69 responses so far ↓

• 1 Lucia // Dec 9, 2008 at 2:46 pm

  My son used to suffer from night terrors. He’ll be 3 in a few weeks. He gets up many times in the night wanting to come to our bed and crying. Even when he comes to our bed he continues to cry and it’s obvious he’s dreaming. How do I stop this. I’m at my wits end. I can’t get enough sleep and neither can he. He needs more sleep. He goes to sleep easy enough, in his crib, but it’s keeping him there that’s the problem. He’ll be in his own bed soon, I suppose I can slip into bed with him…..not a good idea I know but I need some sleep. It’s really affecting my health etc. Thanks

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• 2 Leeanne // Dec 9, 2008 at 2:49 pm

  Hi Dana,
  Our son is 18 months old and has NEVER slept thru the night. We have tried everything. We took away his soother months ago, unplugged the night light, removed all distractions from his crib and even let him cry it out-until he throws up! I don’t think it is a comfort thing b/c when we go in his room, he continues to cry. We have a hard time comforting him at all. He usually cries for a bottle once, but that doesn’t account for the 2-3 other times he is up during the night. We usually have to sit with him until he falls asleep again then put him back in the crib. Is there anything else we can do? We are desperate!!
  thanks

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• 3 Renee // Dec 9, 2008 at 3:02 pm

  How do I get my 14 month old to sleep when he gets hysterical and vomits. He does the same basic thing whether we are in the room or not… he just cries until he reaches hysteria and then he vomits. His pediatrician says it is not physical, but behavioral. And how do I get him to sleep thru the night when he wakes up every 3-4 hours, stands up immediatley and starts to cry hsyterically before I can even get out of bed? BTW, he can get himself back to sleep, I’ve watched him in his crib wake-up, roll over and go back to sleep.

  I’ve asked this question on your “live chat” section, but no one has replied.

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• 4 Diane // Dec 9, 2008 at 3:02 pm

  Hi Dana,

  My son Darren is 3.5 months old and we tried everything you suggested to get him sleep thru the nite; yet he wakes up 3-4 times a night. He now goes to his crib awake around 7:30PM and then falls asleep himself (after all our efforts), but then wakes up several times just to eat. During these meals, his eyes are always shut and after 5-10 minutes, he falls asleep when I put him on my shoulder to burp him. I slowly put him back in his crib and this routine repeats every 2-3 hours. How can I eliminate these night time feedings? He is now 17 pounds (heavy baby) and I don’t think he needs these nighttime snacks anymore.

  I really appreciate your help!

  Thanks,
  Diane

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• 5 Tamra // Dec 9, 2008 at 3:09 pm

  My son has gotten to where he occassionally sleeps through the night and occassionally wakes up anywhere between 12 - 3 am and it varies. He goes to sleep well on his own and even though he wakes up at night about 2-3 times most of the other 1 -2 times he goes back out on his own. I just don’t know if it could be that he is teething, would this effect his sleeping through the night? He does take 2-3 good 1 - 1 1/2 hour naps during the day. Please help!

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• 6 Melissa G // Dec 9, 2008 at 3:16 pm

  Dana, i have a 2 year old that is still sleeping in my bed! Please help! I am not sure how to handle this situation at this point. Thank you.

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• 7 Stephanie // Dec 9, 2008 at 3:17 pm

  My 5 1/2 old son is now able to roll over from his back to belly and belly to back. he does this in the middle of the night and it wakes him up every time. he use to sleep through the night but not anymore. I have to go into his room and flip him back on his back. Will he start to learn how to roll over and stay asleep?

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• 8 Melissa // Dec 9, 2008 at 3:17 pm

  I was curious how to help my 4month old girl fall back asleep when she wakes in the night…
  I know she is getting enough breastmilk that I pump throughout the day….
  But my husband feels she needs a bottle every time she wakes up in the night…and he feels that it is wrong to put a pacifier in her mouth to get her back to sleep….
  Please help…she woke us up 4 times last night and I feel it is really putting a strain on our marriage.

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• 9 Leeanna // Dec 9, 2008 at 3:17 pm

  so my son is only 4 months old and he sleeps through the night but he goes to bed between 11 pm and 2 am. i have tried everything to get him to go to sleep earlier but he wont. i have tried giving him a bath, singing, reading, rocking, letting him cry, everything and i am really getting tired of it. what can i do to get him to go to bed earlier?

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• 10 angela // Dec 9, 2008 at 3:24 pm

  Hi,
  my son just turned 1 and doesnt sleep on his own. how this got started is when he was about 3-4 months or even younger than that he got sick and i got nervous putting him down alone, wanting to keep a close eye on him while he slept and to be there to comfort him as well. thats when it all began and he has been in the bed ever since and for me now i feel that i cant make him sleep on his own because it will hurt his feelings and he will feel that i am rejecting him when it comes to sleep time. he has to be laid with for naps and bed time. i lay with for naps and then will move him to the crib or sometimes i even fall asleep with him. when moving him to the crib he does not wake but there are times when he has and i have to start the laying down process all over again. when it come to going to bed for the night its the same thing i lay with him and move him to the crib and again there are times that he does wake. finally when i get him in the crib he will sleep for a good stretch of time but then wake up and i automaticaly put him in the bed with me and that is where he stays for the rest of the night. also the other thing is he still wants his sippy when he wakes and i say sippy because he has been off the bottle since he was about 10 months. when he is put down for naps or bed he is given a sippy and will finish the whole thing and then it takes time for him to fall asleep after and we struggle with that as well.
  its aweful i feel like i have created a monster when it comes to sleep time and its a battle at times to get him to sleep even when i or someone else is laying with him. i work and so does my husband and i was lucky that my mother was able to watch him and lay with him as well and now i have my younger sister watching him for me and she to will lay with him but he gives her a hard time about it and is missing out on naps. how do i fix this and is it to late? thanks!

