8 month old baby wakes up about every 1-3 hours every night

Some suggestions:

Cut out one of his naps and see if it allows him to sleep better at night - one of my children dropped his second nap at 6 months of age - so some kids just don't need it

Start to sleep him in another room so he can begin to cope himself with his wake ups.  you can keep a baby monitor on low so that you are aware but is you continue to be sleep deprived and he doesn't begin to learn his own nighttime coping skills - everyone will continue to suffer.

Is he nursing or bottle feeding?  I'd time his last feeding a bit later and put him down just a bit later to see if that puts him into a deeper sleep.

Check his diet and make sure you are not giving him anything that would "wire him or make him more wakeful" (caffeine in bits of chocolate -processed sugar in any solids) though I doubt he is eating many foods at this time.  Also make sure he is not gassy or fussy from gas.

There are some great books out there on babies and sleep - it may be time to read a few and see their suggestions as well.

Hi,  I  have  a  3  year  old  and  and  8  month  old  (daughters)    and  I  have  come  to  learn  with  many  years  of  raising  my  younger  brother  and  sisters;  plus  my  mother  comes  from a  family  of  13;  so  my  grandmother  and  mother  has  alot  of  good advice  needless  to  say.  The  most  effective  way  to  get  your  baby  to  sleep  longer  and  better  is  a  regular  bath;  every  night.  They  don't  need   to  be  long  baths;  they  can  be  very  short.  Right  after  a  bath  I  then  feed  her  some  pablem  and  then  put  her  in  her  swing  with  her  bottle.  She  is  then  out  for  the  night  and  might  wake  up  once  or  twice  (which  is  very  normal  at  this  age).  Full  night sleeps  won't  happen  till  about  1  year  of  age.  When  he does  scream  or  wake,  turn  him  on  his  side  and  wrap  the  blankets  close  and pat  his  back  or  side;  they  like  the  feeling that  you  are close  by.  I  know  its  very  tiring  to do  this  but  it   gets  them  use  to  being  comforted  to  sleep  completely  on  their  own.  Hope  this  helps!

Through trial and error, I have learned that cutting out naps and forcing kids to stay up later does NOT aid in deeper sleep, it makes them over tired, and it's much harder to settle them once they get that second wind from being over tired. I disagree with the users who have told you to give your child less nap time. There is a really great book that helped us a lot, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, it is really great, I love Dr Weissbluth's methods. He gives you outlines for letting your baby cry it out, or if you want to soothe them and not let them cry.

I recommend your baby being put in his own room at night. Once babies are a bit older, they become more aware of sounds especially your sleeping sounds  and presence in the room at night, and it wakes them up. If you don't have 2 rooms, maybe you can wheel his crib out of your room when you are ready to go to bed, and just have the living room darkened. It really makes a difference having them in their own room. Also, try white noise, a fan on low, or a c.d. with white noise effects, it helps soothe.

If a nap is dropped naturally, it will be the morning nap, because the child is getting more sleep at night, and therefore is not worn out or tired until the afternoon. If your child normally takes three naps per day, then dropping the third nap, and moving the bedtime earlier may help, but don't cut out the afternoon nap, all you will get is an over tired baby.

Please make sure that there are no underlying medical conditions that may be causing your child to wake up frequently before letting him cry it out.  My son had infant acid reflux due to a milk protein intollerance and would not sleep for long stretches because of the discomfort it caused him.  After that passed with time and help of certain meds at the aprox. age of 9 months, he began to sleep better.  Now when he is suffering from a cold, has an ear infection, or is teething, he tends to wake often once again.  I find myself questioning my parenting skills when this occurs...but I just have to accept that my baby is a light sleeper and discomforts wake him easily.  Right now his molars are poking through his sore little gums and his naps have shortened to 50 minutes.  He used to sleep all night, wake in the morning around 7am, and nap for 1 1/2-2 hours in the afternoon.  Now, he falls asleep earlier in the evening, only to wake at 4:30- 5am, and then take two 50 minute naps during the day.  I just have to be flexible.

The fact that your child sometimes wakes every hour or so at night is alarming, especially since he is in the room with you.  I can't believe it is separation anxiety because he is near you.  Please go to the doctor and try to rule out other medical conditions before transferring him to another room, letting him cry it out, and expecting him to sleep all night.  When my son had a bad cold which caused a double ear infection last month, he would wake often in the night. He was uncomfortable.  After he finished taking antibiotics, he was still waking often.  I brought him back to the doctor to make sure his ear infections were gone.  The doctor reassured me that his ears looked great and that he had no other symptoms of illness.   I decided to let him cry that night for 5 minutes each time he woke up before going in to resettle him.  Then I would leave. This went on for 20 minutes until he fell asleep.  It was hard but the next night, when he awoke, he would cry for 1 minute at a time and then go to sleep on his own.  I am not sure if this will work for you since he sleeps in your room.  After you go to the doctor to make sure everything is allright, then you can decide if you are ready to transfer him to his own room.  Take small steps and don't expect miracles.  You will need to comfort him often when he first moves to his own room and gradually make him feel safe there.  Best of luck to you! 

