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 Ask Dr. Jana
Avoiding Bad Habits when Your Infant Wakes in the Night | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Jana,
My nine-month-old son wakes every three hours during the night crying. Usually a bottle of formula will get him back to sleep. I know that this is now a "habit," and it may be hard to break, but do you have any suggestions? We have tried letting him cry, but he either stands up in the crib or gets on all fours while crying, and we know that he won't go back to sleep in those position since he has never slept on his stomach; he only will sleep on his side or his back. We suspect that the reason he wakes up sometimes is that he rolls over from his side to his stomach because sometimes all he needs is some reassurance and to be put on his back once again. Do you have any suggestions? When he was three to five months, he used to sleep through the night. He doesn't have any teeth and is not yet showing any signs of teething. Thanks in advance.— Very Tired Mom and Dad in Berkeley Heights, NJ | | | ANSWER |
March 22, 2001 | | | Dear Very Tired Mom and Dad,
Your questions are very good ones - especially because they are probably on the minds of half the parents of infants who visit our site. You bring up several points, some of which you may find answers to in another question I answered for the parent of a four-month-old, which discusses the importance of not letting a baby fall asleep with a bottle or become dependant on it to fall back asleep during a night waking (see: Baby Who Refuses to Sleep in His Crib).
In addition, I can tell you that it is quite common for previously good sleepers to suddenly turn around and start waking up at night right around nine months of age. This may be due to many factors--not the least of which is the ability to roll, sit, and sometimes stand in the crib--all positions not exactly conducive to falling back to sleep. Now that your child has mastered these skills, there is unfortunately no good way to prevent him from getting into these positions in the middle of the night. He will simply have to learn how to get himself back into a comfortable sleeping position on his own or else you will be up on a regular basis every night.
The fact that nine month olds typically are developing a better sense of how things work in the world around them can sometimes affect their sleep as well. I like to think of it as a cause and effect test--your baby thinks "let's see what happens if I start crying out in the middle of the night," and as soon as he realizes that his cries bring you running, he intelligently continues this routine. You can help your son by not only teaching him to fall asleep on his own at the beginning of the night (if you aren't already), but also phase yourself out of needing to help him back to sleep in the middle of the night by waiting longer to respond and by making your visits to his room shorter and less interactive.
By improving his sleep habits, you will not only feel better (since chronic sleep deprivation has a way of affecting everything you do), but your son will benefit from uninterrupted sleep as well.— by Laura Jana, M.D., F.A.A.P. |
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