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• 11 Becky // Dec 9, 2008 at 3:30 pm

  My 8 month old daughter goes to sleep well around 8 PM and generally sleeps through the night. If she wakes, she only cries 2-10 minutes and goes back to sleep. But she almost always wakes between 5:00 and 5:15 am. We have tried doing the leave and check method as we did with her orignal sleep training. Only occiansonally does she go back to sleep. Usually, she cries until I get up and feed her, which I have decided will be no ealrier than 5:45. Should I just give up and start getting up at 5:00? I feel so bad just letting her cry day after day…

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• 12 Margaret // Dec 9, 2008 at 3:30 pm

  My son is 19 months old and has always had a difficult time taking a nap. (It takes him about an hour each night to fall asleep on his own, but at least he does it with minimal crying.) However, naps are near impossible! I know he’s tired because if we are out of the house close to his nap time he usually falls asleep in the car on the way home. I use to be able to get him to sleep by asking him to lie down in his crib and then I would rub his back or shake his bottom until he passed out. Now, I can’t get him to lie down at all. Whether I stay in the room with him or leave him alone, he cries and gets hysterically upset until I pick him up. Then he asks to go downstairs. Help! I know he needs this sleep!

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• 13 Sharome Robinson // Dec 9, 2008 at 3:33 pm

  Nasya is still waking at night she is now 1.
  Not much of a bedtime routine, but still bedtime is 8:30pm. Please help! She can cry for an hour straight. Everytime we go in to comfort her and leave again it is like starting the process all over again. She still wants and gets her night time feedings. She is going through separation anxiety as well.

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• 14 Cheryl // Dec 9, 2008 at 3:34 pm

  We are expecting another baby and I dread what will happen with my 2 yr-old who has been “trained” to sleep through the night (8pm-8am) since 1 yrs old. Their rooms are close, and I fear she will hear the baby & react with crying and waking up to the noise. What do you recommend I do in prep for the new baby?

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• 15 Debra // Dec 9, 2008 at 3:47 pm

  My daughter is 13 months old and has been waking up 2 to 7 times a night for the past 5 months. We were hoping it was a phase, but I’m guessing not now. I have always nursed her to sleep for naps, bedtime and if she woke in the night. But my husband takes turns getting her to sleep too, so she obviously not nursing to sleep then:) We tried an earlier bedtime…we moved her from a 9 or 10pm bedtime to 8pm and occasionally earlier if she’s really wrecked. She is only taking one nap most days, and she just seems tired all the time. I am not sure if I have the energy to fight with her at night to get her to fall asleep on her own. I never ever thought I would consider letting her cry, but we don’t know what to do. Please help!

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• 16 Yadira // Dec 9, 2008 at 3:59 pm

  My son just turned 4 months old. He is sleeping great at night (anywhere from 8-12 hours!). He falls asleep on his own for night time and most naps (just recently it has been all naps!). I have 2 questions. 1. Even if he falls asleep on his own, he only naps for 45 minutes usually. This has been going on since he was 5 weeks old! Every once in a while he will take a 1.5-2 hour nap, but this is very rare. I know that he is still tired because by the end of the day, he is a mess (yet still able to fall asleep on his own for bedtime). How can I extend his naps?
  2. We are planning on going to Florida from California in March. I am trying to prepare myself as there is a three hour difference. He sleeps so well at night and I really do not want to mess with this. There is a 3 hour difference between CA and FL. Should I keep him on the CA time zone (his bedtime is 7pm here with morning at 7am which would put bedtime at 10pm there and morning at 10am). Thanks.

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• 17 rebecca // Dec 9, 2008 at 3:59 pm

  hi my son is sleeping through the night most nights and has been since he was 10 weeks old thanks to your program which i have recommended to lots of my friends. for a couple of months now though he has been waking up and talking not crying for hours most of the time i leave him and hope that he goes back to sleep on his own but sometimes he can talk for 3/4 hours or more before he goes back to sleep.
  any suggestions
  rebecca

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• 18 Lisa // Dec 9, 2008 at 4:04 pm

  I have 2 boys 2.5 and 16 months- both good sleepers. My challenge is that I am expecting due in march 2009 and only have 3 bedrooms. I have moved them in the same room and it was an adjustment at first- my problem is that they want to stay up and giggle, talk etc… my 2.5 year old is in a toddler bed and my 16 month old is in a crib. my oldest will get out of his bed and try to play with the one in the crib. They would not go to sleep for naps or bed until its way too late and then they are over tired and screaming.I don’t know what to do. For naps they are on 1 nap a day now and both go to bed by 7-730pm. We have done bedtime routines with both of them together. As of right now we stager everything 1/2 hr so they are doing routines, nap and bedtime individually/separate from eachother because they will stay up and not go to sleep. This seemed to be working ok until my oldest-2.5 year old will now intentionally wake up my youngest during naps or when going to bed. Do you have any ideas? I really think your program is awsome and i followed it to the “T” with my first and second and i want to do the same with my newborn. I just am having the hardest time with this.. and wondering if it was the right choice putting them in the same room. I could put them in their own rooms again I suppose but i figured moving them in together was best so i could start sleepsense with the newborn. What is your recommendation?

