Sleeping FAQ: 12-18 Months – Night Waking

My daughter who is just 1 year old had slept through the night until nearly nine months. Since then she has had various illnesses. During these she started to wake in the night and needed a milk feed to settle her. Now she is waking three times every night and will only settle once she has had milk despite eating well in the day. I wonder if she has started to have night terrors as for the last two weeks she wakes every night at exactly 9.50pm. It can take an hour to settle her at this time.

She has just started to walk so, thinking this first waking was due to overtiredness, I have tried putting her to bed earlier but with no effect. She settles well at her daytime naps and at bedtime but when she wakes at 9.50pm she quickly becomes hysterical. She won’t let me hold her and it takes a long time before she will drink her milk, then settle back to sleep. The later night wakings are erratic with her being hysterical at times or just waking but not settling back to sleep alone. She stays with her grandmother one night a week and wakes when there.

During the day she is very clingy to me if I am in sight. Recently she has started to become hysterical at every nappy change but I just persist and hope this phase will soon be over.

I am due to return to work in a month and want to get the sleeping problem sorted as soon as possible.

Feeding details:

5.00am: 6oz full fat milk on waking, will resettle
7.30am: 6 tbsp Ready Brek or 1 Weetabix
10.00am: water, ½ banana and rice cake
12.00pm: 6 tbsp chicken casserole, vegetables, yoghurt, water
3.00pm: apple and cheese or rice cake/rusk, 4oz milk from beaker
5.00pm: 6 tbsp of a tea recipe from CLBW, mini sandwiches, yoghurt, water
6.30pm: 8oz milk in bottle
10ozs milk taken during the night

Daily milk intake: 24ozs

My daughter naps at 9.30-10am, 1-2.30pm. She is asleep by 7pm.

When night terrors occur at this young age they are usually caused by overtiredness. A toddler who has recently started to walk may be disturbed in the first part of the night if she has gone to bed exhausted.

As your daughter has recently started to take her first steps she may be ready for bed by 6.30pm. It is far better if she is put into her cot and allowed to chat to herself for

15-20 minutes before settling down to sleep than to fall straight into an exhausted sleep. Keep the time after your daughter’s bath very quiet and don’t encourage her to walk around a lot.  It can take over a week of consistently putting your baby to bed earlier than usual for the full effects to be seen.

Now your daughter is becoming mobile it is a good idea to build quiet times into her day. Encourage her to sit on your lap for 10 minute ‘breaks’  throughout the day and enjoy looking at a book with you. Also, taking her out for short trips in her pram will help her take a rest. Toddlers will often be reluctant to go into a buggy but do need to have a break now and then from practicing their new found skills.

Deal with the waking at 9.50pm as a night terror. As you know that your daughter will not settle herself back to sleep when she wakes at this time, go straight into her room when she begins to cry. Use your voice to reassure her and soothe her. This may result in her becoming less worked up and calming down more quickly. She may not want to be cuddled by you if she is not fully awake. The sound of your voice should be enough to reassure her and allow her to drop back into a peaceful sleep once more. It may take 10-20 minutes for this to happen so stay in her room. If she remains in her cot she is more likely to resettle herself without the need for a bottle. Knowing your daughter is not fully awake and aware of a terror should help you deal with the situation calmly. It is distressing to watch your daughter throw herself around the cot screaming hysterically but, if handled with sensitivity, she should outgrow these night terrors in time.

The amount of milk your daughter is taking through the night could be taking the edge off her appetite by day and so creating a vicious circle of her waking in the night because of genuine hunger. To help her increase the amount she eats at lunch and tea try cutting back on her two snacks. Offer her a drink of water or well diluted juice and a piece of fruit, such as a slice or two of apple, mid morning and afternoon. If, having dropped her milk feed in the afternoon, she is hungry before 5pm give her tea at 4.30/4.45pm.

Once you are sure your daughter is eating well in the day you can begin to work on dropping the night feeds. Eliminating each feed one by one is the best way to go about this. It is usually recommended to dilute the feeds down gradually until your daughter has lost the association of needing milk to settle back to sleep. The method is fully explained in the CSG book.

Before proceeding with this method you must discuss it with either your health visitor or doctor.