropped...! Thankfully she was ok, but I don't want her to keep doing that.

    Any advice would be appreciated!! We're all exhausted!

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    1,272

    Default

    I didn't use the Ferber method within any of my DC...I used http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Sleep-...mm_pap_title_0

    I prefered the method of being consistent with the timing and building up to the sleep pattern you want rather then the abrupt approach but even if you use the all or nothing method...letting them cry until they full asleep you need to be consistent no matter how hard it is for you and DH to hear her cry. So before you start have a bedtime rountine and a plan of attack on how long you are going to let her cry before you go to her. Decide what time every night it works for you to put her to bed and be consistent with the timing.

    Personally I started with the naps during the day and then progressed to the night sleep...it just worked better for me. When the kids were sleeping with us at night I started having them nap in their cribs during the day and then gradually moved them to their crib at night. Again it just worked for us that way..it may be different for you and your family needs though.

    I have to say that by the time I had my third who is now 15 mths I knew what to do following the above book and my past experience and he has been sleeping through the month since 7wks...it wasn't so easy with the two older DC...it was a bit of a hit and miss. With DS2 I have been consistent not only with naptime but bedtime and he still takes two naps during the day and goes to bed at 7pm and wakes up at 7AM but it means I have given up a lot of flexibliity during my day for doing things and that I "homebound" more then I was in the past but eventually this will change as he goes down to one nap a day!

    When the kids were pulling themselves up in bed we put the crib mattress at the lowest setting and we took the bumpers out of the bed so they couldn't se it to stand on. We found that even if they cried horribilby standing up they would eventually flop now in a heap and fall of sleep.

    I also used a sleep sac...the Halos ones and recently the Gro Bags...which helps stop my DS2 from standing up a bit but not always but he isn't able to climb out of his crib though with them on.

    I know you are exhausted so it is even more stressful to handle! So if you are able to nap when your daughter does in the afternoon do so. Try not to attack to many things when you are sleep deprieved because it just adds more stress!

    I hope the book recommendation helps you or at least gives you some different ideas on how to handle this time for you!

    Good luck!

  3. #3
    citymama is offline Pink Diamond level (15,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
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    Well, I'm going to disagree and say don't Ferberize - instead, congrats! You are soon going to have a walker (or crawler) on your hands. DD slept perfectly from 5-8 months and then drove us nuts for about a month until - ta da! At 9 months and 5 days she was walking! Their sleep cycles get *very* disrupted by major gross motor (and other developmental) milestones, but nothing quite like learning to walk, IME. I know it's tough but I would just urge you to be patient and help her get back to sleep. Once she starts cruising around on her own she'll be so knocked out each night I would be surprised if this night-waking continues.

    Also, just know that sleep is a cyclical thing - my DD slept really well until 8 months, then again 10-11 months, then badly from 12-14 months following an international trip (it took her about a month to get over jetlag!) and then all through her second and third years, there were blissful periods of sleep and rough spells.

    ETA if she is hurting herself consider getting bumpers or some kind of padding to protect her head, although we didn't do this. She'll figure out how to hold herself up very soon, I am sure.
    Last edited by citymama; 03-31-2010 at 05:28 PM.

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  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    308

    Default Same issues

    Our son has never been a great sleeper. However once he turned 6 months old he was only waking up once a night. He will go to bed at 7:30 wake up at 12:30 and again at 5:30. This was working very well for us until he turned 7. Something changed and he began waking up between 2 to 4 times. He was also teething but teeth never came. He still goes to bed at 7:30 wakes up around 10:00, 12:30, 2:30 and 5:30. If we ignore him when he wakes up he does fall back to sleep. He just turned 8 months and he pulls himself up with crib railing and falls down or needs help in sitting down. It has been very tough for us to wake up 3-4 times a night. I hope this is a phase and it will pass.

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