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• 19 Wendy // Dec 9, 2008 at 4:05 pm

  My son is a 2 year old and gets up 4 to 5 times every night. It seems to be getting worse.
  I have to rock him to sleep every night and then put him down in the crib however after waking up the first time he refuses to go down in his crib. He would fall asleep however as soon as I lay him down in the crib he stands up and starts to cry. It seems impossible to get him to go back in the crib so I resort to him sleeping with me. However even though he is in my bed he would still get up every 2-3 hours. I have tried the crying out method however my son cries until he vomits. I don’t know what to do any more and I feel really tired and upset that I cannot get at least one night of uninterrupted sleep.

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• 20 Kristina Zejda // Dec 9, 2008 at 4:11 pm

  We have a 2 bedroom house, and 2 children 30 months old and 15 months. The 15 month old wakes very easily so any sounds from my 30 month old disturbs her and she starts a wailing. My problem is how do I let them cry it out when they sleep in the same room and one crying wakes the other. I tried seperating them by putting one in our room in a playpen but that just created a monster who no longer wants to sleep in her big girls bed and insists on the playpen. I am at my wits end because my husband works a night shift and sleeps til 9pm and the girls go to bed at 7pm, so that make sit hard to let them cry it out as it wakes him up too! Any suggestions on how to handle that???

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• 21 Chris // Dec 9, 2008 at 4:15 pm

  My son will be 6 months next week and we have been struggling with sleep both during naps and at night. We began your method last night, but I found that he got more upset and worked up if I touched him or talked to him. In fact, it seemed that if he even knew I was in the room he was more hysterical. I ended up just sneaking in to check on him or watching him on the video monitor. Eventually he went to sleep (after an hour 3 times overnight), but I feel like I’m abandoning him and stuck using the dreaded “cry it out” method. I’m afraid this will damage the trust that he has in me to meet his needs. Any suggestions on what I can do to help him without feeling like I’m abandoning him altogether?

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• 22 Shell // Dec 9, 2008 at 4:21 pm

  Hi Dana,

  I’ve just started looking at your program and read the bit about not starting when you’re going on holiday. My son is 7mths and we are about to go from Australia to the UK for a month. So timezone and weather changes. What can we do in the meantime to help his sleep?

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• 23 Nat // Dec 9, 2008 at 4:29 pm

  My daughther is 20 months and has never slept through the night to date and has been sleeping in our bed now on and off for a year. Our relationship is a breaking point and our daughter is exhusted. She will only let me get her to sleep with a feed then sitting by her crib until she falls asleep. She then sleeps in her crib for a couple of hours then wakes then goes mad(she can cry for 3hrs without any let up) until she comes into our bed and i have to go to bed with her.Then she feeds most of the night until around 5 when she is totally awake and nothing will get her back to sleep. I am exhusted too and find it hard to function. My marriage is in crisis and i dont know what to do. I really need some advice that can solve this problem before its too late!

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• 24 Alyssa // Dec 9, 2008 at 4:33 pm

  I have a 3 1/2 year old and nearly a 2 1/2 year old girls that sleep in the same room together. They usually have no problem with going to sleep but since the holidays (Thankgiving) started, they’re up and down out of their room from their regular bedtime of 7:30 all the way to 9:30pm last night! They’re exhausted the next morning.

  I realize this is their first “real” holiday where they’re truly aware of Santa, Christmas, snow and all of that so they are very excited but what can I do to calm them down enough to sleep?

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• 25 Shannon Bryant // Dec 9, 2008 at 4:39 pm

  My 15 month old was sleeping through the night for a while but about 5 months ago when she started getting her teeth in she stopped sleeping through the night. She would usually go to bed around 9,10 or 11pm and then wake up around 3 or 4am for a bottle and then after the bottle she would fall back to sleep. She has a nap during the day for 1 to 3 hours. Now for the past month since she got her first molar she’s been going to bed at 12 or 1am and waking around at 9 or 10am and she wakes up during the night at 3 or 4am sometimes for a bottles or just to be by me and when I put her in my bed she falls right to sleep. Sometimes she would fall a sleep at 8-8:30pm but would wake up at 9:30pm and then she would be up intill 12 or 1am even though she had a nap during the day. How can I get her to sleep earlier and through the night.

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• 26 Sarah // Dec 9, 2008 at 4:42 pm

  Sometimes my 15 month old son will sleep later than his usual 6:30 wake up time. This is fantastic because we all get to sleep in a little, however, it seems to push back his two naps and throws him off. Should I try to skip the morning nap altogether or purposely wake him around 6:30?

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• 27 Christy // Dec 9, 2008 at 4:50 pm

  Hi Dana,
  When I put my 3.5 month old son to bed (7:30) is it ok to leave my dim bedside lamp on so that my husband and I can see when it’s our bedtime? This is the same lamp I leave on for naps during the day so he knows the difference, will this confuse him? THanks!

