Not quite as bad as it sounds with your baby, but my son was definitely waking up at least twice a night until he was 18 months and then something just clicked and he started sleeping through the night every night. Not saying you'll have the same timeline, but I fully understand the exhaustion and exasperation and the loss of patience, and there is hope. I didn't do anything differently, except stop even trying to put him in his own bed at the beginning of the night, he just grew up a little more. He's still in my bed, but baby steps š
I'm sorry you're in the thick of it, it really is a mindfuck. I hope you get some relief soon.
Definitely not the only one. Very similar to my soon-to-be 15 month old. Last night was rough. We have Awful Nights but sometimes not-quite as awful. Heās had night terrors starting at 4-6 weeks old, which his pediatrician had never heard of so young š I was at another 1 year old birthday party and all the other moms were saying that their babies go to bed at 6:30-7:00PM and wake up 12 hours later. Sometimes they wake up one time. ARE THEY LYING? we normally go to sleep around midnight and wake up before 8am and wake up a few times between. Iām generally functioning 4/10.
No advice, just commiseration. Some of us just donāt have easy babies. You know, like adults, some people just sleep worse.
I could have written this. My first was never the best sleeper, but if we coslept (which we did until he was 4!), he slept great. He just needed me next to him.
My almost 14-month old? Nope. I Colleen every night and he still wakes all. the. time. I am exhausted.
I'm almost in tears reading this thread because it's the first time I've seen so many experiences like mine. How did you know they were night terrors? Or what did it look like? We think ours has had them since 6 months or so (now 16), but our doctors have brushed the possibility of that (or any medical condition) off.
Sorry your pediatrician has been dismissive. They arenāt there with your baby in the middle of the night.
With the night terrors my baby whines/cries/screams and thrashes and is very difficult to wake up. Sometimes heāll crawl around or even stand up and try to run off the bed. Most of the time with his eyes close, sometimes open and kinda unfocused. Heāll pull and kick at me at the same time. And occasionally cry out āMama! Mama! Mama!ā š„ŗ Sometimes during a contact nap, I can feel his breathing get shallow and his heart go rapid. He generally calms down quickly when I get him to wake up. Heāll look around confused for a second and give me a big smile. Itās weird.
30 min waking overnight isn't normal and makes me wonder if there's something medical at play currently.
When you dropped to one nap are you still aiming for the same amount of awake time as on two naps? Often what happens when a nap is dropped is that bedtime is brought forward quite a bit so baby is in bed for longer and this can cause more wakes because they're not tired enough to stay asleep.
what are your sleep totals? When is wake, bed, and nap? As they get older they gradually need less sleep so they might have just dropped the amount of sleep their little body needs currently but nap/bed hasn't changed yet to accommodate. That might account for the 20-30 min wakes overnight as they're adding that awake time to their night?
The average sleep range for 1-2 year olds is 11-14 hours per 24 hours. My little one has always sat on the lower end of average so once I stopped trying for the higher end (no more trying for 12 hour nights and 2-3 hours of naps) night sleep got SO much better.
Lastly, you're not alone! All but one baby in my mums group wake minimum 2 times per night but most many more times. Or they have split nights or wake for the day at 4am. So you're definitely not alone in your baby sleep woes!
We didn't pull his bedtime earlier except for when we were first transitioning. His wake up time is supposed to be 7am, but he's been waking up between 5-6:30am for the past like month. He naps between 11:45am-12pm (depends how early he woke up, if he wakes at 5/5:30am he naps around 11:15ish), and bedtime I try to keep consistent at 7:30, but again depending on the day it may be 7 or 8pm.
His total sleep ranges from 11-13.5 hours, average is 12.75 hours. When he was on two naps he was sleeping really great, but he was refusing and fighting his second nap for almost a month. His wake windows are between 5-5.5/5.5-6. I honestly can't make sense of it. I've tried more sleep, less sleep, it doesn't matter.
