52 responses so far ↓

• 1 Kellie McLain // Apr 21, 2009 at 9:36 am

  My DAughter Sophie is 4months today. She is sleeping great at night 7:30- until 6:30-7am. My question is that she is still taking 4 naps during the day. The first is around 8:30-9 and is longest-usually an hour. Next is around 12pm for ususally 45min-sometimes 30. Next is usually 30-45min around 3 and 4th nap is around 5-6 for 30 min. She still goes to bed around 7:30 even if she just woke up at 6:30. So is this OK? Or do i need to somehow consolodate her naps? Not complaining at all-took us a while to get to this point!

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• 2 dawn // Apr 21, 2009 at 9:47 am

  Ellah still wakes up several times through the night, it might not be for long, but it breaks our sleep. All she needs is her bottle and dummy (soother). How do i start to break this habit?

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• 3 Danielle Carrick // Apr 21, 2009 at 10:04 am

  My son is 25 months old. He recently went through a 2 month period of terrific sleeping (around 8:00pm we would put him in his crib drowsy, he would fall asleep, and would wake up around 6:30am). Over the past 5 weeks, he has been fighting even getting into his crib (he will grab the side and literally prevent me from putting him in the crib). Even if I can get him into the crib, he will cry and get himself into such a panic that he makes himself sick. We have now resorted to sleeping with him either on the floor or in a spare bed. The bedtime routine has not changed since the time of when he was sleeping wonderfully through the night. However, now he seems to be teething (2-year molars), so maybe that is keeping him from getting into a comfortable sleeping position on his own?

  We’re thinking of moving him to his own bed. Any suggestions?

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• 4 soraya rklief // Apr 21, 2009 at 10:15 am

  my son abdallah is eight months old.at nite he wakes atleat three to four times or more if hes in his crib,wen we put him in our bed he sleeps beta an wakes up maybe once for a feeding.he wakes at about six an goes to sleep at about eight or eight thirty.we have a routine at nite b4 he goes to sleep.he gets a bath an then a bit of a massage an then i nurse him an he goese to sleep.but hes been sleeping more an more in our bedif i put him in hes crib he wakes frequently…so please help.thanks soraya

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• 5 Amy // Apr 21, 2009 at 10:18 am

  I have a real sleep mess on my hands and not sure that anything can be done about it at this point. I have a 3.5 year old who has never slept by himself….ever. He was in our bed every night until I was pg with his brother. So at the age of 1.5 we tried to transition him to a big boy bed since he had never slept in a crib. So we laid with him until he was asleep and then we leave the room when he’s finally sleeping. So now two years later we are still laying with him until he’s asleep and then about 3 hours after he finally falls asleep, he wakes up and comes to our bed. At this point we are sleeping and usually don’t even know when he gets in our bed. I might add that he plays with my hair and sucks his thumb while going to sleep and I find him playing with my hair a lot all throughout the night! And if it’s not my hair, it’s dad’s hair. We do have a bedtime routine and it starts around 7:30 with a bath. We then dress them and read several stories. We turn the lights off about 8:30 and sometimes it’s 9 – 9:20 before he finally falls asleep. That is the part that drives my husband and I crazy!! Anytime we even mention that he has to go to sleep on his own, he flips out. We’ve tried to sit in the room in the dark and he just screams and screams, we’ve tried to leave the room and he doesn’t stay in his room, etc. It’s a nightmare because the way our house is set-up, he then wakes his brother who is a wonderful sleeper and then the whole house is a big sobbing mess! Any advice?

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• 6 Pauline Jacobs // Apr 21, 2009 at 10:21 am

  My son is 11 weeks now and he will not sleep in his cot, he sleeps at the moment in his car seat, every time i put him down awake or asleep he wakens about 15 to 20 mins later crying, it is frustrating me, plus he will not settle before 12 oclock at night, please help me!!

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• 7 Nanci Eiamchinda // Apr 21, 2009 at 10:26 am

  My son “Alex” he will turn 1yr in about 2 weeks. His routine is wake up at 9am – breakfast – nap for 2 hours – lunch – nap for 1.30 to 2 hours – dinner – bath – bed time at 9pm. He go to bed with a dummie / soother. On good nights he would wake up once but on the bad night he would wake up 3-4 times. I go in his bedroom, I gave him his dummie / soother and he would go back to sleep straight away. I tried to stop giving him his dummie / soother, he end up crying and crying till he fully awake. I read many books and website, I know I have to get him to fall sleep by himself without dummie / soother as right now he dont know how to fall back to sleep by himself. But as a mother I feel very bad to see him cry for something or after something that he attach to. Please I need help as I need to know what exactly I have to do and it is right way.

