# Day 290: Nights at ten months

> Twelve to 16 hours a day, 9 to 12 at night plus two naps, and separation anxiety bringing the 2 a.m. cry back. Reassure quietly, then leave. The quiet return: two sentences, no lights, every time.

- Series: Your tenth month, day by day (https://chorevia.com/learn/tenth-month), day 290 of 365, week 39
- Canonical URL: https://chorevia.com/learn/tenth-month/day-290
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-21
- Publisher: Chorevia (https://chorevia.com)
- Cite as: Chorevia. "Day 290: Nights at ten months." Last reviewed October 21, 2026. https://chorevia.com/learn/tenth-month/day-290

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

Ten months of nights, nearly, and some are worse this month than in the summer, for a reason with a name. Today is the numbers, the method, and a return to the crib that's the same every time.

## Heart

Babies 4 to 12 months need 12 to 16 hours of sleep a day, naps included ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/9-months.html); [WHO](https://www.who.int/news/item/24-04-2019-to-grow-up-healthy-children-need-to-sit-less-and-play-more)), usually 9 to 12 hours at night plus two naps ([Nemours KidsHealth](https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/sleep812m.html)). Separation anxiety can bring back night waking ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/sleep/Pages/separation-anxiety-and-sleeping.aspx)), and it peaks between 10 and 18 months ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Emotional-and-Social-Development-8-12-Months.aspx)). Your baby is 9 months old. The 2 a.m. cry that's new this month is the daytime goodbye problem, in the dark, with no clock the baby can read.

## Head

Reassure your baby quietly, then leave ([Nemours KidsHealth](https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/sleep812m.html)). Cuddling, feeding, or talking at every waking can prompt your baby to wake for that attention ([Nemours KidsHealth](https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/sleep812m.html)), so when separation anxiety brings new waking, reassure calmly and consistently ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/sleep/Pages/separation-anxiety-and-sleeping.aspx)). Keep the bedtime routine short and the same, like a bath, then stories or songs, and put your baby down drowsy but awake ([Nemours KidsHealth](https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/sleep812m.html)). The hard part isn't knowing what to do. It's doing the identical thing at the fourth waking.

## Body

Night feeds: many babies this age don't need to eat at night, but some still do, so ask your pediatrician before cutting them ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/Sleeping-Through-the-Night.aspx)). Most formula-fed babies no longer need a middle-of-the-night feeding after 2 to 4 months ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/formula-feeding/Pages/amount-and-schedule-of-formula-feedings.aspx)), but check with your pediatrician first if your baby isn't growing and gaining weight steadily ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/Sleeping-Through-the-Night.aspx)). Never put your baby to bed with a bottle ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/Sleeping-Through-the-Night.aspx)). And the crib stays as it was: back to sleep for every sleep until age 1 ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/getting-your-baby-to-sleep.aspx)), bare ([Moon, AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/a-parents-guide-to-safe-sleep.aspx)), mattress at its lowest before they can stand ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-home/Pages/Make-Babys-Room-Safe.aspx)). The guide's section is [Naps, nights, and night feeds](https://chorevia.com/learn/7-12-months#naps-nights-and-night-feeds).

## Try today

### The quiet return

- **Time:** Under a minute, at every waking tonight
- **From the guide:** [Naps, nights, and night feeds](https://chorevia.com/learn/7-12-months#naps-nights-and-night-feeds)

1. Before bed, write two sentences on a card by the nursery door: "I'm here. It's sleep time." and "Night-night. Back in the morning."
2. At a waking, listen first. If it's winding down, stay out. If it builds, go in without turning on a light.
3. Say the two sentences, in that order, with a hand on their chest or back. No lifting, no talk beyond the card, and no feed unless it's one your pediatrician agreed to ([Nemours KidsHealth](https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/sleep812m.html); [AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/Sleeping-Through-the-Night.aspx)).
4. Out. Every return tonight is identical, from whichever adult goes ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/sleep/Pages/separation-anxiety-and-sleeping.aspx)). Add a tally mark on the card on your way back to bed.
5. In the morning, count the marks. Same card tomorrow; the story is in a week of counts, not one night.

