by alexa5 » Wed Jul 20, 2011 09:29 am
A little late on this, but here are my thoughts: Up until our son was 8 mos old he would wake for a bottle at 4 am or so and then go back to sleep. At that age we decided that it was probably habit and not an actual need for a bottle, and started the process of letting him fuss. I was so scared about how the first night would go, and it honestly wasn't bad....he fussed for about 20 minutes (we could hear it on the monitor), and the next few days it was less and less. I think by the next week he slept through for the most part.
We ran into sleep issues right at 12 mos, but not bottle related as he was used to not having one. He would just wake up upset in the middle of the night and need some comforting. Last lasted about a week or so, and I think it was related to his developmental changes at the time--other LO's his age were having issues then too.
At 11 mos I think it is definitely worth considering that at least one of the wakeups is out of habit, and perhaps he doesn't need the bottle still. As for the second wake up, that could just be a phase, but it could become habit. I think the move could be good for him, and it would be easier for you to let him cry it out so to speak. At this age the crying it out isn't quite the same as when they are younger...it might seem bad for a day or so, but it really is more about getting them used to calming themselves down (and their needs are so much less--so they are not being harmed by it so to speak). Plus I think you can tell when they really "need" you versus just being used to asking for you to come. Good luck and hope it is going better! I just wanted to share the perspective of someone that had to break the habit of getting up, and finding out I could have probably done it much earlier since it went so well.
A little late on this, but here are my thoughts: Up until our son was 8 mos old he would wake for a bottle at 4 am or so and then go back to sleep. At that age we decided that it was probably habit and not an actual need for a bottle, and started the process of letting him fuss. I was so scared about how the first night would go, and it honestly wasn't bad....he fussed for about 20 minutes (we could hear it on the monitor), and the next few days it was less and less. I think by the next week he slept through for the most part.
We ran into sleep issues right at 12 mos, but not bottle related as he was used to not having one. He would just wake up upset in the middle of the night and need some comforting. Last lasted about a week or so, and I think it was related to his developmental changes at the time--other LO's his age were having issues then too.
At 11 mos I think it is definitely worth considering that at least one of the wakeups is out of habit, and perhaps he doesn't need the bottle still. As for the second wake up, that could just be a phase, but it could become habit. I think the move could be good for him, and it would be easier for you to let him cry it out so to speak. At this age the crying it out isn't quite the same as when they are younger...it might seem bad for a day or so, but it really is more about getting them used to calming themselves down (and their needs are so much less--so they are not being harmed by it so to speak). Plus I think you can tell when they really "need" you versus just being used to asking for you to come. Good luck and hope it is going better! I just wanted to share the perspective of someone that had to break the habit of getting up, and finding out I could have probably done it much earlier since it went so well.