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• 8 Amy // Apr 21, 2009 at 10:27 am

  Dana I really need your advice.

  My son is 31 months old and has gone through several huge shifts in his bedtime routine and sleeping that he is a mess. When my son was a baby he would sleep peacefully in his crib without any problems. As he reached 1 year old he started throwing fits in the middle of the night when he would wake up wide awake and wanted to play. We were in the process of lovingly “breaking him” of this attention seeking behavior when we moved to an apartment.

  The other tenant was not too thrilled hearing a young child screaming his head off throughout the night. On top of this our doctor recommended that we move him out of his crib into a toddler bed at 18 months because our new place had a stair case and he was worried that if our son began to climb out of his crib he would do the same to the stair gate.

  So we made the switch and it was a huge mistake. He did not handle the transition well at all and by the second night it was too late to put him back in his crib…he had now learned how to throw himself out of his crib. Now that he was in a toddle bed but wasnt ready for it he was terribly insecure in his new bed and would always fight going to bed.

  Most nights I would spend 2-3 hours reading to him and trying to sooth him from across the room to try to calm him to sleep. We tried slowly working our way out of the room after a 2 week period and he never adjusted. He would wake up screaming bloodly murder. For a 6 month period I got VERY little sleep because I was the one to go in every time he would come running to our room.

  After 6 months I was just starting to get somewhere with him on keeping him in his bed throughout the night when I took a late evening job. I would get home after midnight to find my son snuggled up in my bed with my husband. I was going to bed at 3 am and getting up with my son at 6am. I was running on empty.

  A month later my husband and I seperated and my son and I were bounced from home to home. In a 2 month time frame we stayed 3 different places. His bedtime was screwed up royally. For the past 4 months we have had our own home with his own room and bed..but since our seperation he seems desperate for me to be near him when he falls asleep.

  Now being a single parent I have tried to set a regular bedtime routine but find myself during the night giving in and laying down with him out of sheer exhaustion. When he stays at my husbands house his bedtime routine is completely different and he sleeps with my husband. I feel like I am losing the battle.

  At my home my son sleeps in his own bed and when he wakes up he comes into my room to wake me up. I try to lay down with him only for a few minutes and go back to my own room. I never let him sleep in my bed. He wakes up 4 or 5 times a night if i am not sleeping with him. I wake up each morning worn out before the day even begins.

  Now my husband and I are getting back together and I need to know how do I fix this whole mess and help my son get the proper rest he needs. My son was just diagnosed with a mild form of autism last week and I am still trying to find out how his sleep might affect that.

  His schedule is:
  wake up 6:00-6:30am
  Nap time 12:30-2:30
  Bedtime 8:00-8:30pm

  Nap times he goes down well for, no fighting. Bedtime as long as I am in bed with him be normally goes to sleep within 15-45mins. Can you please give me any advice. I want to help him get his sleep sorted out before he gets any older.

  Thanks so much!
  Amy

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• 9 Favelle // Apr 21, 2009 at 10:40 am

  Dede doesnt sleep during the days for long a hour or two each day ,is this o.k?

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• 10 Favelle // Apr 21, 2009 at 10:41 am

  Dede doesnt sleep during the days for long a hour or two each day ,is this o.k for him but he does sleep during the nights ?

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• 11 prissilla // Apr 21, 2009 at 12:20 pm

  if it is loud and baby is trying to sleep can that cause stress for the baby??

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• 12 kerry // Apr 21, 2009 at 12:22 pm

  My little girl will be 4 in June. She has slept in her own bed, by herself, up until about 2 months ago. We have a routine of winding down and reading books in bed with lights out by 9pm. She now says she is lonely, afraid of the dark and does not “like her bed”. She screams and cries if my husband or I leave her alone in her room, she wants the light on, door left open, etc. We have bought more stuffed animals, bought new sheets, etc. We have since given up and allowed her to sleep in our bed, or one of us sleeps with her in her bed. Help! My husband and I want our bed back and time alone! thanks, Kerry

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• 13 Beckett // Apr 21, 2009 at 12:29 pm

  My daughter, Greta, is 16 months old. She
  sleeps in our bed and wakes 4-6/night. We
  nurse back to sleep within a few minutes. It is
  all very peaceful and cozy but I am exhausted
  the next day and have two other little ones to
  take care of as well. How do I nightwean Greta
  without a lot of crying and protest?

