79 responses so far ↓

• 1 Lisa // Jun 9, 2009 at 7:45 am

  Hi my 16 month old boy wakes up constantly at around the 4 - 5am mark. He is put to bed whilst still awake around 7.30pm after he has had his evening bottle and does have a dummy. I have tried patting him but he refuses to go back to sleep until frustrated and tired I bring him to bed with me and he seems to fall asleep quite a while later and always ensuring that he has some sort of contact with me eg: holding my arm. touching my face etc. Is this a security issue and how can I get him to sleep through the night?

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• 2 Ann Marie // Jun 9, 2009 at 10:14 am

  Hi
  I have 26 month old boy/girl twins. They are into their toddler beds now but I have been finding they are difficult to settle at bedtime. I have to sit outside their doors until they fall asleep. And when they wake up during the night I find myself doing the same thing. I have begun to cut back their afternoon naps like you suggested to 45 mins - 1 hour to see if this helops at bedtime. Its too soon to tell. ANy other suggestions you may have are gratefully appreciated. Thanks so much for your time.

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• 3 jessica // Jun 9, 2009 at 10:49 am

  dana,
  hi im the mother of a 10month old.my question is how do i get him in his own bed and sleeping threw the nite. hes still waking up 2 eat. plus screaming his head off when it comes to bed time.ive tried the bedtime thing its not working.so anything else i could try?

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• 4 jessica // Jun 9, 2009 at 10:49 am

  dana,
  hi im the mother of a 10month old.my question is how do i get him in his own bed and sleeping threw the nite. hes still waking up 2 eat. plus screaming his head off when it comes to bed time.ive tried the bedtime thing its not working.so anything else i could try?

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• 5 becky // Jun 9, 2009 at 11:53 am

  How do i get kate to stop wakeing up through the night.she is 8weeks old.

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• 6 Jennifer // Jun 9, 2009 at 12:14 pm

  Hello Dana!
  This particular letter couldn’t have come at a better time. My 14 1/2 month old has just started doing what you described above within the last 2 weels, and the behavior has escalated from screaming and crying to actually screaming so hard she gags. I have been going in when she does this, because I have been afraid that she is ill, just to have her think it’s playtime as soon as I get her out of the crib. I have been offering her a breast ( or 2 ) as that’s what has worked to get her to sleep in the past. I think she is training us! Do you have any different advice for me- or would you say I should follow the plan you mentioned above. My husband and I are exhausted, and do not want this to get worse.
  Thanks for all of your help!

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• 7 Julie Moseley // Jun 9, 2009 at 12:16 pm

  My 2 year old now climbs out of his cot so we have transferred him to a cotbed. But it now takes us about 2 hours to put him to bed, as every time we leave the room he gets out of bed, opens the door and wants to play. What can we do?

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• 8 ebony // Jun 9, 2009 at 12:20 pm

  Hi I have a 8 moth old who still won’t go to bed unless he is rocked and then when I put him down he’ll wake upafter 4 hours and has to be rocked back to sleep but he’ll keep waking up every 2 to 4 hours unless he’s sleeping in the bed with me and even then he’ll wake up atleast once. I’ve tried laying him down letting him cry it out and that hasn’t worked he screamed for a straight hour an 15 min and as soon as I picked him cause I couldn’t take it anymore he went right to sleep. I don’t know what to do this is my first child and I already feel like I screwed up since he doesn’t know how to self soothe . I haven’t had a full nights sleep since justin was born and the worst thing about this is that I just started work a month ago and I work at night now so every time I come home he wakes up thinks its time to play and this at 12 midnight. Please help iam lost and I have no idea so say he will grow out of it others say to use the cry it out method please tell me whatsthe best thing to do in this situation

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• 9 Rachel Melnychuk // Jun 9, 2009 at 12:24 pm

  Hello,
  My 2month old son is waking between 5 and 5:30am EVERY morning regardless of what time I put him to bed. I have tried earlier bedtimes and later bedtimes with no success. Even if he wakes at 4am for feeding, he will be awake again at the usual 5 or 5:30am. Help, he has no sleep associations with nursing or soothers, and has a regular bedtime routine of nursing, bath and bed. He is still eating anywhere between 2 to 4hours throughout the day. At night we can usually get one 4-5 hour stretch of sleep and then he is up every 2 hours, typically ending with him wide awake at 5/5:30. HELP, i don’t want to be up this early, especially since I have a toddler who gets up at 7am too. How do I get my son to get up later and sleep more at night? thanks, Rachel.

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• 10 Katia Maravi // Jun 9, 2009 at 12:28 pm

  Hi, first of all I wanted to thank you for the wonderfull program you have created. I implemented the program on my daughter when she was 5 months, it worked great, by the third night she was sleeping from 7pm to 7am, this lasted about a month, now she’s waking up at 5:30am every morning… this is too early for me and I’m specially worried because we are in day light saving time and it will be 4:30am if she keeps this up past summer time! Also I read that by now, at 7 months she should be getting two naps a day, but since she wakes up so early its impossible to only have 2 naps… what should I do?

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• 11 Wissal Alayashi // Jun 9, 2009 at 12:54 pm

  I have Riahana, she is now 3 years old. my problem with her is when the time bed comes, she just hates to sleep, and instead of that she just wants to watch cartoon movie..
  Every day she goes to bed at 11:00 am
  She also takes about a 1:30 nap in her day care. I ask the stuff in the day care to do not let her sleep so much but nothing changed.
  I try to read a story every day for her but that does not work with her.. She still sleep at 11:00 am , and of course she refuses to get up early in the morning..
  And as I mentioned before, when she watch a cartoon movie, she just sticks with it for long hours.

