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Have a question for Dr. Bill or Martha?
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Dr. Bill and Martha Answer:
Are you familiar with the theory of systematic nightwaking to extend a child's sleep intervals? Our own 12 month old gets up every two to three hours whether he's in our bed or not, and whether he's hungry or not. We're wondering if planned awakenings and progressively longer intervals might help. Any thoughts? Answer: The technique of systematic nightwaking, which means deliberately waking your child up at progressively longer intervals, is a form of sleep training designed to help children sleep longer stretches. It's certainly worth trying, especially if both you and your infant are sleep deprived. Yet, it's always best to try to find out why your child is waking up so often. Consider a hidden medical cause if your baby seems to be restless during most of the night, and have your doctor do a thorough medical checkup. Waking up every two to three hours is certainly not normal for a 12 month old. If he wakes up in pain, screaming and obviously hurts somewhere, expect a medical cause of nightwaking. The two most common medical causes of nightwaking are gastroesophageal reflux (GER) and milk or food allergies. With GER, the stomach acids are regurgitated through a malfunctioning valve that connects the esophagus to the stomach, causing a pain similar to what adults would call heartburn. GER is worse when the infant is lying flat and is a common hidden cause of colicky behavior during the day and nightwaking. Yet, most infants will have outgrown GER by one year of age. Another concern is possible allergies to formula, to a food in your milk (such as dairy products), or a food allergy to solids. We suggest you do a bit of detective work if you're breastfeeding, change the rotation of solid foods or experiment with a hypoallergenic formula if bottlefeeding. Other hidden medical causes of nightwaking are nasal stuffiness from allergies to bedroom dust, so remove the fuzzy dust collectors from his sleeping environment. It would also be wise to have your doctor check your son's ears for an ear infection. Try a continuous-play tape recording of your baby's favorite lullabies. That way he wakes up to the same music he went to sleep with - a prop which will often lull him back to sleep, since he makes the association between hearing the lullaby and going to sleep. |