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• 14 Jessica // Apr 21, 2009 at 12:45 pm

  My daughter is just a few days shy of 8 months old. She is not a sleeper, to put it mildly. We do our bedtime routine and put her to bed between 7 and 8pm. Some nights she falls asleep easily and will sleep for 2-3 hours, which is great, at least for us. Other nights, like last night, she will not be asleep until 11pm.

  We have read the books, talked to doctors, and done many sleep logs. We even tried using Periactin, an allergy medicine, to “reset” her sleep cycles, after our doctor saw the desperation in my eyes. She slept better while on it, but when we took her back off after our week trial, we went right back to our disasterous nights.

  On average, she is up 4-6x night. A good night has us up 3 times, a bad night is more like 10 times. I am rather exhausted. When she does wake I nurse her on the couch and lay her back down. Some nights she goes right back to sleep, other times she is wide awake and ready to start her day. Our sleep logs show that, when left to her own devices, Pace sleeps an average of 8 hours a day.

  I usually bring her into our bed around 3am, which is not a habit I enjoy, but with a 2.5 year old daughter and a daycare to run, I need to sleep at some point.

  She knows how to fall asleep on her own, we don’t use a soother, and she shares a room with her sister. I am completely out of ideas.

  Help!

  Thanks.

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• 15 Heather // Apr 21, 2009 at 12:53 pm

  Since we’ve started the Sleep Sense program, our 41/2 month old daughter Iris is sleeping better. We’re able to put her down without her soother but she is still waking several times a night to nurse…she goes right back down but I’m exhausted. It’s much better than the 4 to 5 times she was waking but I’m just not sure what I can do to break her habit. She usually goes down around 7pm and sleeps most nights until almost 12:30 am but than she is up again around 3:30 and then out of bed anywhere from 6 to 7am. Any advice?

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• 16 Ashley // Apr 21, 2009 at 1:18 pm

  My daughter is 3 months old. When is the best time to put children to sleep in their own room? Also, is it necessary to keep the same bedtime every night? We go to church on Sunday and Wednesday nights. On Sunday nights, church is over at 7:00, but on Wednesday nights, church is over at 7:30. I would like to start my daughter’s bedtime routine at 7:30, but how can I with these schedule conflicts. Not going to church is not an option.

  Thanks, Ashley

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• 17 tami rao // Apr 21, 2009 at 1:37 pm

  Hi dana,
  my son was sleeping well, through the night from 9:30 until 6 or sometimes 7:30 since teh age of 3 months, would get up only rarely at night, and not fuss. It is true that he always falls asleep while drinking from the bottle and needs to be rocked occasionally for a minute or two. Then one month ago, he started waking up at around 4 am, wide awake, crawling around in his crib and standing up. This now happens several times to up to 6 times a night, and if i give him the binky and cover him with his blanket, he is out again for an hour, but still wakes up around 4-5 am. I started to feed him a bottle out of desperation at 4 to make him go back to sleep, which works, but now he expects it. What should we do to retrain him?

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• 18 Nurys Tejeda // Apr 21, 2009 at 1:37 pm

  Dana Kellyanne is doing very good thanks to your help it was hard for both of us but she is good. I have another question When is the good time to pottytraing her she is 17month know?

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• 19 holly // Apr 21, 2009 at 3:05 pm

  dana,my 4 month old sophie will go to sleep on her own,but she won’t stay asleep longer than an hour what to do?ihave tried letting her cry,but it went on for an hour and a half nap time is over by then.she wakes up happy ,but soon after is fussy because she hasn’t slept long enough.she aso gets up 1 at night and then sometimes sleeps all night?weird

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• 20 Taiwo // Apr 21, 2009 at 3:23 pm

  Anees does not like sleeping early in the night if he has slept in the noon up till around 5pm

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• 21 angela kovacs // Apr 21, 2009 at 3:46 pm

  have a 4 year old and a 4 month old, my 4 year old has gone back to being a baby wont sleep at night says he is scared constantly cries, my husband has slept in bed with him and now decided enough is enough. Finding it so hard as he wakes my baby up so many times and we are so tired, dont know what to do.