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• 28 Kari // Dec 9, 2008 at 4:59 pm

  My son is 11 1/2 mos old and was in a pretty good sleeping schedule where he would wake up once to nurse and go right back to sleep. When he turned 11 mos, we decided to take out the one feeding at night. My husband accepted the responsibility and the first night got up with our son. We expected some crying, but what we got was 3 1/2 hrs of screaming where at the end, he threw up. By that time, it had been about 8 1/2 hours since he had last eaten, so I got up and nursed him thinking he would go right to sleep following the feeding. He continued to fuss and about 15 min later he had a bowel movement. At that point, he was wide awake and so we got up with him and I tried to keep his nap schedule the same, just longer naps so he could catch up. The following night, we tried the same thing except that my husband would pick him up a few times to keep him calmer to try to prevent another throwing up incident. He was persistent in staying up for 3-4 hours at which time I nursed again because it was actually time for him to eat. He had another BM and stayed awake. My husband and I were persistent and hopeful for a change. We repeated the process another 2 nights with the same results and finally gave up from exhaustion. The 5th night, I went in to nurse him right away when he awoke thinking he would go right back to sleep like he did before we tried to take out the feeding. He ate and then did not go back to sleep for 3 hrs. By the 6th night, I was so tired, when he awoke, my husband went and got him and he slept with us. Now, he goes to bed by himself but when he wakes up at about 3:00am, he comes to bed with us. I have tried taking him back to his crib but when he starts crying, I get “gun-shy” and bring him back with me (at least that way, we both get some sleep) To add fuel to the fire, he is in the throws of teething . . . aaagghhh!! I am deperate . . . I have not slept longer than 6 consecutive hours in almost a year!! Can you help??

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• 29 Lisa // Dec 9, 2008 at 5:43 pm

  Hi Dana,
  I recently moved my 2 year old to a toddler bed because he kept climbing out of his crib. He would wake up in the morning before me and climb out and I did not want him to get hurt. My question is, how do I keep him from getting out of his toddler bed when I put him to bed? Also, he keeps waking up in the night and I don’t know why. He has never really slept all through the night. Thank you, Lisa

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• 30 anita // Dec 9, 2008 at 5:46 pm

  Dear Dana,
  Thanks for the great advice. I am now just working on how to not nurse my 3.5week old to sleep while feeding and how to get him to self settle. If I put him to bed awake he generally screams until I pick him up again and this continues on and off. Also I have conflicting information about his morning sleep. He is generally a good nightime sleeper so far but when he wakes at 6-7am I feed him and he gets drowsy and then I put him back to bed and he sleeps for about 2-3hrs again. However I have read the contented baby book and save our sleep by Tizze hall and they both say that babies should be awake at 7am and should stay awake for at least 1.5hrs in the morning and then have a short nap of no more than 1.5hrs. I have real issues keeping Henry up for 1.5hrs in the morning plus I feed terrible waking him after 1.5hrs when he is clearly tired if he is sleeping and not due for a feed. Any advice. Thanks.

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• 31 Rebecca // Dec 9, 2008 at 5:47 pm

  Hi there
  My son is now 4.5 months old and is doing fairly well at going to sleep himself at around 9pm and sleeping most often through the night until around 7am. However, he does not sleep very much at all during the day - only two or three snoozes of around 20 minutes per day. Sometimes he has long spells of crying and isn’t easy to comfort. I think that at these times, he is very tired - but just doesn’t seem able to get off to sleep. I wonder whether he really needs a bit more sleep than this during the day - what do you suggest?

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• 32 Courtney // Dec 9, 2008 at 5:57 pm

  Dear Dana,
  My son Jude is 5 months old and for the past month or so he has been waking up 10-12 times a night. I’m not exaggerating, I’ve been tracking it! Sometimes he just needs his nook and other times it takes up to 1/2-1 hour. We comfort him while he’s in the crib and only take him out every 4 hours or so to nurse. He naps usually 45 minutes 4X a day and falls asleep with his nook and blanket. Why is he waking up SO much at night!? Sometimes he cries and when I go in the nook is still in his mouth and he has woken up. What can I do to help him?

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• 33 Suriyah // Dec 9, 2008 at 6:16 pm

  Hello, Dana:

  My son is 7 months old. Thanks to you he has begun to sleep from 7.30pm to 6.00 am. He does however wake once during the night at random times and I nurse him. Two questions: 1. Should I be nursing him when he wakes? 2. 6 am is too early. I tried extending it by nursing and putting him back for an hour. Any other suggestions? THANK YOU!

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• 34 Angela Capper // Dec 9, 2008 at 7:12 pm

  Hi Dana
  My 19 month old daughter and I just traveled from the USA to the UK for a month. Unfortunately she still appears to be running on central time, USA. Is there an easy way to transition her night time routine. She normally goes to bed at 8 p.m. and wakes around 7 a.m. and has been sleeping all through the night at home since she was about 13 months old.

  Thanks
  Angie

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• 35 Quinn // Dec 9, 2008 at 9:18 pm

  I have a new born whom only 8 weeks olds but I want to start her out right this time , I ‘ve made the mistake with my first one , he 5 now and still doesn’t sleep through the night. What should I do with the baby to help her learn to sleep on her own?

