My 9-month-old baby, though active, is not sleeping throughout the night. Please guide me.

Question

Hi doctor,

My son is 9 months old and weighs about 18.74 lbs. He has reached all his milestones in time. But the problem is he does not sleep well at night and maximum at a stretch sleep is only one hour. He keeps waking up and only a bottle can soothe him. During the day he is active but nights are really tough. He does not wake up completely but will be crying in his sleep itself and can soothe only with a bottle. Please suggest something with regard to this.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Do not worry. It is a common problem among children aged between 6 months to 2 years. Baby is asking for the bottle because it pacifies him. So to put him to sleep follow these steps.

1. Wake him up at morning 7 AM.

2. Do not allow the baby to take more than two naps per day. Each nap should be less than two hours.

3. Avoid all screens and gadgets. Screen time should be less than half an hour.

4. Give him a warm bath at night before going to bed.

5. Rocking motion that is cradle helps to make baby sleep better. Put him in the cradle.

6. Usually, babies wake up at night due to short sleep. You can make routine by putting him to sleep without picking him up. You can give the bottle once or twice during nights.

7. Engage the baby in physical activities in the morning like making baby crawl or creep.

8. Light should be dim at night and you have to make him see early morning sunlight because it resets clock in the body.

9. First try all this. If it does not help then I will prescribe a hormone.