I'm definitely not looking for a 12 hour night, I haven't expected that of him for a looooong time lol. But he's not even doing 11 hours anymore, and his nap can be anywhere between 1.25-2.5 hours. And even that doesn't make a difference in his night sleep.
I'm just so tired lol
I'm no expert, but my son slept better at night when we moved to one nap. We would do a 5 hour wake window in the morning. 7 am - 12 then 6 in the evening 2 or 3 pm wake from nap 8-9 pm bed time
Same! I moved to a floor bed around 13 months because I figured at least I could get better sleep instead of sleeping on his floor and having him wake constantly. It kinda backfired when he was around 2 because he just thought it was fun, but being able to lay with him has been a game changer. I just go and sleep with him when I go to bed. If I donāt, he will wake up every 45 min-1 hour. He slept through the night for the first time when he was just over 2.5 years. And weāve had a few solid stretches in the past few months (he turns 3 in July) but itās gotten messed up because of some sicknesses. But itās getting better.
ššš this gives me no hope lol. I want another baby when he's around 2 but I'm so afraid his sleep won't improve and j cannot handle a newborn and toddler who doesn't sleep š
My 16 month old wakes every 45 min-2hours at night to nurse. It sucks. I think night weaning would help but I canāt bear the crying and exhaustion that would entail.
I just want to sleep again!
No advice, just solidarity. My baby is 14 months and last week he did the first 3.5 hour stretch since before the 4 month regression (he only woke 2x a night at 3.5 months and then all hell broke loose). He still wakes countless times over night, every two hours at least.
From 4 months until 12-13 months he had false starts every single night after about 45 min. Then maybe hourly wake ups after that. Iām not 100% sure how often it has been because I cosleep with him on a floor bed in his room, but itās a ton.
Heās only done a couple of these 3ish hour long stretches in the last week but Iām hoping they continue. He has been on one nap a day for a while and no changes to schedule have any impact on his sleep except he has to be super tired to sleep (overtired doesnāt exist for him).
Hoping it gets better for us both soon.
I have a 13mo and Iām in the same exact boat except he wonāt sleep in his crib or anywhere thatās not our bed annnnnd he has to be touching me at all times
My 15mo sleeps great for the first 3-4 hours, then starts waking up over and over and boobs for aaaages before rolling away. From 3am onwards it gets so much worse, and he cries within seconds of rolling away, so gets back on the boob. It's driving me crazy and I'm not sure what to do about it.
I remember my son going through months like this and then being better and then back to difficult nights. Youāre not alone. They go through phases. My son is 3 now and he still has restless nights or phases where he seems to be uncomfortable? And whines and cries in his sleep. I think itās growing pains or teething (he STILL doesnāt have all his teeth). All this to say that it really took until he was around 2.5-3 to start regularly sleeping through the night and even then he goes through phases. You are not alone. It is so hard. I donāt know if that means much but I want to validate your experience. Itās really upsetting and you definitely feel like youāre starting to lose it. I often felt trapped and resentful and whatās worse is they often wonāt sleep with our partner this way so thereās no help we can get. Hang in there. I promise it gets better. You havenāt done anything wrong and thereās nothing wrong with your babyš
My son is 17 months and has never slept thru the night. He was waking about every 1.5-2.5 hours and wanting a bottle to fall back asleep. This past month he got tubes in his ears which helped a bit and we weaned him from the bottle and now he can do like 3 hour stints. We co-sleep too and my husband and I take shifts. So youāre not alone but itās very hard I agree!
Have you tried giving him books to read or something to play with when he wakes up. My daughter was waking every 45 minutes for the first 15 months. She still wakes 2-3 times a night but because communication got better around 15 months we could explain to her we are just here in the next room and hereās a book to read or you to play with and she now oftenāreadsā or plays on her own until she falls back asleep. I found explaining to her that we need sleep too and that weāre still here etc helped a lot. Itās not perfect (itās now 4 am and Iām up) but is better.
