1 yo won't stop sitting up during night!

[Flacker]

I've been using the BW method since my son was a newborn. He's always been a pretty good sleeper. But ever since he learned to go from laying down to sitting up, he won't stop doing it in his sleep! When he first started this, my husband or I would go in, lay him down, sooth him, and leave. He would cry for a minute, then go back to sleep. Now, however, he wakes up around 4:00 every morning and keeps sitting up and crying. He then usually falls asleep slumped over on his teddy bear, but then when he moves or shifts in his sleep, he wakes himself up again. And us putting him back down is not helping any longer. He cries, sleeps, then jerks awake for up to 3 hours. I've started bringing him in bed with us just so we can all get some rest. And he will sleep in our bed peacefully for HOURS! I know this is a bad habit, but I'm not sure how to break it. Has anyone else had this problem? Do I just need to suck it up for a week and let him CIO in those early morning hours? By now, I feel like he's expecting me to come in and get him, which I know is not ideal.  This has been going on  now for about a month.

[babybarr]

let him CIO in those early morning hours?

Tracy Hogg the Babywhisperer doesn't condone CIO so we need to come up with another plan for you.

Have you tried tucking him in tight or using a grobag / sleeping bag?

[Flacker]

I haven't tried either of those Laura. Thanks for the suggestion. I may grab one this weekend and see if that helps.

[ikesmummy]

We went through a similar thing when keaton realised he could stand up in his cot, for the first few nights I went in lay him down and rubbed his back a little but soon realised ut was going to get really annoying really quickly so for the next few nights went in held his hand and said lie down now, bubbas time. Quite quickly he wasn't calling me anymore, not sure if he wasn't getting up or just not calling us, the next stage of my plan had been to go in and just tell him to lie down.

Are you confident it isn't a routine issue and either ot or ut waking?

[babybarr]

Good point - Perhaps you could post your routine too?

[Flacker]

Sure. Here's our routine:

6:00 a.m. - Wake up, breakfast, play
8:00 a.m. - Nap #1 (about 1 hour)
9:00/9:15 a.m. - Wake up, play, park, etc.
12:00 p.m. - Lunch
1:00 p.m. - Nap #2 (anywhere from 1 - 2 hours)
2:30 p.m. - Awake, errands, play, snack, etc.
6:00 p.m. - Dinner, bath, bedtime routine
7:00 p.m. - Bedtime

To add to this post... just today my son started standing in his crib. My husband found him standing/crying during his morning nap unable to get himself down. And he did the same thing during his 2nd nap. Wondering what the night will hold now that he seems to be pulling all the way up. Just not sure if I should "help him" lie back down or hope that he figures it out himself!?!?

[deb]

Whenever he pulls up during his A time, do help him get back down if he seems to be trying to sort it out, and when he gets the hang of it, odds are this will pass that much more quickly. 

[ikesmummy]

Hope you haven't had too awful a night. I know I thought I was in for an awful time when keaton started doing this but it passed a lot quicker than I feared. Am wondering if your lo could be a bit OT at bedtime. His first A is only 2hrs (which seems quite short at his age) his second is 4hrs and his 3rd looks like it is sometimes 5hrs.

Maybe you could try extending that first A a bit so both of his naps are later in the day and his last A before bed is around 4 hrs? Keaton is more likely to need help settling at night when he is ot.

[Flacker]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I've been spending a lot of his A time practicing going from standing to sitting and he seems to have the hang of it. However, he's still sleeping most nights and naps in a seated position. Not waking up as much though, so maybe he's figuring out his own way to stay asleep in this strange position. Still, I'm going to see if I can help him "learn" how to go from sitting to laying down.

Unfortunately I can't keep him awake much longer than 2 hours in the a.m. b/c I teach an exercise class for babies at 9:30 and my son goes with me everyday. So putting him down for nap #1 later than 8:15 or 8:30 means I have to wake him early to go to our class. Hopefully though, I can adjust nap times once he's down to 1 nap.