Hellobee Boards

How long do you wait before going to him? Was this recent or has he always been waking up at night?

LO will cry at night once in a while, but we only go right away if her cries are loud/screaming. Otherwise, we wait 10 or so minutes. If it's almost wake-up time, we don't get her before 6:15am.

My little guy very rarely wakes up but if he does we go to him right away if he is crying. He only cries if he can't find his lovey so then we give it to him, tuck him in and say night night.

I personally wouldn't give any milk at night. Nutritionally, he doesn't need it (unless he's sick / dehydrated or not eating solids well), and you're only teaching him to expect milk in the middle of the night. I would recommend that you choose an approach that he responds well to and you want to stick with in the long run. At this age, they will quickly take one night of snuggles and milk and turn it into a nightly habit. If picking him up makes him not want to go back down, would he respond to patting? Have you considered extinction if your presence just makes him less likely to go back to sleep?

We either use extinction and don't go in at all, or I'll just go in to be sure he hasn't gone #2, then tuck him back in, start his Glow Seahorse back up, and let him CIO. There is no other option for him...he'll never fall asleep if we go back in or rock him. Luckily, he usually only wakes at night if he didn't nap well or stayed up late (overtired). But he can literally party all night when he does wake, so I feel for ya!

I go in, pick her up and put her back down right away once she stops crying. I do this over and over until she falls asleep. It's pretty exhausting to be honest. But it's worked for both of my kids!

@Springtime: I agree with @Sammyfab to not give milk. At this age, they definitely don't need the nighttime meal and will get used to it very quickly. On the rare occasion we do go in, we just pat her until she falls asleep and that seems to work. I would try delaying how long you wait before going in, and try extending it each night. It seems like extinction may work better. I find that ignoring their cries get harder as they get older!!

I think there is something going on developmentally bc so many moms, including myself, went through this. My LO used to sleep so peacefully at night - usually 12-13 hours but around 18 months she would wake up crying a few times. I think it was separation anxiety for her. The only thing that worked was to leave her alone to work it out - worked 99% of the time and she would fall back asleep after a few minutes. If she continued to be upset I would go in and change her diaper and talk to her in a calming but firm voice that tell her "it's time for night night" and give her her lovey (stuffed bunny) and tell her "night night". I did this every time if I went in...like pp said I made sure to keep it short and simple so there's no incentive to have me come back in. After a few weeks (maybe a month) she was back to sleeping 12 hours with no waking/crying in the middle of the night. I think it's a common phase around 18 months

ETA: I think having a lovey was crucial for her at this time. She's 23 months now and still very attached to her bunny (it stays in her crib/toddler bed)