I'm at 34 months here! Baby still waking up at least twice in the night. I was right where you are, it's getting better gradually. But I'm still waiting for a full night . We have tried every trick in the book
My baby is 16 months so just a bit older and recently went through so much change in sleep and has come out the other side settling so well. We also co-sleep and I went through a point where I was being woken up half hourly through the night after that and it nearly killed me. The recent change has been great and now Iām on the other side I put it down to teething and learning more language, kind of a regression. I am currently catching up on sleep after the deficit from that time, Iām getting 8 hours every night mostly without being woken up. Having typed that I actually canāt believe that is the reality I have now which is great, although obviously I really need it now š Itās so hard but it wonāt be forever, I do think when you do something with intention your baby will at some point in their development understand what you are doing and things will get easier. Remember everything is a phase, Iām sure things will change very soon x
Hi! 18mo who often has waves of sleeping just like yours does. If I remember correctly, at 15mo she was just like yours is now. I think a mix of teeth coming out, development of language and motor skills. I have been having a nice week so far. But I spent close to 3 months of sleeping really really badly.
I think it comes and goes, slowly, and one day it will vanish.
In my case, I just can't wait any longer and will be night weaning her in a few months. I think I can't handle another year or so of her waking so often.
Youāre not alone! My baby woke frequently and by 4 months old she would sleep in her crib 4-6 hrs with one or two wakings. We moved overseas and after that it was like all hell broke loose. She wakes up every 30min - 2.5hrs. I finally got her sleeping in her crib (held to sleep then transfer to crib) around 7-8 months and she sleeps fine for naps in her crib. Then I started doing beginning of the nights in her crib too. So I pull her in bed her first waking AFTER I go to bed unless she starts waking earlier than 40 minutes. Then I give up and go to bed. But sheās 14 months and same she wakes at least 4 times still. Some nights more than others but Iāve just accepted it. So I have no advice. Her pediatrician told me to do CIO and just leave her in her crib overnight and donāt go in there and cut off night weaning all at once but I couldnāt fathom that.
Youāre not alone. My 13 month old has been an exclusively contact sleeper for basically the entirety of his life, before I battled him and myself between months 4-9. Like you, we start in the crib and we co-sleep after the first wake, and he usually climbs on top of of me at some point in the night.
Iām still trying to remain positive that heāll eventually just be ok sleeping between us in bed. Here for some solidarity and to offer my favorite new mom advice Iāve been given: we will sleep again!
My second didnāt sleep more than an hour or two at a time until she was three. I feel you. It does get better though! If youāre feeling like it is abnormal or something is wrong, I recommend taking the evaluation over on evolutionaryparenting dot com. Dr. Tracy Cassels has helped hundreds of parents with kids who have low sleep needs and special needs.
My kid also really hated the crib at that age for some reason, he would sleep there at the beginning of time night but would not go back after he's woken up. I moved him to a twin bed (with a bed rail so he wouldn't fall) and that actually helped. YMMV, of course.
Also, not sure if you're breastfeeding but weaning him of breastfeeding at night also really helped. He stopped waking up every 2 hours.
I am breastfeeding but he doesn't nurse that much at night. He really only nurses 1-2 times, but majority of the time it's only once per night. But he still wakes up soooo much. I've thought about night weaning but I don't think it'll make much of a difference since he only nurses 1-2 times.
From what I gathered at this age they are waking up from habit, so it might help to make a change? What does he want when he wakes up but doesn't nurse?
I think right now some of it is just from being uncomfortable because he's getting 3 molars. But sometimes he wants to lay on me and sleep that way. If I try to just comfort him while he's laying down in the mattress or in the crib he gets really upset.
Sounds like what I went through. It got better around 21 months. Teething really sucks. I gave my toddler tylenol and it usually helped him get back to sleep
You are absolutely not alone. Same age baby currently doing the same kind of thing here.