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• 36 Dawn // Dec 9, 2008 at 9:47 pm

  Hi Dana.
  Thanks for your sleep sense book. All going well, but we have a small problem and I am not sure what to do. My son Kyle is 2yr5mth. He has just started potty training. He is now using this as an excuse to avoid bedtime. We use dinner, bath, story then bed routine, and although he will use the potty before his bath, when it comes to bed time he continues to request the potty. He might be all snuggled in his own bed, then 3 mins later, up and out the door without pajamas or nappy wanting to use the potty. We sit him on it, and after much trying sometimes only a little wee, then back to bed. Then 5 mins later, up again with the same request. I don’t want to put his toilet training back, as he is so interested and enthusiastic, but it is taking up to an hour and half to settle him at night! Please help.

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• 37 Barb // Dec 9, 2008 at 10:30 pm

  Hi Dana-
  My 2 1/2 year old daughter is constantly calling us back into her room after we put her to bed. It started when we first started potty training. She would be in her crib about 10 minutes or so and then call us that she needed to use the potty. Now its escalated to her calling for her nose to be blowed, water, and constantly to cover her up! I’ve tried talking to her about it, but it doesn’t help. If we don’t go in she gets all worked up and hysterically cries. Either process leads to her taking over an hour to fall asleep! She is put to bed at 8 pm and wakes up between 7:30 and 7:45am, and takes a 90 minute nap or so.
  Is she not tired? Or is she just manipulating us? How should we handle it???
  Thanks so much!!

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• 38 Sandra // Dec 10, 2008 at 12:28 am

  Hi Dana,
  My 16 months old has never had a schedule, since she was born, there a nights she goes to bed at midnight!!! or today i tried to put her to sleep at 8:30 and finally went to sleep at 10:00pm, but also she’s sleeping with us since she’s 9 months old(ooopppps)and still nursing, she gets up more than 3 times each night to search for my breast. another thing she does is touch my hair, I tried to put her on her crib, and for straighr 3 hrs, she didn’nt stop crying,i eaven put my self inside the crib!!!so i took her back to our bed. I am afraid to put her in her crib,because it makes me feel i am touturing her!!I just dont know where to start, with, whinning, making her sleep through the night in our bed, and then to her crib, or…… please help!!!
  Thanks

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• 39 Elizabeth T // Dec 10, 2008 at 1:21 am

  Hi, Dana,

  I recently went back to work and have my mother in law keeping my 3 month old daughter 1-3 days per week (I’m off the other days). The problem is that Kallyn will not take naps at her house. My mother in law claims to be doing the nap routine like we do, but says that Kallyn will just cry if she lays her down in the crib they have set up for her. So, despite my protest, my mother in law has started rocking Kallyn and holding her while she sleeps for naps at her house.

  Kallyn has been doing great falling asleep on her own for naps and bedtime for many weeks. But, since Grandma has started this 2 weeks ago, Kallyn gives a little more protest when it’s sleeping time. Will my mother in law’s actions undermine all the work my husband and I have done for Kallyn’s sleep? How do we help my daughter take good naps at her grandmother’s house, too?

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• 40 Jennifer K // Dec 10, 2008 at 10:24 am

  Hi Dana,

  My son just turned 2. He does not sleep throught the night, he’s up at least 2-3 times. And I can’t get him off the bottle, everytime he wakes up that is what he wants. I have a feeling that if I could just get him off the bottle that he might start sleeping through the night. How do I get him off the bottle, do I go cold turkey?

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• 41 Amanda // Dec 10, 2008 at 2:18 pm

  Hi,
  My twin girls are 13 months old, and basically sleep through the night (7:30-8 PM until 7:30-8 AM). Occassionally, perhaps twice a month they will wake up, and I am not sure what to do. On the one hand I want to go into them, maybe they had a bad dream, got scared, have a dirty diaper, etc - I do want to be a compassionate mother. On the other hand, I don’t want to start a nightime waking routine where they know if they wake up they get Mommy.
  How do should I deal with the occassional wakings?

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• 42 May // Dec 10, 2008 at 5:02 pm

  Hi Dana,
  How can you adopt your sleep training program for a baby if you have a toddler as well. Ideally, I’d like to not let the baby cry for too long d/t fear of waking up the toddler. your advice is appreciated!

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• 43 Amy // Dec 11, 2008 at 10:02 am

  Hi Dana
  My daughter Marissa is 20months old and pretty good about sleeping at night. However my problem is that she will not nap for me anymore. She naps at daycare fine and when she is home with her Dad she goes right down for a 1-2 hr nap. If I am home she will not have anypart of it. Its not that I care if she naps but without out it she is very cranky by 5pm. Do you have any advice on this. Thank You

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• 44 Babak // Dec 11, 2008 at 1:15 pm

  Hi

  Bardia is 11 months old, and we still have problem putting him to sleep. He is a hyperactive demanding kid, and resists sleeping. When he was younger we put him to his stroller walking around the house till he sleeps. But, a couple of months ago he started jumping out of the stroller, so my wife started nursing him to sleep. Now, he won’t sleep unless she nurses him, and he wakes up a couple of time during night back to nursing eating actively.
  If I try to put him to sleep, he starts crawling around and playing, and if I put him in his crib or force him to sleep, he starts crying and screaming his head off and won’t stop. We are wondering how we could change his habit since my wife is sick and tired of not sleeping well through the night.