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• 12 Wissal Alayashi // Jun 9, 2009 at 12:56 pm

  I’m sorry for a typing mistick which is 11:00 pm in the night not in the morning.

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• 13 Monique Davis // Jun 9, 2009 at 1:07 pm

  My son is 16 months old and he goes to sleep on his own (well with a pacifier) and takes his naps. My problems is when we go out of town he doesn’t sleep well if he isn’t in his own crib and it messes up his pattern when he gets back home. Do you have any tips because we have several trips scheduled for the summer.

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• 14 Emily // Jun 9, 2009 at 1:23 pm

  My 21 month old daughter has slept through the night maybe 5 times since birth. From 3-6 months of age my daughter would sleep for 4 hour periods at night before waking. From 7-11 months of age my daughter had chronic ear infections and would wake every couple of hours. During this time period, I ended up co-sleeping with her because I was too exhausted to get up that often and she would sleep better with me. Once she got tubes in her ears and the ear infections cleared up, she still continued to wake every couple of hours. I’ve been trying to get her to sleep in her bed and sleep through the night. I can now successfully get her in her bed to sleep without much trouble but she still continues to wake every 3 hours. When she wakes at night it takes much longer for her to go to sleep. She won’t go to sleep without me in the room. I have to sneak out once she’s asleep. I don’t know how to get her to go to sleep without me in the room. I’m hoping once she can effectively get to sleep on her own this will help with her night wakings.

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• 15 Kari Beacom // Jun 9, 2009 at 1:36 pm

  Hello,
  My son will be 2 next month and has had a problem with early rising for most of his life. I’ve read several books and I am very consistant with him. He falls asleep (on his own) between 6:30 and 7:30pm. His wake up time is generally 5am-5:30am, and it’s as early as 4:30 about twice a week. I can handle 5:30 (I believe he’s naturally an early riser) but 4:30 is too early. His nap is from 12 or 12:30pm to about 2pm (in his crib at home and I do not let him skip this nap or the day is ruined). I’ve tried putting him to bed later, but then he is almost guaranteed to wake up at 4:30 am the next morning! I try not to go to him until 5:30am–he does not go back to sleep, though. If I ever try to bring him to my bed, he just wants to play, not sleep. He will not go back to sleep if I give him some milk. He’s a very sensitive little guy in all aspects of his personality…and he does get overtired quite easily. I’ve emailed two sleep “consultants” online and neither of them have been able to help. I’m exhausted, and this has gone on way too long.

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• 16 Shakerra // Jun 9, 2009 at 1:53 pm

  Hello,
  I’m the mother of a 2 year-old and my problem is that I put him to bed every night at 8pm and he lays in bed wide awake until he falls asleep around 11pm. Then he wakes up between 1am and 2 am and he won’t go back to sleep unless I lay down with him. I don’t want to sleep in his bed and I don’t want him in my bed either. Is this an issue with being too attached to me? Like most mothers with this problem, I am tired most of the time from sleepless nights. What can i do?

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• 17 Queenie // Jun 9, 2009 at 2:12 pm

  Hi Dana,
  My 16 month old has been sleeping really well and I recently lost my job and her sleeping habits changed. I pick her up from day care at 5:30 pm and she falls asleep around 7:00 pm after a bath and dinner and she wakes up everyday at around 12:00 am and will not go back to bed till 2:00 am. Then she does not want to wake up in the morning. I have tried to keep her home and when I do she takes a nap at 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm and then I keep her awake but she falls asleep like clock work at 7:00 pm. What can I do to get her back sleeping all night?

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• 18 Jeannette in NZ // Jun 9, 2009 at 2:53 pm

  Hi I have a nearly 4 year old who wakes every night at about 2am and comes into my room wanting to get into bed with me (I put her back in her own bed every time often with a lot of noise from her and sometimes it takes a hour of keep on putting her back to bed!) how do I stop her waking at 2am every night? should I try and stir her at 130am each night for a while so she then goes back to sleep and sleeps past 2am or what! it is driving me insane as I then have to go to work the next day.

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• 19 hadassa // Jun 9, 2009 at 2:56 pm

  hi my son is 8.5 months old and he goes to sleeep around 8 pm sleeping very nicely till about 6am.is there anything i can do to make him sleep until 7 at least.we are going crazy from getting up so early.

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• 20 cindy ellison // Jun 9, 2009 at 3:31 pm

  My Emily is almost 2.5 years old. I am having issues with her sleeping in her own bed/crib, if I put her to bed in her room at bed time, she just screams and wont stop. If by luck she does fall asleep, when she wakes up in the middle of the night and I am not there,she will scream until i come in her room. If i put her in my bed she goes right to sleep, I know that this is not right. i just don’t know what to do anymore. Could you please give me some pointers on what I should do. Thank you for your time.

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• 21 Lisa // Jun 9, 2009 at 4:02 pm

  I have a 4 month old baby who wakes all through the night. He goes anywhere from 6-7pm. I was doing a dream feed for about the first 3 months as it worked really well for my first son. I stopped the dream feed as it never gave me longer gaps between feeds through the night. He goes much longer if I just leave him. He has eczema from head to toe but is under control. I wondered if that woke him. He also has his hands in his mouth when I go to settle him through the night. Teething? As soon as he is given the dummy he settles and goes back to sleep. I don’t give him the dummy when he first goes to sleep. He can wake 4 times before we even get to bed ourselves which is 9 - 9.30. I have epilepsy so the constant waking is really taking its toll. I am trying to figure out what is waking him but just cant. I thought the eczema, but thats under control. Maybe teething but it stops as soon as the dummy goes in, doesn’t pain keep going and he is fine during the day. So maybe its because the dummy has fallen out,but he doesn’t go to bed with it. Any help would be great.