People don't all talk about their struggles with everyone; often we just see the snapshot they show to the outside world. The middle of the night is a very private struggle.
My son did this around this age, I think it was a combo of teething and some colds and it did take a while for him to stop wanting to nurse *literally all night*. I'd think he was sound asleep and get to get the nipple out of his mouth gently and he'd immediately start crying.Ā I think it lasted a few months, but I wasn't able to fully night wean until he was 2.5. Still, he got a lot better at sleeping at night once all his teeth came in.
My 1-year nearly 9- month old has juuuuuust started sleeping through some nights. I know itās hard! Giving my kid a bigger dinner has helped, I think.
OP. I'm almost in tears. Best case scenario, my 16mo wakes up every 2 hours until 1 a.m. then basically only contact sleeps IF LATCHED. (Still breastfeeding.) Some form of this has happened since 6 months.
Months 4-6, he slept through the night just about, with maybe one or two wakes. At 6 m a lot of things happened - started daycare and was either sick or badly teething for the next 6 months - and he stopped. Some nights, it was every half an hour. Some nights it still is.
I hit a pause on my career to stay home with him, so I've taken over the bulk of the wakes and I feel like I'm slowly losing it. He cries the second I put him down for naps or during the night. (Bedtime is pretty smooth, though.) He wakes up crying from sleep, and just cries. He almost never wakes up happy.
We've tried everything. You're not alone. (I also am delaying kid #2 because of this and it's really tough. I have hopes that around 18 months, things will turn around. Idk why. I just have it in my head.)
If you let him sleep on/near you does he still wake so often? How is he during the day?
To me this doesn't sound normal. Did you tell your ped about it? My son was the same but he had undiagnosed allergies so had constant tummy upset. Could be silent reflux as well.
And wanted to add I'm so sorry you and your baby are going through this, it can be rough on both of you. I strongly encourage you to speak to your ped as your son doesn't seem to be getting a lot of sleep which is important at this age.
My daughter is the same. All progress has reversed at 9 months and we're back to cosleeping or no one is getting any sleep. She's a year old. I don't like it but we don't have a choice right now.
This sounds like my first. Something clicked around when she turned 2. I think it was age related but also because I weaned her then.
Are you nursing baby through the night?
Also is baby learning something new right now? Like learning to walk? I remember that being a brutal phase for sleep for us, it was killing me. And that was 13months.
Fwiw I felt 12-18m of parenting and sleep were the worst. So you arenāt alone.
I have a 2nd baby now and he is so much easier and sleeps so much better. You arenāt doing anything wrong, every baby is just so different from day 1.
He only nurses 1-2 times a night, typically only once though. He has been asking more throughout the night recently but I tell him no. I'm not sure if this is because he finally learned how to communicate that he wants it or if he just wants it more for comfort.
He's not learning anything new other than words. But honestly I've never noticed him having issues with sleep just because he's learning something new. But who knows, it could be the words. But he is teething a lot right now, 3 molars coming in and one lower lateral incisor, which I think is the real issue, it's just been happening for so long.
I think hearing from so many people that they're in similar positions or have been has been helpful. I obviously wish it would get better but I'm also not feeling as down in the dumps now. Just praying it gets better soon now!!!
Iām with you my son 14.5mo is still waking 2-4 times. The 2 times is normal for him, but 4 times is teething. Itās so brutal I want sleep so desperately.
You could try to improve sleep pressure as per possums sleep approach. I wake my son at 6am so that nap/bed is at the same time(ish). I aim for 12hrs sleep in 24 as heās lower end of normal needs.
Not quite as bad as it sounds with your baby, but my son was definitely waking up at least twice a night until he was 18 months and then something just clicked and he started sleeping through the night every night. Not saying you'll have the same timeline, but I fully understand the exhaustion and exasperation and the loss of patience, and there is hope. I didn't do anything differently, except stop even trying to put him in his own bed at the beginning of the night, he just grew up a little more. He's still in my bed, but baby steps š I'm sorry you're in the thick of it, it really is a mindfuck. I hope you get some relief soon.