I am an avid reader and I am always reading at least two or three books at a time. But sometimes information isn't enough. Especially with infants. Try listening to your instincts. If it's to close to home, have you thought about trying homoeopathy? I have used it on all my four, and remember, placebo doesn't effect babys!!

My son does the exact same thing.  He is 8 months old now.  When he was 3 months old we learned he had a milk and soy protein allergy (called colitis).  We knew b/c we saw small amounts of blood in his stool.  So mom had to cut out milk and soy from her diet b/c she was breastfeeding.  It took 2 months to get his stools back to normal.  However, acid reflux is extremely common in allergic babies.  When they lay down, the acid creeps up their throat and esophogus and starts to hurt and wakes them.  Sitting upright makes it feel better.  Nursing or feeding makes it feel better, and even a binkie, because it pushes the acid back down due to swallowing.   Now he's on prevacid and zantac which seems to help a bit.  Last night he woke every 1.5 hours wanting to nurse and would go back to sleep nursing.  I know it's frustrating.  I haven't slept more than 3 or 4 hours at a time since I was 7 months pregnant.

oohh god... that sound sooooooo like my son!

he is on hyper allegic formula too (soy and milk protein allergie). he is also on acid pills for his stomach. We tilted his bed, i feed him every 4 hours at night (with even cerial in his bottle) and he still wakes up every hour. And he always has....

well even in his own room, he is not sleeping more than 2.5 hours at a strech!!!!

i tried the cio method. it did not work for me eighter.... or my son... or my husband.

but you know what.... he was already so busy in my belly....

i was reading soooo many books and internet blogs... forget it....

i still think there is something else wrong with him. i really think he has a sleep disorder and just cant sleep (busy mind?!?!)

So, i feel you.. i also tried everything possible....  hang in there.. there is always a light on the end of the tunnle (well, you will get there sooner or later).

I am hoping too....

Good Luck

Your baby is hungry and scared. It is normal for babies to wake up this many times at night to feed and get reassured that you are there. Most of the world mothers sleep with their babies and that solves the problem. The baby breastfeeds and goes back to sleep and no one has to get up. You may choose to do that. Either way, when he cries, feed him and touch him so he knows you are there. He is scared and hungry. He needs you. He will feed and go back to sleep. He is crying for milk and touch and closeness. These are real needs that must be met.

Not responding to your baby's real need to feed and be held is very harmful to him. I think once you realize that your baby's need is real, you will respond rather than refuse to care for him. He is not supposed to sleep through the night for the first year or even two. Trust him. He needs you. Babies get very hungry at night because that's when they grow. Once you respond to his need, you will get more sleep because it takes much longer to cry than to feed and cuddle. Also, he wakes up again because he is still hungry.

My son slept thru the night 10pm-7am from 2.5 months to 4.5 months, then started waking every 30 minutes to an hour unless I would feed him, and then would still wake every two hours. I started putting him down to sleep in his own room in his swing so that when he wakes I can go in and gently rock him without picking him up until he drifts back to sleep.  He now wakes one time in the night to feed and then sleeps until 8am.  This has worked well for our family to be able to get much needed rest.  He seems much happier and well rested and I know my husband and I are. There is much controversy over sleeping in a swing I am well aware, but if we all sleep better, I dont see the harm.  His swing does not sit upright so he is laid back in his little bowl, all buckled in so he cant plop himself out. Hope this helps. ....a well rested Momma, Daddy and Baby

hello. I have an 8 month old as well. I've noticed that your baby only sleepd 3-4 hours during the day. this is my 8 month old scheduel.

wakes at 9am plays

9:30am breakfast

10:30am nap until 11:30am

12pm lunch

playtime, bath, bottle

2:30pm nap until 4:00pm

snack, play, 

5:30 dinner

6:30p nap until 7pm

plays

between 8-10pm bedtime. 

bottle at 12am (she does not wake up fully)-when I see her moving around I start a bottle)

bottle at 5am

then wakes up at 9am...

Also, try pushing your bed with one side towards the wall... put a body pillow against the wall.. the your baby and then you. push his bottom all the way up to your belly so he can feel you. co-sleeping is an amazing thing. I used to do it only during daily naps, but have recently decided she's big enough now to sleep with hubby and I in bed. Try researching more on co-sleeping.