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• 22 Sharon Piscopia // Jun 9, 2009 at 4:24 pm

  My one year old is now sleeping through the night from 7:30 pm to 5 am. How do I get her to sleep later in the morning without keeping her up to 9 pm? She takes two one and a half hour naps during the day. If I eliminate a nap the night time is terrible!

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• 23 HELEN // Jun 9, 2009 at 4:26 pm

  My my baby takes a nap, she will only sleep for 40-45 minutes, (one sleep cycle) whether indoors or in her pushchair. In addition, sometimes after she has fallen asleep for the night, she will awaken after 40-45 minutes crying one or twice before settling for the night.Why is this? How can we stop this? Thanks!

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• 24 helen // Jun 9, 2009 at 4:55 pm

  how can i get my 18 month old son to sleep longer in the morning? he gets up at 4.30 - 5am every morning. it doesnt matter if i keep him up later the night before. he has a night time routine of going upstairs, wind down time, bath, story in bed, bottle. he goes to bed when awake, with a dummy and settles himself to sleep within 20 mins. he usually doesnt get out of bed but if he does he is returned to bed with minimal fuss. however come 4.30am, he wakes, starts crying and when we go to return him to bed and leaving the room it turns into a tantrum lasting until 6am. we return him to bed multiple times within this time until we all get up. we have tried to stick to this for a fortnight, but he is not sleeping any longer and still cries constantly until everyone is up. i have a 3 month old baby, who is in our room currently and who wakes every 3-4 hours for feed. i dont want them to share a room until both are sleeping better for fear of having no sleep at all!
  PLEASE HELP

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• 25 sarah // Jun 9, 2009 at 5:31 pm

  Aiden is 5 month old now and never falls asleep by himself. I usually have to nurse him to sleep or let him suck my finger which i know is terrible but he will not have a dummy. If he wakes up he cries for me even if he’s not hungy. I als stuggle to get him to nep through the day. Usually 20-30 mins and then he is really gumpy an unhappy as the day goes on. I on’t know what to do t help him?

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• 26 Rach // Jun 9, 2009 at 6:26 pm

  Hi, How do I get my 6wk old son Luke to sleep past the 45min sleep/wake cycle during the day. He sleeps about 8 hours solid through the night.

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• 27 mary s // Jun 9, 2009 at 6:48 pm

  Hi Dana,
  My 8 month old daughter is constantly waking up during the night. She will wake up at least 5 or 6 times each time I have to nurse her to go back to sleep. Usually she nurses for a minute or two before falling back asleep. Also, she refuses to sleep in her crib therefore is sleeping with me. Also, she doesn’t nap for very long during the day, a total of one hour usually and she wakes up between 7:30-8:00 am. So by 6:00 she’s pretty tired and she is ready for bed but since she won’t sleep in her crib I have to nurse her so she could fall asleep and then she wakes up constantly until morning. I have tried rocking her to sleep and lying down next to her but it’s like a game to her, she just keeps moving. Sometimes she will wake up after an hour and won’t fall back asleep for another few hours even though she’s rubbing her eyes and yawning. She just wants to play. Her routine during the day is pretty much the same each day and the bedtime routine is that I change her into pyjamas and give her a bottle (I’m trying to wean her off nursing) and put her down. But like I said she won’t fall asleep on her own, and I have to nurse her to sleep and then constantly wakes up. Please help.

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• 28 Inez // Jun 9, 2009 at 7:27 pm

  Hi Dana,
  We live in a 2 bedroom apartment and are about to have our second child. We plan on having the new baby in our bedroom in the beginning, but at what age would you recommend that our two children will be able to share a room? My son is 2 1/2. And what tips do you have to making the successful transition?

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• 29 Kirstylee // Jun 9, 2009 at 7:42 pm

  I have a 2.5yr old girl who is extremely well developed cognitively and with language. I cannot get her to sleep at night. Our routine is dinner with cup of milk, bath time, brush teeth, read books, say goodnight, go to bed. She keeps coming straight out of her room, this goes on from about 8pm til midnight. She won’t fall asleep on the couch. She will go to sleep in either the spare room or mine but only if I’m laying in there with her. Nevertheless, she still wakes a few hours later, if she’s in my bed she kicks and cries, if she’s in the spare bed she comes straight to my bed. I try not to have her screaming at me all night because I have a 7mth old who sleeps and I don’t want him woken up. What do I do?

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• 30 Marny // Jun 9, 2009 at 8:19 pm

  I have the same problem as Helen above-only 45min sleeps which is starting to affect night time too. My daughter is 6 weeks old and does fall asleep on her own usually.

  Sometimes if I leave her long enough she’ll go back to sleep but usually she cries until she’s up. Then of course she’s tired and when due the next feed falls asleep during it. She’s so exhausted by bed time that she sleeps well during the night.

