Waking in night ever since my 9 month old became mobile 3 months ago

[shamilo]

My 9 month old is waking up multiple times in night ever since he could pull himself up in the cot 3 months ago. He pulls himself up and starts to cry uncontrollably. He is able to sit himself down but won't. He was a really good sleeper and is still getting 2 good naps in the day. How can I help him?

[PaulsMom]

Hi there!

Hugs on the nw's.  developmental milestones can really disrupt sleep.  Has he been doing this since he was 6 mo old or is it more recent?  I ask only because usually these things resolve after the skill has been mastered.  I would def allow him plenty of time to practice during the day especially sitting down.  You might want to do some play in his crib so he can feel comfortable there going from standing to sitting.

Wonky sleep at this age may also signify the start of the 2:1 transition.  I'm not suggesting that he should go to one nap but perhaps his routine needs to be tweaked as we approach dropping a nap.  Would you mind posting your routine in this format?
Eg.
Wake up 7:00
E:  7:00
A
S: 10:40 to 12:00
Etc.

[shamilo]

Sorry taking so long to reply. Yes he has been doing this on and off ever since he was 6 months old so its not something new. He does get time each day to play in his cot and he practises standing up constantly throughout the day on all the furniture:-p

His schedule is

7.10 Wake up
7.30 Eat (Bottle 7 ounces)
7.45 Activity
9.00 Eat (Solids)
9.15 Activity
10.00 Eat (Bottle 5 ounces)
10.15 Activity
10.45 Sleep
1pm Eat (Solids)
1.15 Activity
2.00 Eat (Bottle 7 ounces)
2.15 Activity
4.30 Sleep
6.00 Eat (Solids)
6.15 Activity
7.00 Eat (Bottle 7 ounces)
7.30 Night routine: Bath, dressed, story time etc
8.30/9.00 Sleep

The morning nap he only takes about 15 mins in cot to get to sleep. Afternoon nap a nightmare and can take up to 45 mins to an hour to get a 45 min cat nap. I was wondering whether or not to drop it but I really am not sure if he will make it to bed time i.e. 6 hours no sleep until final bottle. Is 9 1/2 months too early to be transitioning to only 1 nap in the day?

[katie80]

Is 9 1/2 months too early to be transitioning to only 1 nap in the day?

He's likely not ready to be on only one nap per day yet, but he's definitely showing the signs that he's starting to transition and that may be part of the reason he's waking at night too.  Have a read though this link and let us know what you think... From 2 to 1 nap transition (10-12m and older).

Is he sleeping for 2h-2h15 in the morning?  I'd start capping that to 2hr max, and then doing a second nap 4hr later for 45min-1hr. Something like this...
Wake 7am
Nap 1 10:30-12:30pm
Nap 2 4:30-5:15pm
BT 8/8:15pm

As for the NWs, at this age with my DS, I ended up having to go into his room and just sitting or lying on the floor and patting the mattress to have him lie down on his own and go back to sleep.  He was having a lot of NWs where I would go in, lay him down, say my sleepy phrase and walk out.  It turns out that my going in there and lying him down had become a prop of sorts.  Once I had him do it himself (it took awhile the first few nights, at least an hr), after a few days he was sleeping through. 

I think working on both of these things will help.  Let us know what you think!