How to make toddler sleep through the night?

[Maddy]

Thanks for the details Tanikit - karma to you!

Actually Naimah, who is the same age as Laurana, has a similar rhythm (this is her old one): she would wake at 7:30, nap 11-12, then again 4-5/5:30. So I think the key will be to keep her awake until after lunch, so that she only has one nap. I will try that - though I know it won't always be possible (sometimes she's exhausted by 11am - particularly with the new 6:30 wake-up).

Winth, I know what you mean! Somehow babies wake up the moment you walk in the room, even when you don't make a sound.

And when you BF, they literally do smell you (the milk). I think that's why Nim always seems to wake up when I come to bed at night (but not when her Daddy does).

[nhockaday]

Wow, that's awesome! What time do you put him to bed?

I don't want to put Naimah to bed too early, as by the time my husband and I (on the days I work) get home it's nearly 8. She goes to bed at 9:30.

I think no matter what time you put a baby to bed, they will wake up at roughly the same time, right? Have you found that with Gabriel on days you put him down later than normal?

He doesn't go to bed until 11:15 (any earlier and he'll wake up after a while). I have been fairly consistent with his bedtime since I have been putting him in his crib, so I'm not sure about if he would wake up at a different time if I put him down later. He does sometimes wake up earlier. Like this morning he woke up at 11:15 (an hour early), but I think that is because the dog and his dad were being noisy. 

Sometimes I really wonder if your little ones can actually 'smell' you.

Whenever I open the bedroom door to check on them, no matter how fast I was to just take a quick peep (usually I'm on stealth mode), my 18 month old will wake up within 5 mins just so that I could pat him to sleep.

I definitely agree! I go in every night to make sure Gabe is still covered up, and he normally wakes up. Luckily I just tell him to go back night night, and I leave quickly, and he goes right back down.

[ZaJa]

The book series "On Becoming Babywise" helped me put my baby to sleep.

We trained him to sleep in his own room at 4 months. He started sleeping through the night when he established his 3 solid meals a day at 7 months. Subsequently, I also dropped his night feed/early morning (2am). Since I was still breastfeeding at that time, I had to ask my husband to wake up and pat him to sleep when he would wake up in the middle of the night as my baby could 'smell' me. This took about 3 days of training and then he didn't wake up anymore (he must have figured that I won't be there to give him milk). From then on, my baby sleeps from 7pm-7am. He has 2 day naps of 1.5-2 hours each, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

The key learning for me is whenever he cries, I would just go in and pat him or stroke his back and say re-assuring words that would comfort him then I would leave. I would go back if his cry becomes distressed.

[winth]

Hi Zaja,

I noticed that he is able to sleep through after you mentioned when he established his 3 solid meals a day.

Are you able to share with me what you gave him for his solids? I have been wondering if my boy is actually hungry or even thirsty that he required milk/sips of water? And he sleeps in an aircon room.

I have tried now to even not give him any water and by patting him, but he simply refuses to go back to sleep unless he has something to latch on. This happens especially at 3-4am in the nights after he has rested almost 70-80% and is not as sleepy. Patting him back to sleep is much easier at 12midnight when he's still so tired.

[kmum]

K was having trouble sleeping through the night too.  She  usually ate an hour or so before bed, then nursed at bed time.  I thought that was enough, but she kept waking more often - at her worst it was every hour or two through the night.  I finally started giving her a large snack at bed time, then nursing.  She now sleeps 6 or 7 hours, nurses once and sleeps for another few hours.  That is so much better!

[ZaJa]

Hi Winth,

At 6-7 months, it was all pureed veggies (carrots, pumpkin, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, green bean, parsnip, pea, spinach) and fruits (apple, banana, mango, peach, pear) then introduced finger foods and lumpy meals after that. Now, I practically give him food that we eat on the table. From 7 months, I've been giving him milk 3x - upon waking up, after his lunch and after dinner. This makes him eat more during lunch and dinner if I give it after. I sometimes give him snacks in-between. When he wakes up late in the morning (9am), I give him his bowl of cereal and fruit first then milk after.

Personally, it also helped me to give a pacifier at night during the early stages when he would still wake up. But he's not too attached to it. He sometimes likes it but sometimes don't. Now he sleeps with or without it.

Hope this helps.

[Maddy]

Although a lot of people find it strange, La Leche League actually recommends that you introduce meat to your baby's diet almost as soon as you introduce solids. Here is some information from their website provided by Judy Hopkinson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and member of LLL International's Health Advisory Council. She mentions a study showing that young babies who eat meat grow significantly faster than those on a vegetarian diet:

The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition states that when a baby's breast milk intake is adequate, the order in which other foods are added to the infant diet is not critical. A study published in Pediatrics (Dewey 1996) shows that the low protein in breast milk does not limit the growth of exclusively breastfed infants. It is important to remember, however, that when solid foods are introduced, the amount of breast milk a baby consumes decreases. If protein, zinc, or other nutrients are not provided in solid foods, the amount a baby receives from breast milk could be insufficient for optimal growth during the weaning period. Therefore, adding meat to the diet early in the weaning period may be beneficial.