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• 31 Melissa // Jun 9, 2009 at 9:16 pm

  Hi Dana
  How are you? I am having a very hard time with my 13 month old son. He is getting up two to three times a night. At bedtime, we wash hands, brush teeth, a story and then i nurse him (which I know is more then half the problem) most night he falls asleep nursing. After I put him in his crib he stays asleep for a few hours then he is up crying and needs to be put back to sleep. I know that he is not able to put himself to sleep (thanks to me and nursing him every night ) but we are transitiong to milk so I thought it might be a good time to break the habit. I just don’t want to have to make him scream and cry to he falls asleep ( plus he stands up crying, falls over and I am afraid he is going to hurt himself). Please help. I need to get more then three hours of sleep. Thanks

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• 32 Cathy Hillert // Jun 9, 2009 at 9:25 pm

  Before I start I’m pretty sure I know what you’ll say ..however… I’m very soft hearted and at the moment things are manageable yet it would be better to have my son become less dependent.

  Seth is 14 months old and at 6 months stopped sleeping through the night. He is now teething with molars …

  We have a very good bedtime routine and he will fall asleep in his crib .. but never alone.
  He does like to be touched and then falls asleep.

  When he wakes around 1:00 am to 4:00 am.. I will bring him in bed with me and he sleeps until 7:00 am..

  I’m sure I could get him down if I stayed by the crib however this method has got me the most amount of sleep … Call me selfish.

  Ideas??

  Cath

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• 33 reem // Jun 9, 2009 at 9:31 pm

  hi Dana
  my baby is 15 monthes old,he goes to bed at 7:30 pm and wakes up at 5:00 am sharp,I give him a bottle at this hour in the morning but that’s it,his day is started and he wont go back to sleep until 3 hours later,so is this normal or you have a suggestion for me?
  thanks

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• 34 kathryn // Jun 9, 2009 at 9:54 pm

  Hi,
  isabel is almost 8 months old now and i am lucky to get 3 hours of her sleeping in a row at night for her first strech, after that she will wake up every hour or half an hour, so i end up putting ehr in my bed with me but she still wakes up alot… i have a routine every night and its always the same but i have to feed her to sleep otherwise she will scream her head off in the cot until we pick her up again…. how can i get her to sleep for longer???

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• 35 Rachel // Jun 9, 2009 at 10:26 pm

  Hi, I have a 12mth old daughter who wakes once or twice each night and who is waking at 5.00 - 5.30am every morning. I put her to bed at 7.30pm after a bath, story and breastfeed and she also has a dummy. Some days she is having one nap and sometimes two. I also have a 3.5yr old who is sleeping in our bed everynight and refuses to sleep in her own bed. We moved about 4 months ago and she has never slept in her own room and is now waiting until we go to bed until she sleeps. I would ideally like both girls to share a room, but the 3.5yr old is so verbal that she keeps everyone awake. Please help, my relationship with my husband is becoming non existent and we are both very unhappy and feeling like robots.

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• 36 Renae // Jun 9, 2009 at 11:45 pm

  Hi Dana, my daughter is now 5 months old and still wakes every 2 hours in the night for the breast. I have tried to ignore her but she gets really wound up crying until I give it to her. She has a routine which is bath at 6 pm then breast feed and sleep around 7 to 7:30. From then on she will wake me every 2 hours. How can i overcome this problem and get more sleep?

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• 37 Laura // Jun 9, 2009 at 11:50 pm

  My son just turned 12 months. He won’t go to sleep on his own if i put him in his crib. He is very active, and when it is time for a nap, i usually have to hold him still or have him so he can’t move about. Once he’s asleep, he does sleep long enough. He usually will wake once at night, so i tend to put him in bed with me, i know i shouldn’t, even though its so easy to do.

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• 38 Kelly // Jun 9, 2009 at 11:58 pm

  My son Lincoln who is 4 and a half months is now sleeping quite well through the night sometimes right thru or with me only up once or twice which is a big improvement. My struggle is still with the daytime sleeps. He has always been a 40 min catnapper in bed and he still does this even though he can put himself to sleep. He is still tired and if i rock him he will sleep for another hour on me. Any ideas?

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• 39 Lisa // Jun 10, 2009 at 1:15 am

  Hi Dana,
  I have a 6 and a 1/2 month old who is 9 times out of 10 very good at settling himself during the day occasionally we will have to go in and pat him on the chest or stand beside his cot to help him go to sleep. My son did have a dummy as a newborn as it was suggested by a speach pathalogist due to feeding problems but we no longer use that as I personnaly don’t lilke them so he does self settle without any comforters. However of an evening after our rigid night time routine of tea, bath, story, feed than bed awake he will not self settle. We have to stand in his room patting or rubbing his chest as I refuse to pick him up as I do not have to do this during the day. He eventually goes to sleep but will than wake at 11-12pm and than again at 2-3 and again at 4-5. He was sleeping all night from 4 weeks up until 4 months now he wakes numerous times through out the night. I tried giving him a dream feed at 10:30 and started a rigid routine throughout the day with feeding and nap times (before I was demand feeding) in the hope that this would help. He still wakes. I don’t know what else to do. I also have a very active 2 year old. My husband and I really need sleep soon. Thankyou.

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• 40 Jay // Jun 10, 2009 at 1:20 am

  Hello Dana, from the beginning my daughter was born i kind of spoil her with rocking and singing each-time (night and day) whenever to put her sleep, and now she’s already 3 months old and weight 12 lb. she still need to be-rocking and singing otherwise she’s NEVER fall asleep and continue creaming and cry until i pick her up to rocking and singing until she sleeping than only i put her in the bassinet.

  What should i do to stop this habits. And let her sleep by her own.

  Thank you.

