Suggestions for standing in crib?

[melimcn]

Hi all,
Thought I'd fire this off to the all of the mommies out here.
My little guy just turned 8 mos old, and the last two months have been a barrage of him crossing many developmental milestones. He's teething, sitting, crawling, walking with me holding his hands, and now working on standing by himself.

He was a great sleeper until about the 6 month mark, where he's gone back to waking at night. Lately, when he wakes up, he stands up in his crib, and then gets bored. He wants his paci, so until I go in and give it to him and put him back down, he cries. He spits it out shortly after I leave the room, and goes back to standing in the crib. He doesn't usually go back to sleep after that for about an hour, so he'll whine/yell until I do it again.

Any suggestions for how to handle this? I'm willing to let him do some crying, but not for any length of time. I get worried about him hitting his head in the crib (which happens a lot), since he's not great at getting back down from standing just yet.

This is driving me nuts and I'm exhausted. He used to put himself back to sleep when he woke up. He seems to have given that up now.

Help!

 

[howzitbn]

Hello, not sure if you have one or not, but with my DS we had a soother that he could turn on himself. We would hear it in the middle of the night when he'd wake up (bored and unable to sleep, I guess?). It played music and showed a little movie/picture scene thing. That thing was a blessing. I was so sad when it finally wore out and then couldn't find a replacement. I read your post and it reminded me of how much we relied on our soother (4 yrs ago) to get our son back to sleep. Hope you find something to help that will allow all of you to get some much needed sleep. = )

Tana

 

[melimcn]

Thanks Tana!
We do have one, and I originally took it down because it was becomming a distraction for him (instead of going to sleep, he'd keep crawing over to it and turning it on).
But now, I think it may be more helpful than hurtful.
I'll give it a try.

Thanks for your help!

 

[wendybdh]

My DD was exactly the same way. I finally went to my doctor and asked him what to do. He said that she clearly should be sleeping through the night and she gets up because I've taught her the routine. I had taught her that if she'd cry for 10 minutes then I'd come in to her. Then, I taught her that if she'd cry for 20 minutes then I'd come in after 20 minutes so the cycle continued. I did what the Dr. suggested and let her just cry it out one night. I won't kid you - it was hard and she cried for an hour then finally settled down. The next night, she cried for 20 minutes. The third night and ever since she sleeps ALL night and she's 3 1/2 now. At first I thought I was neglecting my child but then i learned that I was teaching how to soothe herself.

I also suggest the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" which I think provides incredible insight into how to instill healthy sleep habits in your child.

I know that's not exactly what you wanted to hear but good luck.

 

[chefkate]

wendy!!!!!!!!! that is my most favorite book ever!!!
i was reading what you did thinking "thats exactly what dr weissbluth would do!" we discovered that book when dd1 was 1.5yrs. i kid you not, i had not once slept thru the night. by night 3 of "cry it out" she was a champion slleeper ...and now at 7 she still is!
we followed it from day1 w/ dd2....a beautiful sleeper!
following it w/ dd3 (4 months)....nighttime isgreat.....working on daytime. her naps are so short and i cant get her to lengthen them

 

[wendybdh]

Kate- I totally agree. A friend recommended it to me shortly after what my Dr. recommended and it was nice to know they were in agreement and I definitely plan on using it with our next baby.

 

[mabdoo]

I also believe in the cry it out method though it is not easy. My little one was getting up at the same time every night and I finally let her cry it out for over an hour and she sleeps great. I also have a humidifier in both my kids rooms so that if they do wake up they don't wake up the other one. I can still hear both of them fine if they do wake up. The nights that I did the cry it out method I had a book in my room and read until she finally stopped. It made the time go by quicker for me and I didn't sweat (I heat up like I am having a hot flash when my kids cry) like I normally do when they cry. Hope this helps.

 

[melimcn]

I do too! I'm glad it's not just me! Whenever DS cries, it's like someone lights a fire under me! A little internal alarm.

I'm working on CIO, but right now I keep breaking down. I look at the video monitor and see him dragging his blanket around his crib trying to get comfortable...all while crying. It just tears me apart. I have to get stronger with this, because I do know it'll work.

Ugh.