  Thanks a lot,

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• 45 Catherine Plomp // Dec 11, 2008 at 2:11 pm

  Hi, Dana. My son is 12 weeks old and is usually a good sleeper at night. He wakes up about once or twice to feed and goes back to sleep. He sleeps in his crib at night, usually falls asleep on his own. During the day, he likes to nap either in his swing or in my bed. He takes long naps, usually about an hour or so. But he doesn’t seem to like napping in his crib.
  Do I change things and force him to nap in his crib or just leave things the way they are since he sleeps in his crib at night anyway? Is he old enough to associate that the crib is for nighttime only while during the day, the swing is for naps?
  Thank you!

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• 46 Camille // Dec 11, 2008 at 2:43 pm

  Hi Dana,

  I have 15 month old twins.
  they both share the same room, but have their own cribs.
  One of them sleep through most of the nights, the other one can wake up 2 to 3 times…I have a bedtime routine, I am now putting them to bed around 8h20PM used to be later, they both have crib soother on their bed,
  The twin who wake up every night, can be watching his aquarium soother for at least 30 mn at bedtime while yawning, I am wondering if his soother is a disturbance or not to his sleep, he does not turn it on when he wakes up at night, he just stand in his crib and cry for someone to pick him up.
  The Christmas weekend is coming up soon and as we will be away from home for few days, I was thinking about removing the soother…they may not notice it disappears when we are back.
  They both sleep with a lovey since infants.
  Sometimes I give the breast to the twin who wakes up, as he gets crazy looking for it, though I try hard not to do it.
  How can I deal with his night waking? Do you think it is a good idea to remove the soothers?
  Thank you,

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• 47 Lilian F Maggi // Dec 11, 2008 at 3:47 pm

  Hi, Dana! I trained my daughter (2.5 yrs old now) to sleep using your program. My son, though (4.5 yrs old), has never slept on his own. He is in his bed, but in our room, and we’re trying to move him “out”. Number one choice is his sister’s room - I feel it would be an easier transition for him, since he wouldn’t be alone. Second choice is his own room, because I’m afraid he would ruin my daughter’s GREAT sleeping habits if he were in the same room. What is your advice? Where should I put him, and how do I do it? We’re at our wits’ end. Thank you!

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• 48 Candice // Dec 11, 2008 at 6:34 pm

  Hi Dana,
  My daughter Ruby is 4 months old. She has always been a catnapper during the day. I have tried to settle her after she wakes up after 1/2 hour but most of the time she will not go back to sleep. I can tell she is tired. She has always put herself to sleep at night at around 7.30pm. She used to sleep through until 4pm for a feed but the last few weeks she is waking 2 or 3 times a night and only goes back to sleep after a feed. What can I do to help her sleep better during the day (on the rare day that she has a couple of long naps she sleeps better during the night and is a much happier baby) and how can I get her to sleep through the entire night??

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• 49 Roula // Dec 12, 2008 at 12:03 am

  Hi Dana,
  i have a 7 month old baby girl. the first few months after her birth were exhausting for me. she was an extremely fussy baby and a very light sleeper. i would spend hours on end trying to put her to sleep. three months after her birth, i started putting her to sleep beside me. although it was an easier option and worked better than nursing and attempting to put her in her own crib, i couldn’t keep it up for too long, because neither of us slept properly. at 6 months, i tried moving her into her own room, nothing worked except letting her cry it out. ironically enough, she slept through the night after she cried. however, instead of of the crying periods getting shorter, they kept lengthening, so i reverted back to nursing her to sleep. i simply couldn’t hear her cry anymore although she was sleeping so much better. now, she’s back to waking up more than 4 times a night. when i first put her to sleep, she’s bound to wake up at least 3 times forcing me to go back to her. after the third or fourth time, i usually don’t respond. she will then cry and fall asleep for an hour and half to two hours and then wake up again. she’ll wake up two more times during the night until i give up and bring her to bed with me. pls let me know if you have any suggestions for me. I’m exhausted!

  thanks

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• 50 Hiba // Dec 12, 2008 at 12:18 pm

  hi Dana ,, My son is one year old and he’s been going to bed between 7:30 & 8pm for a while now. Also, he wakes up at least 4 time at night, and it’s exhausting to do it every night. He has to have the Pacifier in his mouth before going to sleep. Also, the first six months of his age he was sleeping in his bed, but then I started rocking him on my legs to sleep and he’s been sleeping on a mattress on the ground since then. plz help me ,, your advice is soooo appreciated , thank u

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• 51 amber watson // Dec 12, 2008 at 1:06 pm

  My daughter Grace has been sleeping through the night since 4 mo. old (she is now 17mo.), thanks to your suggestions. However, I am nine months pregnant with my second and I am concerned about messing up her schedule. She is a light sleeper and gets very aggitated if you come into the room while she is sleeping. OUr house has 3 bedrooms, but one is on a different floor. I do not like the idea of a 17mo. sleeping by herself downstairs, but really do not like the option of two on a separate floor from my husband and myself. I have a toddler bed for Grace and have it set up in her downstairs room, but do not know how well she will transition to the bed from the crib. I really do not want to have two babies not sleeping at night, what do I do?
  Amber

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• 52 Melody // Dec 12, 2008 at 2:36 pm

  Hi Dana I have a 3 yr old and a 9month old they both sleep in bed with us. I don’t want this anymore. I really never wanted it I was just desperate for sleep. I still am but this is absolutely awful. My 3 year old is very strong willed!!! Please help I am so desperate!