Im the original author of this note.  My son is now 14 months old and sleeps wonderfully through the night.  It started when he was about 11 months old. 

My routine to get him to that point was awake @ 7-8 am, 2 hour aftn nap 12-1pm till about 2-3 pm, and then bed -time 8-9pm, he sleeps all through till 7-8am the next morning.  It's Great!!  and my new little girl who is now 8 weeks old, is a very good sleeper, she wakes once through-out the night for a feeding and then right back to sleep.  It just took a little time and patience

Hi to the original poster.  What did you do differently, other than what seems like a more regulated schedule?  Please let me know as my 5-month old dd is waking every single hour at night.  CIO would never work because she gets in such a frenzy almost the instant she is laid down in her crib (even if in a relatively deep sleep already) and forget ever putting her in the crib while she is drowsy, but awake.  I cannot console her just by patting her or stroking her and when I do pick her up to calm her down, it takes sometimes 15 - 30 minutes to calm her down.  We have tried everything from zantac to prevacid to gas drops to being careful about her position after breastfeeding to watching my diet to getting on a more rigid schedule (and just following her lead, too) to having her sleep in a carseat/elevated crib/co-sleeping -- and absolutely nothing is working.  Any advice is appreciated.

well he was about 9-10 months old before he started sleeping through the night.  I started by only giving him one nap through out the day.  Another habit we have gotten into also which I know alot of Parents would frown on is giving him a warm bottle to go to bed with.  We do always check on him about 20 minutes after we put him down, and the bottle is finished and not in his mouth affecting his teeth.  That will be my next hurdle is trying to eliminate the bottle at bed time.  I know this probably wont help you much since your baby is only 5 months and I wish I could recommend something, but it will take time and patience and the months go by pretty fast the first year so try to enjoy them.  Good Luck ! 

hi i have a baby 8 months old,till 8 monts he sleeped once a day,now he want to sleep twice a day,at 6.30pm its bathtime,at 7pm i feed him and he falls asleep,he wake up at 11 pm i give him 4 once milk,he falls asleep,i ve try to not give him milk during the night,but he stay more then 2 hours awake,and i ve seen its imposible to sleep all night,now every night i feed him and he is happy ,he wake up at 7 am ,i think your baby is hungry thats way he wakes up,try to feed him and u can see he will sleep all night good luck 

Hi to the original poster and all others in a similar situation.  Our son is about 8 months old and does wake up a few times during the night, but we have learned to let him cry for a little bit (usually a few minutes), not overreact, and allow him to soothe himself back to sleep.  Feeding him is the WORST thing you can do, because then it only trains him to wake up in the middle of the night for feedings.  We used to give him a little bottle when he woke up, but then he would wake up after 4-5 hours like clockwork, expecting formula.  So, we decided to let him cry it out one night, and it was painful for him/us that night and the next night, but he learned how to self-soothe, and now he might wake up once a night crying but will go back to sleep if one of us goes in and pats him on the back and says a few words.  Also, DO NOT allow your children to sleep in the same room as you are, because then they KNOW that you are only a few feet away and will continue to cry until you attend to them, instead of learning that while you are in the same house, you will not immediately jump to their aid in the middle of the night and thus they can comfort themselves back to sleep.

This behavior is normal, but some babies can develop sleeping disorders that can be very serious. Humans of all ages need sleep to grow and regenerate, and babies especially need their sleep normally.

It is normal for 8 month old babies to wake up this many times at night to feed and get reassured that you are there. Goodluck for you and you baby..

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   Hi,

     My son is 8 months old...i have had the same problem since he was born.I am breastfeeding and when he was first born i was supposed to feed him every 2-3 hours..he picked up the habit and just kept waking up.Finally last month i had enough of sleep deprivation and called my pediatrician...she told me to feed him one last time at his bed time...which is 8 and when he wakes up crying just to ignore him.His crib is in our bedroom and the first few nights it was really hard to ignore his cries but it`s been about 3 weeks now and he sleeps through the night and is much happier during the day.The pediatrician told me that some babies just have the habit of waking up even though they don`t need anything....i would suggest what she told me which is do not talk to him..stroke him...just let him cry it out.:)

Hi,

I had issues with my son, who is now 11 months old. I read a lot about it and have come to agree with a sleep expert who said babies need to sleep every 3-3 1/2 hours and that putting them to bed later at night does not make them sleep in later in the morning -- they wake up at the same time, regardless. If they get overtired, they will sleep even less...

I feel for you, it's very hard with this situation. I really feel like you should take a look at what he's eating during the day. Is it enough? Is his weight on track? Sounds like you are doing all the right things to help him sleep, with the routines etc. so I would be sure there's not a health issue or real hunger or something else going on. Poor baby, up all night isn't good for him either. :(

Good luck, I hope this helps.