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• 41 Jacqui // Jun 10, 2009 at 1:58 am

  Hi Dana,
  I have a similar problem to Ebony. My 8 month old goes to bed after a routine at approx. 7.30pm - she is put into her cot drowsy but awake. I wait in the room next to the cot until she falls asleep. After following your advice after a period of waking often through the night, she has been finally sleeping quite well (only waking a couple of times a night and easy to put back to sleep). However, recently she has started waking a few times through the night and crying hysterically. I have tried soothing her without lifting her from the cot but it is not working anymore. She cries until I pick her up and then falls asleep immediately until I put her back in to the cot and it all starts again! I am giving up after an hour of this at around 3 or 4 in the morning and bringing her into our bed. Please help!

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• 42 Katie // Jun 10, 2009 at 2:25 am

  Axel is 8months old and when he is tired he lets you know however everytime i put him in the cot he crys and cry til he puts himself to sleep, he know’s i don’t go in and pick him up so i’m just wondering why he does this.

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• 43 Janice // Jun 10, 2009 at 2:49 am

  Hi Dana, Been looking at your website for some time. My grandson Jac is 10 1/2 months old but unfortunately has only just been started on a sleep routine. I look after him 2 days a week and am trying to get him into a routine of sleeping in his cot for his naps during the day. I have managed to to this but he cries so much before he goes off to sleep it breaks my heart. Is there anything you can suggest. I dont want him to be upset all the time

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• 44 Jenny Denman // Jun 10, 2009 at 3:59 am

  My baby is 15 months old and is still breast fed. I can distract her from feeding her during the day, so thats no problem, but I need help to stop the breast feeding at night. I can manage to get her to sleep at around 8pm without feeding her, but during the night, she wakes up several times and wont go down again without a feed. She refuses the dummy and any bottle/beaker with cows milk. Please help as I work full time and am losing a lot of sleep and feel exausted.

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• 45 Kavita // Jun 10, 2009 at 5:24 am

  my son turns a year in 2 weeks time. he has to be walked to rocked to sleep. although he just takes 10 mins to fall asleep he wakes up twice n the night and would not get back to sleep unless he is breastfed. some nights he will just cling to d feed and not let go. help….

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• 46 Thena // Jun 10, 2009 at 8:01 am

  Hi, How do I get my 13 month old son Xander to sleep through the night? He currently wakes up just about every night for a little milk.
  I can not get him to eat good for me at dinner enough to be full from that and his last serving of Milk before bed time. When I put him to sleep I can litterally here his stomach grawling. I then know it will only be a matter of hours that he will wake up. I don’t want him to keep waking up for milk, but in the same sense he is still hungry. Please give me some advice, I desperately need some.

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• 47 sarah barnston // Jun 10, 2009 at 2:02 pm

  Hi
  My 8 mth old stopped sleeping at 12 weeks old and has progressively got worse. We have tried a number of techniques which led up to gradual withdrawel and then controlled crying. Nothing has worked. The controlled crying showed no improvement after 2 weeks of distress. He goes to bed at 7 and then wakws anytime after about 40 minutes. This can then go on through the night. Normally waking at midnight, 2, 3 4 and then we struggle to get him back to sleep. He crys hysterically at night and will not settle unless picked up. Even then it sometimes takes over 30 minutes to settle him again. Please help!

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• 48 Heather // Jun 10, 2009 at 3:15 pm

  dana,

  my 2nd daughter is 2 1/2 months old and does not sleep through the night or take very good naps. Ive layed her down for naps awake and she got herself to sleep, but she doesnt do it every time.most of the time she crys so i go get her,she has slept for 5-6 hours before but not always. im not a schedule kind of person and i dont want to let her cry it out but im at the end of my rope…my lack of sleep is affecting my mood and my relationship w/ my husband and older daughter… i dont have your book yet b/c im affraid ill have to put her on a schedule and i wont be able to stick w/ it…but im desperate!!!
  please help

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• 49 Caroline // Jun 10, 2009 at 7:45 pm

  I have a 2 month old who seems to take her naps quite pleasantly but often times will SCREAM her head off. I’m not sure why she is doing this? Could it be that she is over tired or over stimulated? How do I correct this? I feel like the worst mommy when I can’t console her. Please help.

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• 50 Michelle // Jun 10, 2009 at 8:10 pm

  Hi Dana,

  I am finally getting my 15mth old to try and sleep on his own after him being used to getting rocked. For the most part the night is going OK. ( He cries out for a few minute s before settling down and falling asleep). My problem is nap times. I try winding him down and putting on his music (as I do at night) tell him is nap time, and then the drama starts as soon as I put him in the crib. I have been letting him cry a little and going in every 5-10 min put him back down telling him it’s nap time, but as soon as I leave the room he cries. We did this for about 1 and a half hours untill we had to get on with our day and I took him out of the crib. I am not sure what to do, as I don’t want him to think that if he cries long enough mommy will come get him out.
  He’s never been much of a napper, but now he is not napping at all! Can you point me in the right direction please?!

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• 51 Annmarie // Jun 10, 2009 at 9:20 pm

  Hi, Please help Me! Jaxon is a 2 and a half year old who has never slept through the night! He had a rough start to life, being resusitated and was on life support for his first 9 days of life, followed by a life saving heart operation. At 18 months old he would still scream every night, all night every hour, we were told in the end to ignore him - and to lock him in his room and wear ear plugs! I knew this wasn’t normal - I was at the doctors with him jusy about every week!! Finally it was then discovered he had a double hernia on his stomach!!!! Which was probably responsible for him screaming every night in pain, every hour, for 18 months!!! We thought the operation would solve the problem. However it cured the screaming but not the waking during the night! I now believe he is medically fit and well, but has these “wake up all night habits” imbedded in him. How can I break these habits? He goes to bed perfectly, however wakes 3-4 times after 12pm - gets up quietly and destroys the house - raids the pantry, turns microwave on, taps on, turns every thing upside down!! It is now a safety issue, I’m worried he might turn on the oven, gas hobbs or jug on next, and burn the house down, or receive a nasty injury. So, I have had to lock him in his bedroom. I wear hearing aids, so I don’t hear him get up! I’ve tried to bribe him - but he doesn’t really care - or can’t help himself. Also put him back to bed - as you suggest - however he just doesn’t get it! My mother thinks he needs to be medicated - however I think it’s a real behavour issue and we must be able to sort this behaviour out!? It is now putting deep strain on our whole family.We are in big trouble and terriably sleep deprived. Do you think you can help us please or are we beyond help, is it too late????