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• 53 Mel // Dec 12, 2008 at 11:25 pm

  Hi My 18mth old daughter is waking twice a night around 10.30pm and 2am. I was giving her that late bottle about 2 weeks ago but have stopped. She still wakes at these times, i go into her and have to lay her down and give her a dummy. She does not seem to be able to put herself to sleep still, I let her cry a little but she will only go to sleep if i go in and lay her down. What else can i do, please help. thankyou

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• 54 Cath Timms // Dec 13, 2008 at 2:59 am

  Hi Dana
  My 33month old son has always been a fantastic sleeper (slept through at 6wks old), but in the past couple of months he has been constantly waking at least 2 or 3 times in the night & comes into our room. He is also hard to get down also as he is constantly asking for something (whether it’s water, a book or any other excuse he can think of). He will also sometimes get a little upset if we get up to leave after tucking him in. We started putting music on for him and leaving the hallway light on (in addition to his nightlight), which sometimes helps. The past two days he has had no day nap and last night he crashed at 6:45pm, however still lots of waking last night. I know their imaginations go wild at this age and I think he had a bad dream (about the man in his room) when this all first started.
  Any suggestions as to why he’s waking a lot and how I can get him to comfort himself in the night instead of coming into our room? From what I can gather this is quite common in a two year old, but to be honest I’m exhausted and only managed about 3 hours of sleep myself last night as I ended up sleeping in his room. He would spring up in bed and look for me - once he could see me, he would settle back down to sleep….until the next time.
  I would be eternally grateful for any help you can give!!!!
  Thanks
  From a sleep deprived mother

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• 55 alecia erdeman // Dec 13, 2008 at 10:53 am

  hi dana evelina christina is now six months old and not sleeping tru the night and she sleeps with me in my bed but she wake us every 30mins at night tine i do have a bedtime routine but she will only sleep in her crib for about 3 hours maximum because i work nights i ahve to put her to bed fefore i go to work and my husband can’t manger her because as soon as she wake up he panics and she screams and them i have to come home from work before the end of my shift and most of the time i am so tired so i ave to ut her in my bed and still i cant get no sleep please help i would love a good night sleep

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• 56 Eddie Kwek // Dec 14, 2008 at 12:03 am

  Thank you so much for helping my daughter (20 months) to sleep through the night.
  And now, how can i get her to wake up later? She is waking up before the day breaks. And that wakes the entire family up and all of us aren’t getting enough sleep. Please help.

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• 57 Heredity // Dec 14, 2008 at 8:31 pm

  Hello Dana. I have read your second edition sleep sense program and have had sucess in getting my 8 month old daughter to sleep though the night. Thank you. We are however having problems with napping. My daughter Cassandra does not cry at night when the room in dark she just turns over and goes to sleep in her crib but during the day with the first nap we can expect about 10 mins of crying, followed by 40 min to 1hr nap. She won’t sleep any more then that. When we try for the second nap at 2pm she will cry up to 2 hrs and refuses to nap. I use the leave the room method and return to check every 30 mins or so. Cassie will not calm down at all as long as I stay in the room with her. So my question is when is it ok to go to one nap during the day? Your program said napping once a day can start at 1 year of age but cassie is not even 9 months old. Should I keep trying to make her take the second nap? I feel so helpless listening to her cry and get more and more angry with each nap attempt.

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• 58 Kristin May // Dec 14, 2008 at 9:27 pm

  Hello - we have a 7 month old daughter who, thanks to your programme, started falling asleep on her own and sleeping through the night around 4.5months, however she has always woken very early - around 5am. After nearly three months of going in and settling her and also trying giving her a feed and putting her back to bed we have only gotten her to stay in her cot till around 5.45am and be relatively quiet and happy, but this is still too early for us. Is there anything else we can do or is this just something she will grow out of in time?

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• 59 Bronwyn // Dec 14, 2008 at 9:45 pm

  Hi Dana
  In January we’re moving house and I was hoping you might have some tips on how to help my 2yo settle in quickly. (He puts himself to sleep each night and usually sleeps thru).
  thanks
  Bronwyn

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• 60 Anne // Dec 15, 2008 at 1:51 pm

  Hi Dana,
  I have used your program very successfully with my son Joseph. He was successfully sleeping through the night for more than 11 hours…. up to about 1 month ago. He is no almost 20 months old and has figured out how to climb out of bed. He took him out of the crib because we felt it was more of a danger to him (he would jump out). Even with barriers around the bed, he still gets out. He has also learned to open the door by himself. He will do this for hours at night, even though he is exhuasted. So I have had to stay in his room until he falls asleep. I try to sit on the floor away from the bed and when he gets out, I just put him back, trying not to draw attention. This works, though sometimes takes an hour. He has now taken to waking during the night. We have tried to let him cry but he’s out of bed within the minute and comes out of bed. This is really dangerous, He has climbed down the stairs before in the dark. We have also found him in our bed once! Any suggestions?
  anne