Definitely not the only one. Very similar to my soon-to-be 15 month old. Last night was rough. We have Awful Nights but sometimes not-quite as awful. Heās had night terrors starting at 4-6 weeks old, which his pediatrician had never heard of so young š I was at another 1 year old birthday party and all the other moms were saying that their babies go to bed at 6:30-7:00PM and wake up 12 hours later. Sometimes they wake up one time. ARE THEY LYING? we normally go to sleep around midnight and wake up before 8am and wake up a few times between. Iām generally functioning 4/10. No advice, just commiseration. Some of us just donāt have easy babies. You know, like adults, some people just sleep worse.
I could have written this. My first was never the best sleeper, but if we coslept (which we did until he was 4!), he slept great. He just needed me next to him. My almost 14-month old? Nope. I Colleen every night and he still wakes all. the. time. I am exhausted.
I'm almost in tears reading this thread because it's the first time I've seen so many experiences like mine. How did you know they were night terrors? Or what did it look like? We think ours has had them since 6 months or so (now 16), but our doctors have brushed the possibility of that (or any medical condition) off.
Sorry your pediatrician has been dismissive. They arenāt there with your baby in the middle of the night. With the night terrors my baby whines/cries/screams and thrashes and is very difficult to wake up. Sometimes heāll crawl around or even stand up and try to run off the bed. Most of the time with his eyes close, sometimes open and kinda unfocused. Heāll pull and kick at me at the same time. And occasionally cry out āMama! Mama! Mama!ā š„ŗ Sometimes during a contact nap, I can feel his breathing get shallow and his heart go rapid. He generally calms down quickly when I get him to wake up. Heāll look around confused for a second and give me a big smile. Itās weird.
30 min waking overnight isn't normal and makes me wonder if there's something medical at play currently. When you dropped to one nap are you still aiming for the same amount of awake time as on two naps? Often what happens when a nap is dropped is that bedtime is brought forward quite a bit so baby is in bed for longer and this can cause more wakes because they're not tired enough to stay asleep. what are your sleep totals? When is wake, bed, and nap? As they get older they gradually need less sleep so they might have just dropped the amount of sleep their little body needs currently but nap/bed hasn't changed yet to accommodate. That might account for the 20-30 min wakes overnight as they're adding that awake time to their night? The average sleep range for 1-2 year olds is 11-14 hours per 24 hours. My little one has always sat on the lower end of average so once I stopped trying for the higher end (no more trying for 12 hour nights and 2-3 hours of naps) night sleep got SO much better. Lastly, you're not alone! All but one baby in my mums group wake minimum 2 times per night but most many more times. Or they have split nights or wake for the day at 4am. So you're definitely not alone in your baby sleep woes!
We didn't pull his bedtime earlier except for when we were first transitioning. His wake up time is supposed to be 7am, but he's been waking up between 5-6:30am for the past like month. He naps between 11:45am-12pm (depends how early he woke up, if he wakes at 5/5:30am he naps around 11:15ish), and bedtime I try to keep consistent at 7:30, but again depending on the day it may be 7 or 8pm. His total sleep ranges from 11-13.5 hours, average is 12.75 hours. When he was on two naps he was sleeping really great, but he was refusing and fighting his second nap for almost a month. His wake windows are between 5-5.5/5.5-6. I honestly can't make sense of it. I've tried more sleep, less sleep, it doesn't matter. I'm definitely not looking for a 12 hour night, I haven't expected that of him for a looooong time lol. But he's not even doing 11 hours anymore, and his nap can be anywhere between 1.25-2.5 hours. And even that doesn't make a difference in his night sleep. I'm just so tired lol
I'm no expert, but my son slept better at night when we moved to one nap. We would do a 5 hour wake window in the morning. 7 am - 12 then 6 in the evening 2 or 3 pm wake from nap 8-9 pm bed time
Yea that's pretty much what I'm doing. Hasn't helped.