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• 52 Karen Quist // Jun 11, 2009 at 12:03 am

  Hi Dana,
  Thankyou for your help, I am putting into practice what you have suggested. Just another question, my son often trys to put his fingers down his throut to throw up, usually happens during the day, not every day. Sometimes he will try to put his fingers down his throut even if he is happy and content. Do you know why this is happening? Also with the message i sent before about his sleeping and waking up twice at night for a feed. Sorry I didnt get a chance to read your answer properly. However Hayden sleeps well only to wake twice at night for a feed. He is almost one and I would like towean him off his feeds…does this have something to do with the way I put him down to bed. Often I rock and relax him then put him down to sleep. I am bit by bit using the method you suggested with his sleeping, where I let him work out how he can put himself to sleep. But does this tie in with his feeds at night? If he works out how to put himself to sleep will he still wake up for his feeds? Karen

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• 53 Angie DaSilva // Jun 11, 2009 at 3:40 am

  I need help. I have an 8 month old daughter. She goes to sleep just fine at night. We have a bath, say good nights to her grandparents (who we live with), nurse, read a story, go to sleep. It’s nap time that is killing me. Part of the problem is that I have no support from my mother in law. She is the controlling force in this house. She tells me that the baby is sleeping way too much. I track her daily sleep and she averages about 12 hours a day from midnight to midnight. All of us think of nap time as a negative thing because the baby puts up quite a fight. I know she is tired cause she will be moving around out of control. She normally has very smooth movement but when she is tired she starts to twitch and gets real hyper and rub her eyes. My mother in law thinks that she is not tired and that is why she is fighting it and getting so hyper, but as soon as I nurse her she falls asleep with in a few minutes… some of the time. I know my baby needs more sleep but my mother in law starts big fights my husband about it if she hears the baby cry. What can I do to get her to take her naps? Me, my husband, and baby all share a room, but I do prepare the room for naps before each nap (make sure the tv is off, close the blinds and curtains, turn on her white noise). Even if she has to cry out I can put up with the fights as long as I know that we are on the right path. Thanks for your time.

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• 54 Karina O'Malley // Jun 11, 2009 at 4:16 am

  Hi Dana,
  My daughter sarah is 7mts old. She can be very sleepy during the day she wakes between 7 and 8am. Then around 9, 9.30am she’s getting tired again and will sleep for 45mins approx. During the day she could have 2 to 3 more naps before her night sleep. She always goes down awake. Her night time routine is her tea at 6.30 or 7 then a bath around 8 after her bath her bottle then bed at 9. she will be very tired at this stage but goes down awake. She wakes then any time betweeen 4 to 6am i do not lift her i give her teddy and go back to bed she will cry and cry but eventually will fall asleep. This does not happen every nite some nites she will sleep all night till 7. My question is, am i putting her to bed too late should i be doing things differently as she can be so tired just after waking.
  karina

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• 55 Alison // Jun 11, 2009 at 8:24 am

  Hi, My Daughter is 18months old and still doesn’t sleep through the night, she falls asleep by herself every night after a good bedtime routine, she can wake up between 1 to 10 times a night, she used to stand up and scream when you tried to put her back to bed and could take upto 2hours to resettle, so she came into our room for a few nights and I decided we couldn’t go on like this so left her to cry for alittle while each night and gradullay it has worked but she still cries out but is lay down if you give her her dummy it seems to work for a few hours then she is awake again, sometimes she has her dummy so I rub her back which works. My question is how do I get her to sleep through the night without wanting her dummy given to her? Please help as I have to work full time and am exhausted!!!

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• 56 nathalie twyman // Jun 11, 2009 at 10:10 am

  My youngest son is 8 months old. he goes to bed at 7pm and sleeps through the night however for the last few weeks he’s been waking at 5.30 am every morning. i’ve tried giving him a bottle, changing him, and putting him back to bed but nothing seems to work. i even tried putting him to bed at 8.30 pm but he still wakes at the same time. because he’s awake so early so goes back to bed at 8.00 am when the rest of the family is getting up. what should i do?

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• 57 julie // Jun 11, 2009 at 11:48 am

  My 15 month old is waking earlier and earlier. It has now got to 5.30am which is killing me as I have to go to work. If I just leave him, his cries get louder and louder and when I do eventually get up with him, he is quite upset for some time. Is it just the lighter nights?

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• 58 Jill // Jun 11, 2009 at 2:49 pm

  Hi,
  I have a 19mo old who would fall alseep at night on his own. All of a sudden, he screams and yells Mama on and on once you leave the room. We have started to use the technique of going in every 10 minutes to reassure him. Its helping, we are down from 2hrs of crying to 30minutes, but now he is refusing to nap. He won’t even lay down. All he does is scream and call my name. Please help. I work nights and his naps are the only sleep I get before I go in.
  Thank you,
  Jill

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• 59 Ashley // Jun 11, 2009 at 8:44 pm

  My 22 month old was a great sleeper. Now we also have a 2 week old. Our 22 month old is having trouble getting himself to sleep at night now, not sleeping through the night like he used to, and is also struggling to go down for a nap during the day. How do I get my 22 month old back on his good sleeping routine with a 2 week old in the house? PLEASE help!!!! Thank you!!!