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• 22 cynthia // Apr 21, 2009 at 4:00 pm

  Zion is 18 months he is still sleeping with me and still sucking his soother alot and he doesn’t wake up but he drinks alot of juice at night and i want stop that and get him out of my bed and off his soother. Does he need to be in a crib or a big boy bed

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• 23 Cecilia // Apr 21, 2009 at 4:04 pm

  Hi Dana, I have been so close to buy your book many times, but I am worry about you telling me that the only thing I can do to improve my 1 1/2 daughter sleep is to move her bed time to 7:00 or 7:30 p.m. I get home from work at 6:30 p.m so, it is impossible for me to get her to bed before 8:30. She wakes up at 6:30 or 7:00 a.m everyday and takes a 2 or 2 1/2 hours nap. She does not fall sleep on her own, we just walk her for a few minutes and then put in her crib when she kind of half way to sleep. She wakes up every two hours, not for long. I will buy your book right now if you tell me that I can help her to sleep better within the times my family works. Thanks, Cecilia

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• 24 Kate // Apr 21, 2009 at 4:26 pm

  I know many people have similar stories but wondered if you could help. My daughter Becky has always been hard to get to sleep. As a baby we found ourselves in the position of milk and nursing to sleep as we thought it was the right thing to do. At six months she was no better and getting her back to sleep in the night was tough. She has never really slept through consistently. We had our 2nd child when Becky turned 2 and now her sleep is even harder. It takes up to an hour to settle her ( we watch CBeeb ies bedtime hour then have a bath, story ,milk, cuddle and then into her cot. She then talks and bounces and refuses to sleep for up to an hour. Some days she doesn;t have a day nap and this makes no difference. When she has a nap I have to make sure it is over by 1pm or we don;t have a hope at bed time.

  She then wakes between midnight and 2am and won;t settle until she can come into mummy’ bed (where I am and te new babay in her moses basket). I can understand she doesn’t get why mummy and baby are together and she isn;t so have just let this happen but know we need to tackle it at some point.

  Help

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• 25 Shifali // Apr 21, 2009 at 6:25 pm

  Hi Dana,
  My daughter is 61/2 months old, she is teething and she wakes up every two hours at night. I would feed her at 12am and when she wakes up at 2, I pick her up and then put her back to bed without feeding and when she wakes at 4, she will not go to sleep without feeding and same as 6 and then 8.30 am. Please help.

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• 26 Daisy // Apr 21, 2009 at 7:46 pm

  Hi Dana: Thank you so much for the useful information provided in the last few days, it has been very helpful. One question I’ve got is that my baby has just discovered that he is happy to be fed before he goes to sleep instead of being rocked. I know I shouldn’t let him sleep on my breast, therefore I always make sure I put him down before he fell asleep. Do you think I’m doing the right thing?

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• 27 Christine // Apr 21, 2009 at 8:54 pm

  Hi Dana,
  My 10 month old Madison has been a great sleeper since the age of 9 weeks old. But since around 8-9 months old she is resisiting having her usual 90 minute morning & afternoon sleeps. Instead she thinks 45 minutes is enough. She is not herself with such small naps & now no longer sleeps through the night (waking at least 2-3 times). The few times she has had longer sleeps in the daytime she has also managed to sleep through the night. How can I encourage her to have longer morning & afternoon sleeps?

  Regards
  Christine

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• 28 Nika // Apr 21, 2009 at 11:10 pm

  Dana.
  Tyler is 11 mos. today. He had colic for 3 mos. after he was born, so he really didn’t sleep well.
  I always put him in his crib to sleep. He woke up every 1.5 to 2 hrs. not just to eat, but he couldn’t sleep either. Now he sleeps with us instead of sleeping in his crib. During the day he might nap for maybe an hour if that. If I put him in his crib he will sleep maybe for an hour or so then wakes up crying. I try to soothe him, but he will not sleep unless he is in our bed. He takes a pacifier and I rock him also. What can I do? I forgot the one big detail; his crib is in our room so it is hard to just put him to bed and walk away. I don’t know what else to do. Any suggestions.

  Advice Needed
  Nika

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• 29 Christine // Apr 22, 2009 at 12:52 am

  I can certainly relate to comment 4 having a 3.5 year old who does not go to sleep by herself. At 7 months we brought her into our bed in hopes of everyone getting better sleep. It worked, but then when i was pregnant with our second daughter we moved our first into her own bed. Almost two years later, pretty well every night one of us lies down with her to get her to go to sleep.

  There are two concerns for me:

  1) Best methods for getting her to go to sleep by herself (we have tried rewards with little success)
  2) How to shift her to an earlier bedtime. I have read lots of books that suggest small increments of 5-10 minutes, but we have tried that, and still she does not fall asleep until almost 9:30 at night, and needs to be woken at 6-6:30 in the morning so that my husband and i can get to work. She is an absolute bear in the morning. I realize the ideal bedtime is probably about 7:30 for her given the time we need to get her up. Our current “routine” is dinner, upstairs and either bath or watch a show that she likes, snack, read, lights out. We are starting to steer away from screen time, but that does not seem to make a difference.

  Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

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• 30 Cassandra // Apr 22, 2009 at 1:36 am

  My daughter, Maya, is 12.5 months old. She has only napped and slept while nursing and lying on me. Occasionally she will nap on someone else. If you try to put her in her crib she just gets up and screams and I worry about her waking up her brother (as he can be a restless and terrible sleeper sometimes too). In the daytime if I don’t let her sleep on me, she just won’t sleep at all. Or she will fall asleep in the car or stroller. In the evenings I repeatedly let her nurse till she falls asleep again and keep trying to put her in her crib. Evenings are exhausting because after her bath she might nurse for a bit then she is climbing up the walls and super hyper and will not sit still to try and relax her. She has never sat still for a bedtime story. She has never had any interest in a bottle. She knows how to drink milk from her cup but refuses to take it at night to soothe herself instead of my breast. I will be starting work soon and working a lot of nights where I won’t be available to let her nurse. I need her to be weaned off of the breast as well as learn to let others soothe her to sleep and learn how to soothe herself to sleep and sleep in her crib without continually wanting my help. My doctor suggests just leaving her to cry it out all night, but this seems unusually cruel and hard to do. I’m hesitant to do that and would prefer a more humane approach. What should I do?

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• 31 Vaiva // Apr 22, 2009 at 4:49 am

  Dear Dana,

  i am going to tell you a little bit about my son and hopefully you will be able to help me.

  my son Martynas is 7 months old. for first two months we had tummy problems so i had no sleep during night just a nap in the morning.
  then we managed to get him into a rutine. he slept through the night in his crib. last feed was at midnight and the next one at 6 in the morning and then back to sleep until 11 or 12 am. but at three months he started teething. at the moment he is 7 months old and has 8 teeth. so no more rutine.
  i try to put him to bed at 9. he falls asleep only with a bottle.
  he is having tummy problems sometimes so he usually wakes up a few time a night.
  i think it is still ok. but i am wondering if there is something i can do about day naps. they are really short usually around half hour two naps a day… and he is really sensitive to the sound.

  so if you can please help me with some advices :)

  thank you

  best reagrds Vaiva

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• 32 Caroline Creighton // Apr 22, 2009 at 5:43 am

  My daughter Iona is 13 months. We have been very fortunate in that she has been a good sleeper from around 6 months. She has a set bedtime routine which begins at 7pm and she is put down in her cot awake andfalls asleep independently by approx. 7.30pm. All good so far, however she has for the last 3 months been wakening around 2 am and can be awake anywhere from 2 to 3 hrs, crying continually. Initially we suspected that she may be teething so have given Calopol. However she doesn’t settle with this making we wander if the problem is not painful gums afterall, beside i am not happy to give her medication everynight, especially if this is not the problem. Therefore we have implemented controlled crying (i.e checking on her after 20 mins of crying, then two more checks at 5 min intervals, then every 30 mins, minimal reassurance given during these). This improved the situation initially, however this no longer appears to be as effective. Any advise would be gratefully appreciated.

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• 33 Kelly // Apr 22, 2009 at 9:03 am

  My 6-month-old girl sleep habits: Her naps are never consistent. She takes approximately three 45-minute naps a day, but sometimes 5 minutes to 1-hour, and she has even taken a 2-hour nap once in a while, but again, never consistent.

  Around 6:30 PM, I will start a bedtime routine with maybe a bath, massage with nighttime lotion, and a 6 oz. bottle, and try to have her in bed by 7:00 PM. She is usually drowsy but still awake when I put her down. She usually, but not always, goes to sleep great, but she is up again in 45 minutes crying. Then, somewhat trying the “cry it out method”; I reinsert her pacifier and leave. She will calm down and sleep for a few minutes, then start crying again, I reinsert her pacifier a couple of times as she cries off and on for 1-2 hours… Also she has learned to insert her pacifier herself and will do so, but she still cries. She will finally go to sleep. She will then wake up a couple of times a night; I will reinsert her pacifier, which ranges from 2-3 times a night. She is usually up by 6:00 AM, ready to start her day, but here lately, it has been as early as 4:00 AM and will not go back to sleep.

  What should I be doing differently?

  How can I get her naps consistent? Or should I just let her “tell us” when she is ready?

  Do you believe in “crying it out”? If not, how do we get her to sleep?

  I know the pacifier is a big issue and is a habit we started. What age and how is the best way to get rid of it?

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• 34 Suzi // Apr 22, 2009 at 9:37 pm

  Hi Dana,

  Not sure if you have ever heard of the following sleep problem but I’m hoping you can help….