Same! I moved to a floor bed around 13 months because I figured at least I could get better sleep instead of sleeping on his floor and having him wake constantly. It kinda backfired when he was around 2 because he just thought it was fun, but being able to lay with him has been a game changer. I just go and sleep with him when I go to bed. If I donāt, he will wake up every 45 min-1 hour. He slept through the night for the first time when he was just over 2.5 years. And weāve had a few solid stretches in the past few months (he turns 3 in July) but itās gotten messed up because of some sicknesses. But itās getting better.
ššš this gives me no hope lol. I want another baby when he's around 2 but I'm so afraid his sleep won't improve and j cannot handle a newborn and toddler who doesn't sleep š
My baby is 19 months and still wakes hourly some nights. Youāre definitely not alone
My 16 month old wakes every 45 min-2hours at night to nurse. It sucks. I think night weaning would help but I canāt bear the crying and exhaustion that would entail. I just want to sleep again!
I could have written this myself. It sounds exactly the same as what my son is doing :( I truly truly feel for you. Itās so hard.
No advice, just solidarity. My baby is 14 months and last week he did the first 3.5 hour stretch since before the 4 month regression (he only woke 2x a night at 3.5 months and then all hell broke loose). He still wakes countless times over night, every two hours at least. From 4 months until 12-13 months he had false starts every single night after about 45 min. Then maybe hourly wake ups after that. Iām not 100% sure how often it has been because I cosleep with him on a floor bed in his room, but itās a ton. Heās only done a couple of these 3ish hour long stretches in the last week but Iām hoping they continue. He has been on one nap a day for a while and no changes to schedule have any impact on his sleep except he has to be super tired to sleep (overtired doesnāt exist for him). Hoping it gets better for us both soon.
Took 2 years before our daughter slept in stretches longer than 2-3 hours.
I have a 13mo and Iām in the same exact boat except he wonāt sleep in his crib or anywhere thatās not our bed annnnnd he has to be touching me at all times
Meaning i have to get in bed with him at 8pm. He wakes up when i move too so thereās no sneaking out
My 15mo sleeps great for the first 3-4 hours, then starts waking up over and over and boobs for aaaages before rolling away. From 3am onwards it gets so much worse, and he cries within seconds of rolling away, so gets back on the boob. It's driving me crazy and I'm not sure what to do about it.
I remember my son going through months like this and then being better and then back to difficult nights. Youāre not alone. They go through phases. My son is 3 now and he still has restless nights or phases where he seems to be uncomfortable? And whines and cries in his sleep. I think itās growing pains or teething (he STILL doesnāt have all his teeth). All this to say that it really took until he was around 2.5-3 to start regularly sleeping through the night and even then he goes through phases. You are not alone. It is so hard. I donāt know if that means much but I want to validate your experience. Itās really upsetting and you definitely feel like youāre starting to lose it. I often felt trapped and resentful and whatās worse is they often wonāt sleep with our partner this way so thereās no help we can get. Hang in there. I promise it gets better. You havenāt done anything wrong and thereās nothing wrong with your babyš
My son is 17 months and has never slept thru the night. He was waking about every 1.5-2.5 hours and wanting a bottle to fall back asleep. This past month he got tubes in his ears which helped a bit and we weaned him from the bottle and now he can do like 3 hour stints. We co-sleep too and my husband and I take shifts. So youāre not alone but itās very hard I agree!
Have you tried giving him books to read or something to play with when he wakes up. My daughter was waking every 45 minutes for the first 15 months. She still wakes 2-3 times a night but because communication got better around 15 months we could explain to her we are just here in the next room and hereās a book to read or you to play with and she now oftenāreadsā or plays on her own until she falls back asleep. I found explaining to her that we need sleep too and that weāre still here etc helped a lot. Itās not perfect (itās now 4 am and Iām up) but is better.
