Baby's Sleep: 10 Months

by T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., author of Sleep: The Brazelton Way

For a baby this age, many new achievements make the day so exciting that giving in to sleep is a last resort. Crawling and exploring have reached a peak. Her pincer grasp (she's been working on using her thumb and forefinger together for the past few months) makes it possible for her to pick up everything to put in her mouth. She has found that she can get an immediate response from her parents if she goes toward the light plug, the TV, or the stove. "No! Don't touch that!" If she persists, someone will come to remove her. She is learning to control her world. It is so exciting! Why would any child this age give in to sleep?

Then comes pulling up to stand. Clinging from one piece of furniture to the next, she can pull herself around the house. Now she can reach precious or dangerous objects on tables. Now she is likely to have adults hover nearby at all times. If she crawls up to the stairs and starts to climb, they are likely to be there to extract her from danger. And she knows it!

Although she may have gotten back into an 8- to 10-hour sleep pattern as before, all of her energy is now going into standing up, getting going, cruising on the side of her crib, and discovering her world. There is bound to be another peak in night waking now. When she awakens from deep sleep, she automatically pulls herself up by the side of the crib. Once awake she realizes that she's hanging on to the side of her crib. How to get down? She starts to whimper, then to cry out, to act helpless as she stands hanging on to her cribside.

Parents have often called me to ask how to handle this renewed waking pattern. "She gets up on the side of her crib and she can't get back down. I have to go to her—all over again." "Can she get back down in the daytime?" I ask. "Yes." "Well, isn't it interesting that she can't get back down at night? Maybe you have to teach her that she can. When you go to her, give her a little shove. She'll bend in the middle, and find out that she can get back down by herself. But you don't need to desert her. Sit by her bed to help her fall asleep afterward." After a few nights, the baby will have learned how to get herself back down to sleep. At first parents may feel they are being dismissive of the child's pleas. But this is a chance to turn the child back to her own resources. What could be more respectful? Watch her face as she realizes that she herself is mastering this new transition.

An active child may continue to be so intrigued with standing that she needs more comforting, but most children will begin to handle their sleep patterns again.

Excerpted from:

Excerpted from Sleep: The Brazelton Way © 2003 by T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., and Joshua D. Sparrow, M.D. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Perseus.

To order this book click here or call 1-800-253-6476.