  My 18mth old daughter wakes during the night at least 4-5 times a night on her knees and it seems it’s like she doesn’t know how to lay down again…a while ago she hit her head on the cot I guess when trying to lay down so I am unsure of what to do?

  I lay her down and she falls asleep with no problems. How do I get her to lay herself down on her own?

  Routine:
  Wakes 6.30 – 7.00am
  Nap 12pm (1.5 – 2hrs)
  Bed 7.00pm

  She does not have a pacifier but does have a comfort blanket that she holds.

  I know she knows how to lay down naturally because she does this herself on her couch during the day with no problems.

  I am 4 months pregnant and getting up is really hard each night now…I can only see it getting worse…Please Please help…

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• 35 Bridget // Apr 22, 2009 at 10:04 pm

  I have 2 questions. THe first one relates to my 12 month old. He slept through the night from 7 weeks until around 9-10 months when he went through about a 6 week period of being sick. Prior to that, I did our normal night time routine: Bath, book and put him in his crib, alone and he would be asleep within about 10 minutes. However, since he was sick, he has become very needy at bedtime. He screams most nights and won’t settle down, even if we sit next to his crib or rub his back. We have tried to leave the room in increments, etc. TO no avail, most nights, I wind up rocking him to sleep. ON most nights, he wakes during the night, even for a few minutes but is now unable to soathe himself back to sleep. ANy suggestions…we are very frustrated due to the lack of sleep. I would add that he is teething and is cutting 6 teeth at the same time (we give him orajel as needed) and suspect that the teething has agitated him.

  My second question involves my 28 month old. WE do the same nighttime routine….bath, book,crib. He gets himself to sleep in his crib. If he naps, it often takes well over an hour (if not more) for him to settle down and go to sleep. He gets so energized, he often runs back and forth in his crib. WE have even tried to push his bedtime up but it does not seem to help. Due to my work schedule, we normally bathe the kids by 8 pm and bed by 8:15. However, on most days, they sleep to 7:30 am. The night time routine seems to be endless and any suggestions to calm down my energetic toddler would be appreciated.

  any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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• 36 mrs. oconnor // Apr 22, 2009 at 11:01 pm

  please help !!!! my son nurses all night long, he wakes up all night and the only thing he wants is to nurse i have tried not to give it to him but he just screams and screams once he nurses he falls back to sleep(in my bed) i would like to get him in his crib but i feel like i have to stop the night nursing first , but i dont know how? please, please help

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• 37 Skye // Apr 22, 2009 at 11:55 pm

  I am in desperate need of ur advice… My 4 1/2 yr old son Jett is great at going to to bed and going to sleep (normally between 7.30pm and 8.00 pm) (waking at 6am) but my problem is getting him to stay asleep and in his own bed. I am a single mum and can not remember the last time i had a full nights sleep. I find it very hard to get jett back to sleep once he has woken during the night. So there for i have been allowing him to get into bed with me for quiet some time. In the last few months i have made him a rewards chart for sleeping in his own bed all night but have still been having problems… Please help me….
  Would be greatly appreciated… Skye

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• 38 emily // Apr 24, 2009 at 5:54 am

  my son has a really good bedtime routine. I have seen him fall asleep on his own numerous times. He is 7 months old now and although he can fall asleep on his own I usually need to rock him a little as he is really windy. If I put him down before he is drowsy the wind really bothers him and he ends up crying after a while which results in more wind. He has just started sleeping from 7-6.30. How can I stop rocking him to a drowsy state?

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• 39 Laila // Apr 24, 2009 at 8:18 pm

  i am presently training my son to sleep on his own at nap time. He is now 7 months old and up until now he has been napping in the stroller with movement. when he was napping in the stroller he would nap for at least one hour sometimes two.
  when i put him to sleep in the crib he will sometimes cry a lot and other times only for a moment. no matter what he does he will usually wake up within 45 minutes or sometimes only 20 minutes. i have tried letting him stay there because it is obvious from his behavior that he is still tired. even when i let him cry he does not fall back asleep. subsequently he his exhausted, and his following nap may be longer.
  should i continue to leave him in the crib after the 45 minute or 20 minute mark (i don’t want him to get used to me getting him at this time) or is it okay to get him and then expect him to still have a longer nap. he is still getting up at night as well even though he does know how to fall asleep independently. does he need to or should he be sleeping through the night by now.