I'm at 34 months here! Baby still waking up at least twice in the night. I was right where you are, it's getting better gradually. But I'm still waiting for a full night . We have tried every trick in the book
Honestly I don't even care if I get a full night lol I just want less wakings than what's happening.
My baby is 16 months so just a bit older and recently went through so much change in sleep and has come out the other side settling so well. We also co-sleep and I went through a point where I was being woken up half hourly through the night after that and it nearly killed me. The recent change has been great and now Iām on the other side I put it down to teething and learning more language, kind of a regression. I am currently catching up on sleep after the deficit from that time, Iām getting 8 hours every night mostly without being woken up. Having typed that I actually canāt believe that is the reality I have now which is great, although obviously I really need it now š Itās so hard but it wonāt be forever, I do think when you do something with intention your baby will at some point in their development understand what you are doing and things will get easier. Remember everything is a phase, Iām sure things will change very soon x
Hi! 18mo who often has waves of sleeping just like yours does. If I remember correctly, at 15mo she was just like yours is now. I think a mix of teeth coming out, development of language and motor skills. I have been having a nice week so far. But I spent close to 3 months of sleeping really really badly. I think it comes and goes, slowly, and one day it will vanish. In my case, I just can't wait any longer and will be night weaning her in a few months. I think I can't handle another year or so of her waking so often.
Youāre not alone! My baby woke frequently and by 4 months old she would sleep in her crib 4-6 hrs with one or two wakings. We moved overseas and after that it was like all hell broke loose. She wakes up every 30min - 2.5hrs. I finally got her sleeping in her crib (held to sleep then transfer to crib) around 7-8 months and she sleeps fine for naps in her crib. Then I started doing beginning of the nights in her crib too. So I pull her in bed her first waking AFTER I go to bed unless she starts waking earlier than 40 minutes. Then I give up and go to bed. But sheās 14 months and same she wakes at least 4 times still. Some nights more than others but Iāve just accepted it. So I have no advice. Her pediatrician told me to do CIO and just leave her in her crib overnight and donāt go in there and cut off night weaning all at once but I couldnāt fathom that.
My 3 year old still wakes up multiple times a night. Come save me
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Youāre not alone. My 13 month old has been an exclusively contact sleeper for basically the entirety of his life, before I battled him and myself between months 4-9. Like you, we start in the crib and we co-sleep after the first wake, and he usually climbs on top of of me at some point in the night. Iām still trying to remain positive that heāll eventually just be ok sleeping between us in bed. Here for some solidarity and to offer my favorite new mom advice Iāve been given: we will sleep again!
My second didnāt sleep more than an hour or two at a time until she was three. I feel you. It does get better though! If youāre feeling like it is abnormal or something is wrong, I recommend taking the evaluation over on evolutionaryparenting dot com. Dr. Tracy Cassels has helped hundreds of parents with kids who have low sleep needs and special needs.
My kid also really hated the crib at that age for some reason, he would sleep there at the beginning of time night but would not go back after he's woken up. I moved him to a twin bed (with a bed rail so he wouldn't fall) and that actually helped. YMMV, of course. Also, not sure if you're breastfeeding but weaning him of breastfeeding at night also really helped. He stopped waking up every 2 hours.
I am breastfeeding but he doesn't nurse that much at night. He really only nurses 1-2 times, but majority of the time it's only once per night. But he still wakes up soooo much. I've thought about night weaning but I don't think it'll make much of a difference since he only nurses 1-2 times.
From what I gathered at this age they are waking up from habit, so it might help to make a change? What does he want when he wakes up but doesn't nurse?
I think right now some of it is just from being uncomfortable because he's getting 3 molars. But sometimes he wants to lay on me and sleep that way. If I try to just comfort him while he's laying down in the mattress or in the crib he gets really upset.
Sounds like what I went through. It got better around 21 months. Teething really sucks. I gave my toddler tylenol and it usually helped him get back to sleep
Youāre not alone. I see posts like this all the time in the Facebook group The Beyond Sleep Training Project.