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• 60 beth // Jun 11, 2009 at 11:49 pm

  When my daughter turned 2 , I transformed her crib into a toddler bed. Since then, she knows that she can get out of bed when she wants. During the night about 2-3a.m. she will climb into my bed and want to sleep. Then my husband and I don’t get any sleep. How should I go about keeping her in her own bed thru the night? Put a gate at her door? Should I have kept the crib up as long as she wasn’t climbing out of it? I feel that I transformed her bed before her time. Any suggestions will help. Thanks and God Bless.

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• 61 rou // Jun 12, 2009 at 8:39 am

  Hello!
  How do I get my 5 week old daughter to sooth herself to sleep. I settlle her on me and put her down when she is drowsy. She then cries out when she realises she is in her moses basket. I repeat the procedure, which needs to be done several times.
  Please help. Thank you

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• 62 Sharon // Jun 12, 2009 at 2:17 pm

  Very tired Mommy here!!!
  Please help me. I recently went back to work only to to have my 4 month old to start waking up several times a night! He goes down around 8-9 p.m. I have tried earlier/later. No such luck…still gets up! Here how it goes…first wake up…I give him a pacifier. Second time he gets a bottle (formula) 3) I am so tired I pick him up and put him on the floor and sleep next to him…he falls asleep (as do I) when i wake up from the uncomfortable floor I put him into his crib. I he wakes up again…sometime he comes to my bed. I do NOT want to co sleep. I do not get assistance from the husband. Please help me. Ideas?? anything something???

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• 63 Jennifer // Jun 12, 2009 at 7:41 pm

  My child Ryan is 2 mo old. Here’s how this began, on about the 5th day that Ryan was home my Husband decided to have Ryan sleep on his chest because my husband kept waking me up to check him; due to the fact that he was worried about the swaddle blanket and not being able to see him in his bassent because it was on my side of the bed. Well now Ryan won’t stay asleep unless he falls asleep on my husband or myself. So now my husband is back in our bed, but i am banished to the couch with Ryan. I have bought a snuggle nest which is a Co sleeper to try to help my husbands worries, but Ryan will be sleeping on me and when i place him in this snuggle nest he wakes up screaming and then the only thing i can do to get him to settle down is to feed him and take him out the the couch and have him sleep on my chest. What should i do, i want to be able to sleep in my own bed again and be able to sleep all night.

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• 64 EILEEN // Jun 13, 2009 at 3:30 am

  hi i have a 17 mo girl and whenever it’s time for a nap or it’s bed time she always wants me to lay with her till she falls asleep and i dont want to lay with her till she falls asleep but she starts crying till i lay back down with her then i sometimes end up falling asleep with her and shes so happy taht i’m there in her bed when she awakes how do i get out of this. from stuck in my daughters bed.

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• 65 Michelle G // Jun 13, 2009 at 6:36 am

  Hi Dana,
  Would it be possible to explain a child’s sleep cycle eg; wakes after 45 mins of being asleep!! Also whether it is in Rem or Non Rem Sleep in which this occurs and what age does or doesn’t it stop!! I hope this makes sense to you!!
  Thanks alot would be very much appreciated!!

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• 66 Angie // Jun 13, 2009 at 3:47 pm

  Hi Dana! We have been following your program since our little girl was about 3 months old and things have been great! She is now 17 months and things have been changing these last few months. Her bedtime is between 7:00-7:30pm and she use to wake around 7:00-7:30am. After a couple months ago that changed to 6:00-6:30am (still with a 7:00-7:30pm bedtime), now it’s 5:30am! I can’t keep getting up earlier! I don’t want our wake up time to be any earlier than 6:00am. I’ve tried letting her cry a little in her crib but once it becomes persistant (and she’s yelling “Mommy, Mommy”) I just get her and start our day. Then at 7:30am or so she’s ready for a nap! I’m also wondering if it might be time to try to move from 2 naps to just one. She lays down easily for her first nap but the last week or so she protests her afternoon naps even though she seems clearly tired. I looked back through your book for suggestions since I haven’t read it since the ‘infant’ stage but I’m hesitant to make too many changes at once. Where do I start?
  Thank you,
  Angie

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• 67 kylie amai // Jun 13, 2009 at 5:13 pm

  Hi my son is 18 mth old and he is still hving 3-4 bottles (220mls) a day, that is not bothering me soo much it is more the fact that he is waking 1 or 2 times a night wanting milk, finishing a whole bottle each time, I am finding this real tiring and not sure how to counteract it, its it bacause he is not full, he is being naughty, he is restless, he is thirsty, could you help us out we need some sleep, just a note this is a new thing he was a good sleeper all night till a 2 months ago
  thankyou Kylie

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• 68 anita price // Jun 14, 2009 at 1:01 am

  Hi There,
  Can you let me know if it is possible to change sleep habits during the day. My daughter shows no tired signs and if I’m lucky and time it right she may sleep for 40 minutes every hour but usually fights it. She sleeps great a night.