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• 40 hayley keefe // Apr 25, 2009 at 5:56 am

  i am at my whits end! my 5 month old son refuses to sleep through. he isnt really hungry in the night i dont think a at every waking he only wants around 1 or 2 ounces. i tried leaving him to cry and it started to work until he seemed to realise that when he got into a real state, i would feed him and settle him. now he straight away goes into a huge crying fit and i cant leave him as he chokes. he is up at least 8 times in the night and i am really worn out. im really out of ideas. he goes down at 8 and will get up in the mornin at between 6 and 8. please please help me because i really need sleep!

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• 41 Candice // Apr 26, 2009 at 6:02 am

  My 5 month old sleeps through the night from 8:30 to 7:30 however, she still needs to be rocked or walked to sleep. sometimes I am walking around the house for 2 hours! I would like to know how to get her to self soothe.

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• 42 Jane // Apr 26, 2009 at 7:18 am

  Dear Dana, I seem to not be alone with sleepless nights with toddler. I’m a 44 year old single mum in Australia. My daughter Sydney has been a great sleeper,She is 26months old, routine bath, brush teeth, story, quick kiss and cuddle then put her music night light on (which has a timer to turn off after 10 mins and she knows how to turn it off and on herself as she does with her baby dolls during the day) nite nite then close the door.In bed 8pm and up at 6am She was sick a couple months ago with bad cough/cold and was very clingy during the day, and crpt in to sleep with me a few nights,she is in a toddler bed and the transition to bed from cot was easy for 2 months perfect, her daytime sleep is 1.5- 2 hours 12.30-2.30pm in fact she climbs into her bed at the day nap by herself. She has a little toy dog and blanket that goes with her everywhere day and night. She also has a dummy. When she was sick she started calling out distressed, I’d pat her and reassure her quickly and leave, no probs, then she started climbing out of bed and screaming/crying hysterically banging on door, it then took up to 2 hours to settle her, so I left her door open once she initially fell asleep, so then she’d climb out in the middle of the night and tap me on the leg, not saying a word, I’d put her back to bed no problem then she started getting up 4-5 times a night and tapping me on the leg, until I’d give in so I could get SOME sleep, it then progressed to her creeping in without touching me or making a sound and sneaking into my bed,I put a gate on her doorway which she just stood at it screaming, so I’m back to closing her door and removed the gate, now some nights she’ll go to her bed no problem then awakes 1-2-3 hrs later,she just screams and cries uncontrollably just screaming and pleading ” mummy’s bed “over and over, and as soon as I give in she doesn’t make a sound and goes to sleep immediately whether I’m in bed or not, but every 2nd night she won’t go into her bed at all, daytime sleep now every 2nd day in my bed as well, aaaarrrrrhhhhhh help!!, I’m so sleep deprived and stressed and have no family here to give me a break. As a single mum on a sole parent pension I can’t afford to buy your book I’m sad to say so anything on toddler sleep advice help would be fantastic.

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• 43 Kara // Apr 26, 2009 at 2:20 pm

  Dana, I need nap help. My 20 month old son goes to sleep on his own at night. If he cries, it is only for a couple of minutes. We brush teeth, read stories, nurse and then he gets into his crib to fall asleep. Naps however are torture. We read stories, nurse and then he gets in his crib to fall asleep. However, this time he screams on and off for 45 minutes to an hour. He will usually sleep at least an hour once he finally falls asleep. He did take his naps with me until about two months ago, but we have been following this routine faithfully for two months now and there has been no improvement. (I did get him out one time when he had cried for an hour and 15 minutes without falling asleep, but I didn’t let hime nap with me. He just skipped his nap) He goes to bed at 8pm, wakes at 6:30am and naps at 12:30pm. Any ideas? It make me so sad to hear him cry everyday, but I know he needs his sleep.

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• 44 Rose // Apr 27, 2009 at 9:54 am

  My 3 month old will only fall asleep if rocked or in a swing or bouncy chair. Is 3 months too early to have her cry it out for naps and bedtime?

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• 45 Annie Flanagan // Apr 28, 2009 at 3:37 am

  Please help, my 18month old has started throwing his food about every meal time. It is so embarassing. I’t getting to the stage now that he is hardly eating a thing.

  Please help

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• 46 Emily // Apr 28, 2009 at 8:43 am

  How do I get my baby to sleep past the 45 minute cycle in the day (night is fine)?

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• 47 raelynn smith // May 3, 2009 at 12:21 pm

  what if I sit in with my little girl and she wont stop crying and I have to leave the room because it is to much.

