Sleep regression?

[junewife]

Anyone else's LO going through a sleep regression? I read that there is often one at 18mo.

DS has always been a bad sleeper, but one thing he's been good at for about the past year is actually going to bed. He loves bedtime and almost always goes down quickly and without complaint. It was just MOTN and early-morning wakeups we had to deal with.

But for the past four nights, he was resisted going to sleep SO MUCH. Like, it took us 90+ minutes to get him to sleep last night, and only after DH held him in our bed until he was all the way asleep. He's also been waking up in the MOTN, which he hasn't done for the past four months.

When he is resisting bedtime and when he gets up in the MOTN it's clear that what he wants is to be held/snuggled, but it's never enough and the moment we put him down (awake, half-asleep, or lightly sleeping) he freaks out.

We are at a loss for how to handle this. We left him alone, crying for 30 mins last night before we gave up and went in. I think he'd cry indefinitely. 

Help!!

[RedDDD]

I think DD went through this about a month ago. Just stay the course and maintain the routine. He'll grow out of it. I have heard the 18 month sleep regression is one of the worst because it is pretty much out of defiance. Past sleep regressions usually were due to developmental milestones but this one is them asserting their independence and voicing their opinions. I admit sometimes I just do what it takes to get DD to sleep. She woke twice last night and I could tell she just wanted someone to be there. They also go through a separation anxiety phase at this age so sometimes its due to that. GL!

[lilqt3929]

Yes, we are right there with you! DD fights us over going to sleep for an hour or more just like you mentioned. We are having similar problems with naptime as well. Last night I gave in after about 40 minutes and just held and rocked her til she was sleeping, then slowly transferred her to the crib. I don't really have any suggestions, just sympathy and reassurance that you're not alone. The thought has crossed my mind to maybe try a night light in case the darkness is bothering DD but I don't know how well that would go over. I hope this phase is over soon!!

[junewife]

Thanks RedDDD. So what did you do? Just be sure to go through your bedtime routine the same way every night and then let her cry after you put her down?

How long did it take before she went back to sleeping normally?

[RedDDD]

junewife, Yes keep the routine the same. Now she cries about 4 out of 7 nights for about ten minutes. Occasionally I go back in there if she cries longer then that OR if she just seems super keyed up and I hold her and talk to her and get her back down and most times after I go in there a second time she is fine and goes to sleep. She is getting better but we are still dealing with it off and on. She has never been a great sleeper either and we just recently got her STTN but lately she wakes once or twice. I do think it is also teeth because she has been working on her canines for EVER. So that is not helping.

[junewife]

Apr 30, 2015 11:48:50 GMT -5 RedDDD said:

junewife, Yes keep the routine the same. Now she cries about 4 out of 7 nights for about ten minutes. Occasionally I go back in there if she cries longer then that OR if she just seems super keyed up and I hold her and talk to her and get her back down and most times after I go in there a second time she is fine and goes to sleep. She is getting better but we are still dealing with it off and on. She has never been a great sleeper either and we just recently got her STTN but lately she wakes once or twice. I do think it is also teeth because she has been working on her canines for EVER. So that is not helping.

At least I know I'm not alone!  

DS's canines are coming in too.

DS is so stubborn that he will cry forever. One of us will go in there to calm him down, but as soon as we put him back in the crib he's even more mad than before. It's so frustrating!

[RedDDD]

Apr 30, 2015 12:20:48 GMT -5 junewife said:

Apr 30, 2015 11:48:50 GMT -5 RedDDD said:

junewife, Yes keep the routine the same. Now she cries about 4 out of 7 nights for about ten minutes. Occasionally I go back in there if she cries longer then that OR if she just seems super keyed up and I hold her and talk to her and get her back down and most times after I go in there a second time she is fine and goes to sleep. She is getting better but we are still dealing with it off and on. She has never been a great sleeper either and we just recently got her STTN but lately she wakes once or twice. I do think it is also teeth because she has been working on her canines for EVER. So that is not helping.

At least I know I'm not alone!  

DS's canines are coming in too.

DS is so stubborn that he will cry forever. One of us will go in there to calm him down, but as soon as we put him back in the crib he's even more mad than before. It's so frustrating!

we went through that and I thought the crying would never end but after a few rough nights/moments it does seem to have gotten better.  

[redfraggle]

Hmmm... I did not know that was what was going on. Yes, we've been having some sleep issues. Thanks for posting this!

[carli]

Same problems here! I've spent ALOT of nights in the rocker/recliner or on the floor next to her crib lately.

[legitsince86]

Not at night *knock on wood* but with naps. I barely mention the word nap and she flips out completely. Crying, running away. As soon as I can get her on the bed and we snuggle, she's out like a light.

[littlefoot]

Not too much. She has just started saying "no" when I ask if she wants to nap. However, she's still back and forth between two naps and one so if she says no I usually take her word for it and try again later. Or if I know she's tired and just needs to settle down I'll grab a bed pillow, one of her soft blankies, and her "babies" (every stuffed animal she owns) and if I lay on the couch she'll come up and cuddle with me until I know she's tired enough to not fight me

[Unknown]

Yes, I'm getting up every other night w/ my LO. Last night it was at 2am she was crying "mommy, uppie".

[carli]

Apr 30, 2015 20:17:23 GMT -5 jnetx said:

We aren't going through one at the moment, but I'm wondering if it staying lighter later could be messing with some of their sleep schedules? I know my son's room is a lot brighter at bedtime than it was a few months ago, even with black out curtains.

I think the light is killing us at bedtime!  I'm about to put foil on my windows so DD will get to sleep!

Although, we have had better luck this week so maybe we are on our way back to normalcy.

[sugarkissed]

We've been pretty fortunate with nights so far, but naps are another story. To make matters worse, I walked into her room this afternoon after putting her down for a nap and found her playing on the floor. It's official, she can climb out of the crib!

We'll have a newborn in a month so this feels like the worst time ever to boycott naps!

[annarose]

DD will not go to bed without one of us in the room with her. It's been like this for months now. It's not terrible but it's not ideal. She usually sleeps through the night unless her teeth are bothering her. Some nights we just bring her into bed with us at those wake ups since it's easier (usually a crappy nights sleep for us though)
The last few nights she has been alone with my husband and he was letting her sit and watch tv with her and he said she was sleeping within 15 mins! Of course this was not the case when I was home last night.

[littlefoot]

I feel like DD started going through this AS SOON as I posted how good she was with sleeping.

[junewife]

Just wanted to update and let y'all know DS went down after 15-20 min of fussing the past two nights and then STTN until 6am. Napping is still hit or miss.

So it looks like we are slowly coming out the other side!