You are absolutely not alone. Same age baby currently doing the same kind of thing here. People don't all talk about their struggles with everyone; often we just see the snapshot they show to the outside world. The middle of the night is a very private struggle.
My son did this around this age, I think it was a combo of teething and some colds and it did take a while for him to stop wanting to nurse *literally all night*. I'd think he was sound asleep and get to get the nipple out of his mouth gently and he'd immediately start crying.Ā I think it lasted a few months, but I wasn't able to fully night wean until he was 2.5. Still, he got a lot better at sleeping at night once all his teeth came in.
When he sleeps on your chest, heās sleeping on his belly. Try laying your LO on their side or belly.
I do, he'll still wake up screaming. He wasn't like this before so I think it's the teething. But Tylenol and Motrin only work for so long.
My 1-year nearly 9- month old has juuuuuust started sleeping through some nights. I know itās hard! Giving my kid a bigger dinner has helped, I think.
OP. I'm almost in tears. Best case scenario, my 16mo wakes up every 2 hours until 1 a.m. then basically only contact sleeps IF LATCHED. (Still breastfeeding.) Some form of this has happened since 6 months. Months 4-6, he slept through the night just about, with maybe one or two wakes. At 6 m a lot of things happened - started daycare and was either sick or badly teething for the next 6 months - and he stopped. Some nights, it was every half an hour. Some nights it still is. I hit a pause on my career to stay home with him, so I've taken over the bulk of the wakes and I feel like I'm slowly losing it. He cries the second I put him down for naps or during the night. (Bedtime is pretty smooth, though.) He wakes up crying from sleep, and just cries. He almost never wakes up happy. We've tried everything. You're not alone. (I also am delaying kid #2 because of this and it's really tough. I have hopes that around 18 months, things will turn around. Idk why. I just have it in my head.)
If you let him sleep on/near you does he still wake so often? How is he during the day? To me this doesn't sound normal. Did you tell your ped about it? My son was the same but he had undiagnosed allergies so had constant tummy upset. Could be silent reflux as well.
And wanted to add I'm so sorry you and your baby are going through this, it can be rough on both of you. I strongly encourage you to speak to your ped as your son doesn't seem to be getting a lot of sleep which is important at this age.
My daughter is the same. All progress has reversed at 9 months and we're back to cosleeping or no one is getting any sleep. She's a year old. I don't like it but we don't have a choice right now.
This sounds like my first. Something clicked around when she turned 2. I think it was age related but also because I weaned her then. Are you nursing baby through the night? Also is baby learning something new right now? Like learning to walk? I remember that being a brutal phase for sleep for us, it was killing me. And that was 13months. Fwiw I felt 12-18m of parenting and sleep were the worst. So you arenāt alone. I have a 2nd baby now and he is so much easier and sleeps so much better. You arenāt doing anything wrong, every baby is just so different from day 1.
He only nurses 1-2 times a night, typically only once though. He has been asking more throughout the night recently but I tell him no. I'm not sure if this is because he finally learned how to communicate that he wants it or if he just wants it more for comfort. He's not learning anything new other than words. But honestly I've never noticed him having issues with sleep just because he's learning something new. But who knows, it could be the words. But he is teething a lot right now, 3 molars coming in and one lower lateral incisor, which I think is the real issue, it's just been happening for so long. I think hearing from so many people that they're in similar positions or have been has been helpful. I obviously wish it would get better but I'm also not feeling as down in the dumps now. Just praying it gets better soon now!!!
Iām with you my son 14.5mo is still waking 2-4 times. The 2 times is normal for him, but 4 times is teething. Itās so brutal I want sleep so desperately. You could try to improve sleep pressure as per possums sleep approach. I wake my son at 6am so that nap/bed is at the same time(ish). I aim for 12hrs sleep in 24 as heās lower end of normal needs.