Meat provides additional protein, zinc, B-vitamins, and other nutrients which may be in short supply when the decrease in breast milk occurs. A recent study from Sweden suggests that when infants are given substantial amounts of cereal, it may lead to low concentrations of zinc and reduced calcium absorption (Persson 1998). Dr. Nancy Krebs has shared preliminary results from a large infant growth study suggesting that breastfed infants who received pureed or strained meat as a primary weaning food beginning at four to five months, grow at a slightly faster rate. Dr. Krebs' premise is that inadequate protein or zinc from complementary foods may limit the growth of some breastfed infants during the weaning period. Both protein and zinc levels were consistently higher in the diets of the infants who received meat (Krebs 1998). Thus the custom of providing large amounts of cereal products and excluding meat products before seven months of age may not meet the nutritional needs of all breastfed infants.

Meat has also been recommended as an excellent source of iron in infancy. Heme iron (the form of iron found in meat) is better absorbed than iron from plant sources. In addition, the protein in meat helps the baby more easily absorb the iron from other foods. Two recent studies (Makrides 1998; Engelmann 1998) have examined iron status in breastfed infants who received meat earlier in the weaning period. These studies indicate that while there is not a measurable change in breastfed babies' iron stores when they receive an increased amount of meat (or iron), the levels of hemoglobin circulating in the blood stream do increase when babies receive meat as one of their first foods. Ultimately, however, there was no long-term benefit in terms of iron levels from introducing meat products earlier than the customary seven months.

It is important to remember that one of the main factors that determine the amount of iron in later infancy is birth weight. Infants whose birth weights are less than 3000 grams or about six-and-a-half pounds (whether term or premature) have reduced iron stores at birth and appear to need additional iron earlier (Dewey 1998). Mothers need to consult with a health care professional about these infants' diets. Early introduction of meat products, the addition of cereals, fruits, and vegetables supplemented with ascorbic acid and iron, or commercially available iron supplements may be recommended. The surest way to determine how well these supplemental measures work is to continue monitoring the infant's iron levels.

There is a small risk of allergic reaction to meat products. However, "the present knowledge on meat digestibility and allergenicity are not enough to justify removal of meat from a child's diet when there is risk but not clinical evidence of allergy” (Restani 1997). Moreover, the risk of reaction can be reduced even further by selecting less allergenic meats, (such as turkey or lamb rather than beef or chicken), by cooking and thoroughly blending them, or by using commercially processed (freeze dried or homogenized) meat products. Introducing meat (or any other new food) before weaning from the breast may reduce the likelihood of developing a food sensitivity (Cummins and Thompson 1997).

In short, the amount of breast milk a baby consumes decreases after solid foods are introduced. Important nutrients most likely to be in short supply during the weaning period include protein, zinc, iron, and B-vitamins. Meat is a very good source of all these nutrients and, therefore, is an important part of the infant's diet during weaning. The incidence of allergic reactions to meat is minimal, and lower still when pureed varieties are used.

It is also important to remember that when solids are first given to baby, it is as an introduction and small supplement. Breast milk will still be the baby's primary nutrition for quite some time. Solids are introduced individually about a week apart and only in very small amounts. With this slow introduction, it will be quite a while before baby is relying on solids for his/her basic nutrition. Therefore, it is important that the foods which are given provide the nutrients which are needed most for growth and health.

Vegetarian mothers are almost always aware of their need for protein, iron, zinc, calcium and vitamin B12 as well as adequate calories. Those who occasionally add poultry or fish to their diets and those who are lacto-ovo vegetarians, using milk and eggs in their diets, usually have no problems meeting their needs for these nutrients. For vegans, who do not use any dairy products, attention needs to be given to adequate sources of calcium. There are also many non-animal foods that provide iron, calcium, and zinc. Vegetarians may need supplements to get enough B12. Vegetarians who want their children to eat as they do will need to be aware of the same nutrient needs for their children. When starting solids, single foods are given so that any sensitivities or allergies can be noted.

A non-vegetarian mother who is concerned about her baby having meat or poultry before one year of age, or who is worried about a family history of allergy, could use non-animal sources of protein until she feels the baby is ready for meat.

[ZaJa]

Thanks for sharing Maddy. Totally agree with it. That's why on my baby's 7th month I started introducing meat and fish as well particularly salmon and tuna (good source of omega3 for baby's brain dev't) apart from vegetables and fruits and of course his milk.

[pooja1409]

The recipie I swear by is dont give your toddler any sugar / sweets after 6 pm. This keeps their energy levels low and helps them sleep thru the night

[mandiq]

My 2 year old only started to sleep through the night recently.... I cant do the ferber method.  It just doesnt feel right to me...

How did we do it... we cut the milk cosumption down from my sons diet to a max of 5 oz...(if any at all) athough i do give him yogurt and cheese... but my son breathed better (he was snoring a lot) I think he had sleep apnea (although not medically confirmed) and reducing the milk consuption stopped his snoring. 

During the time he didnt sleep through the night I just kept telling myself.... teenagers ALWAYS sleep through the night and time flies.    it will pass.

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