**Make it work:** The second sentence is the promise, like the daytime goodbye. Say it even before they can understand it.

## Watch for

- **Normal:** three returns one night and none the next. **Talk with your pediatrician** before dropping a night feed if your baby isn't growing and gaining weight steadily ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/Sleeping-Through-the-Night.aspx)).
- **Normal:** a baby found standing at the crib rail at 2 a.m., crying, the mattress already at its lowest ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-home/Pages/Make-Babys-Room-Safe.aspx)). **Call 911** if your baby has a seizure that lasts more than 5 minutes ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/fever/Pages/Febrile-Seizures.aspx)), and get them seen right away even after a short one ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/tips-tools/symptom-checker/Pages/symptomviewer.aspx?symptom=Fever)).
- **Normal:** a hot, restless night at the start of a cold. **Go to the ER now** if your baby is hard to wake, isn't alert when awake, or seems confused ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/tips-tools/symptom-checker/Pages/symptomviewer.aspx?symptom=Fever)).
- **Normal:** knowing this baby's cries apart in the dark, through a wall. **Call anyway** if your baby just doesn't seem right to you. Trust your instincts; two hundred and ninety days have built them ([Lurie Children's](https://www.luriechildrens.org/en/blog/when-to-call-the-pediatrician-for-your-newborn/)).

## For you

The phase has an end date, even if it's the far end of a range: separation anxiety peaks between 10 and 18 months ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Emotional-and-Social-Development-8-12-Months.aspx)), and the AAP's whole method for the nights it brings is calm, consistent, brief ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/sleep/Pages/separation-anxiety-and-sleeping.aspx)). Tired is the expected cost. Broken is different: lying awake after the baby has gone back down, mornings that feel flat for weeks, dread of the next night. That isn't the phase, and it has a number: call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262), or call or text 988; in an emergency, call 911 ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/reproductive-health/depression/index.html)). The hotline is for the partner too.

If you're the partner: take the odd-numbered returns tonight and read the card word for word. The baby shouldn't be able to tell who came.

## Sources

- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Milestones by 9 Months." Learn the Signs. Act Early. program, updated 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/9-months.html
- World Health Organization. "To grow up healthy, children need to sit less and play more." 2019. https://www.who.int/news/item/24-04-2019-to-grow-up-healthy-children-need-to-sit-less-and-play-more
- Nemours KidsHealth. "Baby Sleep: 8- to 12-Month-Olds." Reviewed 2025. https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/sleep812m.html
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Separation Anxiety & Sleeping Trouble in Young Children." HealthyChildren.org, updated 2022. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/sleep/Pages/separation-anxiety-and-sleeping.aspx
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Emotional and Social Development: 8 to 12 Months." HealthyChildren.org, updated 2009. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Emotional-and-Social-Development-8-12-Months.aspx
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Sleeping Through the Night." HealthyChildren.org, updated 2013. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/Sleeping-Through-the-Night.aspx
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Amount and Schedule of Baby Formula Feedings." HealthyChildren.org, updated 2022. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/formula-feeding/Pages/amount-and-schedule-of-formula-feedings.aspx
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Getting Your Baby to Sleep." HealthyChildren.org, updated 2024. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/getting-your-baby-to-sleep.aspx
- Moon RY. "How to Keep Your Sleeping Baby Safe: AAP Policy Explained." HealthyChildren.org, updated 2026. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/a-parents-guide-to-safe-sleep.aspx
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Make Baby's Room Safe: Parent Checklist." HealthyChildren.org, updated 2020. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-home/Pages/Make-Babys-Room-Safe.aspx
- Di Giovine M, Catenaccio E. "Febrile Seizures in Children." HealthyChildren.org, updated 2025. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/fever/Pages/Febrile-Seizures.aspx
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Fever" (symptom checker). HealthyChildren.org, accessed 2026. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/tips-tools/symptom-checker/Pages/symptomviewer.aspx?symptom=Fever
- Latimer T. "When to Call the Pediatrician for Your Newborn." Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, 2022. https://www.luriechildrens.org/en/blog/when-to-call-the-pediatrician-for-your-newborn/
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Symptoms of Depression Among Women." 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/reproductive-health/depression/index.html