  Thanks
  Anita

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• 69 natalie peterson // Jun 14, 2009 at 5:01 am

  Hi Dana, Sebastian is nearly 2 and we have another baby on the way due early october. How do I go about putting seb into a toddler bed. He is a very strong willed child and im a bit scared to do the transition because i love my sleep. What can i do? Thanks Natalie

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• 70 carrie // Jun 14, 2009 at 5:06 am

  my son is nearly 10 months old now..
  He wakes wide awake at 4.30am he is always in a good mood telling stories i never feed him this early but is there a way to try getting him sleeping longer??
  He never goes to slep too late and even if he did he still up early he never has a nap till after dinner time which varies between 30 mins to an hour.
  I.ve tried to get him to have a nap in morning but he fights with me and is quite happy crawling around.
  My mother in law keeps nagging at me to try keep him up so late at night so he sleeps longer in the morning she wants me to put up with him fighting it which i’d rather not happen.
  I’d much prefer to have a night to myself than a morning.
  I’d just like to find a way to try getting him to sllep till 7am

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• 71 Noelle // Jun 14, 2009 at 11:40 pm

  I feel like I haven’t TRULY slept in over 3 years! I started out as a single mom with my first daughter. Because it was just her and I, I created a bad habit by letting her sleep in my bed most of the night. I always started her out in her own bed, but she’d inevitably wake up and I’d give in to let her sleep with me. I am now married and have just had another baby. She is 3 weeks old, and sleeps like a typical newborn, but now that my older one has to stay in her own bed, she wakes up about 3 or 4 times a night and WILL NOT go back to sleep unless someone (me) lays with her. It’s very hard to cope with the newborn schedule, when my 3 year old still wakes up all night as well. My husband and I end up playing “musical beds” we call it, going back and forth between children all night long. We are running on empty. Please help me figure out a way to keep my 3 year old from waking up all night without someone next to her.

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• 72 Nikki Keep // Jun 15, 2009 at 7:41 am

  Hi

  I can’t get my son to go to sleep without rocking him. I put him down in his cot when he is 95% asleep and he screams and screams. I end up having to pick him up and rock him again. Can you give some advice on what I can do? He is nearly 4 months old.

  Thanks so much

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• 73 Christine Wyatt // Jun 15, 2009 at 7:54 pm

  I’m going crazy, my 5 month old will only nap during the day for 40 minutes. He sleeps perfectly at night from 7pm til between 6 and 7am. We have a great routine; 6pm bath, 6.30 dinner then 7pm he puts himself off to sleep. We give him at feed at 10.30pm without waking generally. He feeds at 7am, 11am, 3pm and 6.30pm. Our routine during the day is bed at 9am hoping he’ll sleep through till 11am and 1pm hoping he’ll sleep till 3pm, which has only occurred on the very rare occasion. We nappy change, swaddle and sing a song before he puts himself off to sleep. But he’s awake 40 minutes later… 40 minutes which can be timed to the minute. Obviously this is not enough for him because from about 4.30 on I’m ready to pull out my hair. To make matters worse I work from home and he has a cleft palate which requires me to express. I barely have time to express in the 40 minutes let alone get any work done. What can I do?

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• 74 Candice Hunter // Jun 15, 2009 at 10:52 pm

  Hi Dana, i have a 4.5 mth old little girl who goes to sleep at around 7/7.30 pm and wakes between 12 and 4 am for a feed. should i do a dream feed to try and stop that or should i just keep going with what im doing?? the other thing is should i just stop it completly??

  Thank you
  Candice Hunter

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• 75 colleen // Jun 15, 2009 at 11:36 pm

  Hi,
  My 15 month old Zoe is waking up a few times a night, iam lost what to do…she goes down awake,no dummy,no rocking/patting feeding to sleep, 1 sleep per day,has a favorite bear, i feel like i have been doing sleep training all her life,(never did the sleep association things) she’s a fussy eating and still drinks from a bottle…how can we get our sanity back(plus we are living with the inlaws). :)thnx

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• 76 Trish // Jun 16, 2009 at 12:20 am

  My 15 week old daughter had been sleeping thru the night after following your program. She has now started waking at about 4am. Should I feed her or try to get her back to sleep?

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• 77 Tina // Jul 1, 2009 at 3:11 pm

  My 13 month old daughter, who always slept soundly (with the exception of a 2am diaper change) all of a sudden is waking at 12am and really working herself up. She screams like someone is killing her. I tried offering a bottle (a no-no I know!) but she simply wants to be held. If I lay her back down and cover her up, saying only “night, night” to her, she will fihght me to stand back up and continue her fit. This girl will do this for hours!!
  Here is the real issue, with my recent job loss and subsequent foreclosure, we are living with my parents again! I share a room with my daughter. Now, I can sleep on the couch but forever??
  With the recent downturn, I’m sure there are a lot of people In my position (siblings sharing)…
  What can I do? I feel terrible the way she carries on, what if she is in pain and I’m being “mean?
  HELP!!

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• 78 samantha // Jul 9, 2009 at 1:16 pm

  my little boy is now nearly 2 and a half and has always relied on a bottle to go to sleep and to get back to sleep during the night with water in, have you any surgestions on how i could take the bottle away completely. so he learns to fall asleep alone?

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• 79 Christine // Jul 9, 2009 at 1:56 pm

  Hi, I am trying to find some advice for my husband and I. Our son is 30 months. Recently he has started with night time tantrums. For us this means waking in the middle of the night grunting, flailing, kicking and screaming while trying to run out of the bed. It’s like he is in pain. He is currently getting in 4 teeth. His eye teeth. Could this be the cause for his night tantrums? My husband gets frustrated and then I am frustrated with him. We need some tools. Thank you.

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