I have a 13-month-old boy who will not sleep through the night. I feed him and give him a bottle at 8 p.m. but he still wakes up at 3 a.m. to eat. I've tried to let him cry himself back to sleep but that doesn't work. Any suggestions?
Dear Mom,
It's crucial you develop a relaxing bedtime routine and place the little guy in his crib sleepy-awake.
You can stay in the room and comfort him from outside the crib or step out of the room for increasing lengths of time. Once your little guy discovers his own self-soothing skills, he'll stop waking up when he's in a light sleep state.
Another approach is to give your baby increasingly smaller feeds when he wakes up at 3 a.m. and pop him back in his crib sleepy-awake. In that way, he'll spend less time suckling to sleep and more time self-comforting until he dozes off.
There is no magic formula at this point. It's just a matter of helping your baby discover his own self-calming skills.
Good luck,
Dr C
Dr. Cathryn Tobin is the author of The Lull-A-Baby Sleep Plan: The Superfast, Soothing Way To Help Your New Baby Sleep Through The Night
Dr. Cathryn Tobin is the author of The Lull-A-Baby Sleep Plan: The Superfast, Soothing Way To Help Your New Baby Sleep Through The Night
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