what do you do when LO wakes up in the middle of the night?

kdg31684 · December 2010

We did the CIO when putting him to bed and it worked great but ever since we took a short vacation where he slept with us, hes been waking up around 2am and standing in his crib and crying. we end up bringing to bed with us. Do we let him CIO in the middle of the night too? Nothing is wrong when we get him, as soon as his head hits our shoulder or our bed, he's out.

risysmama · December 2010

We get her and bring her in the bed with us. She usually falls back to sleep without any issues.

MrsBreezer80 · December 2010

We did CIO in the middle of the night ages ago because that was our issue. Bedtime always was fine, but then it was the middle of the night she would wake up (every hour or so) so that's when we'd do CIO. She was 8 months then.

Now, when she wakes in the middle of the night we kind of of guage what to do based on her crying. If its soft & whimpery, I'll sort of let her figure it out for awhile, and usually she does. If its a frantic, freaking out cry, I'll usually go in pretty quickly, and usually I can just pat her back to get her back to sleep.

slmcronelaw · December 2010

Have you tried laying him back down in his crib after you rock him back to sleep? That's what I do when Leighton wakes up. First, I only go in if she is really upset and crying bad...whining, I just leave her and she usually goes back to sleep. If she is standing up when I go in I normally pick her up and rock her back to sleep and wait a few good minutes to be sure she's asleep and lay her back down in her crib and she's usually ok.

Good luck!

jbl126 · December 2010

I am dealing with this now with one of my girls. We used to take her out (to not wake her sister) and then put her in the PNP in the spare room which made her cry harder. So she either slept in our bed or in the guest bed with me or DH. The past three nights we have been doing CIO and each night, it has been 15 min less that she is crying. Hopefully eventually she will just stop waking altogether.

hisaak · December 2010

I always wait a few minutes - he often just fusses and puts himself back to sleep. DS definitely has a cry that indicates he won't go back to sleep on his own, so if it comes to that I go in and cuddle him for a few minutes. Once relaxed I put him back in his crib. Sometimes that is good enough ... sometimes I have to keep a hand on his back for a few more minutes before he really settles. Usually that is all he needs!

janice74 · December 2010

DS just gets excited if we bring him into our bed, so that never works for us.

We gauge his crying and if he is laying down, we do not bother him. If he is standing up and crying, we will go in and reassure him (plus make sure his diaper hasn't soaked through, or he has pooped), but we do not pick him up.

He started waking again after we went away on a trip and we had been going in and picking him up, but it kept continuing each night for a month. After reading suggestions on here, we decided to try patting him, but not picking up and that put a stop to it within a couple nights.

katypresson · December 2010

DS rarely wakes in the middle of the night anymore...but when he does either me or DH go in, pick him up, rock him back to sleep. He usually passes back out pretty quickly. We don't bring him in our bed anymore.

July_2009 · December 2010

We bring him back to bed with us. DS never wakes up in the middle of the night so when he does, it means something is bothering him. usually it is a cold that he can't breathe with or he is having difficulty passing gas or something of that sort. So, we just rub his tummy, clear his nose or keep him elevated on a pillow and he falls back to sleep.

weelass24 · December 2010

I usually wait a few minutes to see how serious he is about the whole thing. If I go in, I just give him a hug, lay him back down and rub his back until he calms down. then I leave.

smellycat15 · December 2010

slmcronelaw:
Have you tried laying him back down in his crib after you rock him back to sleep? That's what I do when Leighton wakes up. First, I only go in if she is really upset and crying bad...whining, I just leave her and she usually goes back to sleep. If she is standing up when I go in I normally pick her up and rock her back to sleep and wait a few good minutes to be sure she's asleep and lay her back down in her crib and she's usually ok.

Good luck!

This. We found out that she was getting too wet so we went up a size for overnight and its been better. We had to get a small heater for her room too because she was getting too cold. So shes warm and dryer now and sleeps better. If she does get up, I usually just rock her for 5 minutes then lay her down.

coconutbug · December 2010

I watch the video monitor to see what's going on. I usually wait several minutes because he will usually just go back to sleep. If he cries for longer than that, there's usually something wrong (too hot/cold, poopy diaper, thirsty, etc.) so I try to figure out what it is. I try to put him back in the crib afterwards, though if he still freaks out, I'll rock him and see if he'll sleep with us. We bedshared a bit when he was younger, but it really doesn't work well for us anymore, so I try to avoid it.

JLGY · December 2010

Since you said he's used to you taking him to bed with you, and since you said he never wants/needs anything, I would just let him CIO (within reason) or just go in there and lay him down and tell him it's time to go to sleep. Sounds like he's just getting used to that new pattern. GL!

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