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• 48 Alison // May 30, 2009 at 7:28 am

  Hi Dana
  My daughter is 3 months and two weeks. She is breast feed. Up until two weeks ago i realised she was falling asleep on my breast, and we were putting her to sleep to late (10pm). For the last week we have stopped this and wrapped her tightly as her cue for sleep and have been letting her control cry, we now put her to sleep between 7 and 8pm. We put her down in her cot and pat her when she cries then leave when she is calm and continue this until she sleeps. However our next challenge is getting her to sleep through the night. Currently on average she has approx 4 naps during the day (approx two 50 min naps and two 2hour naps). We now put her to bed between 7pm and 8pm but she wakes approx at 10pm, 2.30pm then again at around 5am/6am in the morning. If she i really tired she will skip the 10pm wake up. What can you suggest to get her to sleep through the night with less wake ups? We do not want to use the dummy. What do you suggest when she wakes up? Is she sleeping too much in the day?

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• 49 amna // May 31, 2009 at 1:32 pm

  Iqra is 15 months old and still sleeps in my bed. I try putting her in her crib once she is asleep, but she will end up waking up at 2:00 or 3:00 AM and coming back to our bed. I can probably count the times she has slept through the night on our bedon one hand. Lately, he does not go to bed until really late, sometimes 10:00 or 11:00 PM.she sleep 10pm at night and wake up at mid night and in at 6am i feed her bottle and she sleep again and wake up at 9:30am .sometime she wakeup at mide night for 3 hour .her nape time is 1:00 pm to2:30pm and then starts playing i coulnot sleep whole nighti also feel so tired al the day because aur her night sleep plz solve my problem Any suggestions

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• 50 Jeneen // Jan 3, 2010 at 2:12 am

  My son Kaden will be a yr. old this month and sadly I let him fall into a terrible habit. He is the youngest of my 3 children my other 2 are 11 and 8. I’m afraid I have spoiled him and won’t be able to fix it. First off he sleeps in his crib in our room, I’m contemplating moving him into my eight yr old room. Secondly, I’m a Sahm and my husband work weird hours 4 pm to 1am. I stay up until my husband gets home from work around 1:30 or 2. My son has a great attachment to both myself and my husband and so he has always stayed up until after daddy gets home before he will wind down and go to sleep. I’m so very ashamed to admit this but my son wakes up at 11am, 12pm eats then won’t take a until 2 or 3 sleeps 1 hour and then is up for lunch, I’ve tried to keep him ts from there to try to get him to bed but the truth is he has never been to bed earlier than 10 or 11pm. Anyway, he has dinner around 6 and does ts falling asleep around 7 and sleeping for an hour then back up and plays and often tries to take yet another nap at 9or10 which is a battle I sometimes who and sometimes not cause I know he won’t stay asleep. From then he stays up until after his daddy gets home and doesn’t go right to sleep he wants to play like Hes waiting for us to in to bed. He has recently started everytime I put him down whether it be for a nap or bed or play even he just screams and throws a huge fit which makes it even worse when I try to leave the room. I really want to get him on a responsible sleep schedule but don’t know where to start. Please help me undo the damage I’ve done. I hope its not too late. Jeneen

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• 51 Silvana // Apr 29, 2010 at 12:41 pm

  My son is going to be 3 years old in May. He has never been a good sleeper and now we have a baby who is 3 months and I am so afraid of making the same mistakes with the second one. My 3 year old is dependant on one of us to sit with him until he falls asleep. This is after a bedtime routine of bath, brush, 2 books, potty and deep breathing. He then goes to sleep at around 9pm but wakes up in the middle of the night wanting to come in our room. we allowed it for a while but now my husband has been walking him back to his room without talking or making eye contact. My husbands stays in the room with him until he is back to sleep but the problem is he wakes up and comes back later 3 and 4 times and returning to sleep can take up to 15 minutes each time. My husband is exhausted and I am taking care of the baby at night. Not sure if we should just walk out on him and hold the door as mentioned in one of your articles. I am afraid that my baby will have the same sleep problems. We will like for him to learn to fall asleep on his own and stay in his room. We let him keep the lights dim because he is scared of the dark and does not like a night light.
  Please advice us on which method to use for a 3 year old. We have tried rewards but they don’t work. He says he is lonely in his room. I also wonder if it has anything to do with the baby staying in our room in a crib. Would it be to traumatic if we started walink out after saying good night or is he old enough to understand the new rules.

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• 52 Jessica // Jun 12, 2010 at 6:48 pm

  hi i have a 2 and a half year old son and a 19 month old boy. They both have their own bed in there room. i really dont have a problem with puting them to bed, it’s the waking up in the middle of the night wanting to be in my bed and wanting a cup. i started to give them a cup of water nd very little juice so it has some type of flavor. They both dont wake up at the same time but one will always wake the other. what can i do? me and my boyfriend are tired.

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