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• 61 Camille // Dec 15, 2008 at 3:02 pm

  My 6 month old has never slept through the night. He no longer has a feed at 2am but still wakes up for water. After this, he is up almost every 45-60 minutes until 5am, looking for his soother (ie requiring us to give it to him). We have been letting him cry for 5 minute stretches and this seems to be working - he settles down and goes back to sleep, only to wake up again soon after. Then at around 5am he is up for the day. We have been taking him into the spare bed and sleeping with him - and he will sleep until 6:30-7am.
  1. How do we get him to sleep through the night?
  2. How do we get him to go back to sleep, by himself, when he awakens at 5am?
  thx for any help you can give us, and kind regards

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• 62 Sarah // Dec 15, 2008 at 3:22 pm

  Hi Dana,
  We are desperate for your help! Our four month used to wake up twice a night, and now it has progressively gotten worse were now she is waking up 6 TIMES!!! It is really taking a toll on my husband and I. I can barely function during the day, and am so frustrated and overtired myself, that when she is sleeping, I find it hard to sleep myself. Any help is soooo appreciated!
  Sarah

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• 63 Angie // Dec 15, 2008 at 8:17 pm

  Hello Dana
  My 5 1/2 mth old son during both his day time and night time sleeps will half wake crying or even scream out until I go into him (sometimes he may settle himself straight away). I only have to shhh him and he goes back off. He may stay asleep for 10 mins or 40 mins and repeats the crying in his half sleep again. I don’t think it is wind casuing the problem it seems like a security thing. This problem is getting very draining especially at night time. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you

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• 64 JANIS // Dec 17, 2008 at 1:44 am

  I have a 4 month old who was being swaddled and sleeping in a basinet in our room. I have recently stopped swaddling him and moved him to his own room in a crib. Prior to the move he would sleep 5 hours at night, feed and sleep for another 3 hours. Since I have moved him to a crib he is up every 2 hours. How do I get him to sleep the 5 hours again?

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• 65 Karen DePriest // Dec 17, 2008 at 9:33 am

  Hi Dana,
  Thanks so much for the sleep sense book! My husband and I feel like we have our life back now!!! Aubrey is 5 months old and is doing fairly well at night. We start her bedtime routine at 7:00 and most nights she is asleep by 7:30 or 8:00. Some nights she sleeps all night and other nights she wakes up around 3:00 am to eat. She is still small for her age 12.6 pounds so we still feed her if she wakes up. However, naptimes are a challenge for us. She goes to sleep fairly well but will wake up exactly 30 minutes later. When she wakes she is screaming! I go in there and check to make sure she hasn’t rolled over, but I don’t let her see me. I have tried letting her lay there for 20-25 minutes to see if she will go back to sleep on her own, but she never has. I have also tried going in as soon as she wakes up and patting her to see if she will go back to sleep, but that hasn’t worked either. I can tell she is still so sleepy. She takes about 5 or 6 -30 minute naps a day. By bedtime she is so ill and fussy. We implemented the sleep sense plan about a month ago. Is this something she will grow out of? Is there anything else I can try! Thanks so much!!

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• 66 David & Edna Parker // Dec 17, 2008 at 1:13 pm

  Hi Dana,
  Our daughter, Lindze is 11 months old and has never been a very good sleeper. She wakes several times each night, sets up or stands in her crib crying until someone comes to get her. She either needs rocking, cuddled, breast fed, or a combination to get back to sleep. Her naps through the day are usually only cat naps of 20 minutes or so. She is also a very early riser (around 5 AM) and is up for an hour or two before going back to sleep. We have tried all the tricks, spent money on useless books with very little success. We are tired! She is tired! And could really use some help.

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• 67 Kara // Dec 17, 2008 at 1:25 pm

  Hi Dana,
  My son Ashton is 15 weeks old. Me and my husband have a very small one room apartment. We have our son sleeping in a crib in the living room. During the day he takes about 5-6 naps about 30-45 minutes each, sometimes longer. I try to be as quiet as I can. I know he needs long naps, but when he wakes up he’s wide awake and wants to get up. He does sleep 10-11 hours at night and gets up about twice to eat. Please give me some advice to better nap times. Thanks!

  -Kara

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• 68 Fuisan // Dec 18, 2008 at 6:49 pm

  Firstly, thanks a lot for your messages on Qieng’s sleep problem. She doesn’t have any problem of sleeping thru the night already but with her arms wrapped. She is 11 months old now and still has her arms wrapped to sleep. I had tried to leave her arms free many times with no success. She likes to rub her eyes and scratch her ears non stoppingly till her ears bleeding sometimes then cries out for help. What should I do to free her from wrapping because hotter season is coming soon and i really wish that my daughter will have a “cooler” and “freer” Summer. Please advise.

  Than You Very Much!

  Cheers
  Fuisan

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• 69 jackie // Jan 30, 2009 at 3:45 pm

  hi my little boy ryan aged 2years 10 months never sleeps thru the night he wakes 3-4 times crying shouting no no no … and he hits out at either myself or my husband , itsngetting very tiring as weve got 3 other boys 1 9 1 nearly 4 and 1 11 weeks old and when ryan wakes several times his waking the whole family . please help we all need a good nights sleep .

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