“How can you tell the difference between an 8-month-old’s sleep regression and whether he really has a toothache or a cold? Our baby woke up suddenly every 40 minutes or so throughout the night, and it was very hard to tell if he needs Tylenol and comfort, or if we should let him cry it out and learn to sleep again. Help!”
Babies often start waking at night when they start to be more active and master new skills…it’s like when you have something super exciting or new happening in your life, and you keep waking up at night because you are too hyped up to settle down. Simply scheduling in more restful time around bedtime — putting an extra 15 minutes or so into his bedtime routine — will help him apply the brakes more gradually, so he can he relaxed his busy little body. Set the bedtime vibe to “chill”…no TV on (TV in the hours before bed can disrupt sleep later), soft music, dim lighting. Warm baths, quiet conversations, gentle hugs (no need to apply tickle monsters).
Remember, as a baby becomes more active during the day, he needs more rest at night—not just to help him fall asleep, but to stay asleep. And this pre-bed protocol will help him sleep better no matter what wakes him up in the night…even if it’s a toothache or a stuffy nose messing up his zzz’s.
Speaking of which, teething can be a pain, and that pain can wake him up. You can try a dose of Tylenol or Motrin if his pediatrician has cleared it, and see if that makes a difference. Just remember that waking up at night can start with teething pain, but can become a habit long after the pain has left the building…depending on how you respond in the interim. Obviously, it’s hard to let your sweet pea mess around even for a moment, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t offer comfort if you don’t give it to you feeling…well, uncomfortable (it’s also about the level of your comfort, Mom. !)
But if you’d rather her days of staying awake at night end sooner rather than later, you might consider the comfort of gradually increasing intervals, preferably without picking her up. A consistent wake response is more likely to result in consistently less waking, and consistently shorter periods of agitation when he wakes (pick him up and put him back to sleep on Saturday and he’ll expect the same service on Sunday, even that you did don’t pick him up on Friday). That’s how much older (in other words, smarter) babies roll.
Same goes for a stuffy nose…although in that case you could also try a cool-mist humidifier in his room and a little cuddle time in a smoky bathroom before bed, as well as drops of salt to loosen the mucus, followed by suctioning the mucus to help him breathe better, and hopefully rest better, at night.
Remember that ultimately the choice of whether to jump to her side to comfort her every time she wakes (and what form to offer that comfort) is yours to make, not mine and not anyone else’s. But usually a consistent strategy, whatever that strategy is, will soon get you both a better night’s sleep — and help him learn how to fall back asleep when he wakes up (which, by the way, is all babies, children and adults do at night — even the best sleepers, really “sleep through the night”).
hugs,
Heidi
Help me, Heidi! is a weekly advice column where What to Expect creator Heidi Murkoff answers your most pressing pregnancy and parenting questions. He discusses the things you’re desperate to know right now — so if you have a question, Heidi asked here or to Facebook and he might answer in an upcoming column. (Not sure if Heidi answered one of your questions? See other columns here.)
Was this article helpful?
